In this study, I focused on three main pillars of that ecosystem:
-Overt Russian state-funded propaganda (RT)
-Proxy sites connected to Russian intelligence (SouthFront, Global Research), which allow some degree of plausible deniability on the surface.
-Social media (in this case, Telegram groups that were set up for the truck convoy but which later became repositories for Russian propaganda).
I used a mix of OSINT tools & techniques, including GDELT.
The first major finding is that Russian-funded propaganda outlet RT produced a higher volume of television coverage focused on the truck convoy than any other international media outlet.
In fact, RT produced more convoy coverage than nearly all other international media outlets COMBINED. 4/
Russian-funded propaganda outlet RT (below, in orange) was also the first international media outlet to mention the truck convoy on-air, and as you can see, the peak volume far outpaced any other media outlet.
RT's early dominance is strategically important because it may have provided an opportunity for RT to set the tone for subsequent international media coverage. Given that RT's tone is whatever aligns with Russian state interests, this is significant. 5/
I also looked at convoy coverage on Russian proxy sites linked to Russian intel agencies (see article for more info). These sites “occupy an intermediate role between the pillars of the ecosystem with clear links to Russia and those that are meant to be fully deniable."
Specifically, I looked at Global Research & SouthFront, both of which produced ongoing coverage of the convoy that often included disinformation & inflammatory rhetoric, plus repeated calls for Trudeau to step down. 9/
Tactically, the strategies seen in these truck convoy/Russian propaganda channels — multilingual posting, repurposing channels, cross-platform coordination, etc — have previously been associated with influence campaigns.
So there’s alignment w/ content *and* tactics. 12/
In summary: The study documents Russian influence activities in multiple channels, from overt state-funded propaganda outlets, to proxy websites, to social media. It’s the first study providing quantifiable evidence of Russia’s involvement in the convoy, and it demonstrates a strategic interest in the convoy on the part of Russia — which itself should be of interest to Canada.
It has also motivated at least Russian propagandist/former RT employee to write an article libeling me. 😏
@rvawonk great work.
Bad actors use events like the convoy to push their own agenda and gain influence.
GOP and Fox constantly use noise from bad actors to generate their own noise, becoming agents of Russia, far right, etc.
@rvawonk this is truly excellent work, thank you! I think you've done a real service for those of us that track disinformation. I'm curious, though, in terms of a statement you made here that this was homegrown until it was basically hijacked. In Feb '22 I wrote an article for Michael Smerconish (CNN/SiriusXM) on unusual funding from alt right groups which makes it seem like it wasn't as organic as it seemed. I'd love your thoughts on this. For reference:
@NickAEsp @rvawonk Actual participants (the brainwashed ones, who were interviewed by CBC's The Fifth Estate here: https://youtu.be/y2OlAXDW7W0 ) later released statements claiming their original intentions were "hijacked" by military and police bad actors:
They may just be in denial or not want to face up to what they were actually a part of.....
@rvawonk If they're attacking you, you know you've struck a nerve. 👍
Alas, I fear the Canadian feds really don't or won't care, much, about your excellent research; as Canada, in actual practice, is a cross between Russia, as an economy (run by oligarchs, with a very strongly corrupt financial "system"), and China, ideologically (indigenous peoples in Canada are almost as mistreated as the Uighurs).
Canada has also been under the merciless thumb of FIPA for far too long, by which China controls a lot more of what goes on in the country, than the "UFWD causes election interference" that manages to get out in the widely-read press:
https://globalnews.ca/news/9364386/china-election-interference-canada/
"Concentration camp tomatoes" are just the tip of the iceberg as to how China has Canada by the short hairs, via FIPA:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/marketplace-tomato-products-investigation-1.6227359
(Canada cannot reject these products due to FIPA.)
FIPA scuppered a *working* TB vaccine from being deployed in Canada's North (which is much more heinous IMO):
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/cansino-mcmaster-vaccine-partnership-1.6327254
A February 2020 intelligence document warned Justin Trudeau that China's interference in Canadian elections would be 'more persistent and pervasive in future elections.'
@rvawonk Putin thought he could significantly weaken the free world's democracies by supporting & funding every conceivable right-wing extremist entity in grownup democracies.
Putin also thought, he could defeat free Ukraine & defibrillate the tsarist totalitarian empire within laughable 3 days.
He was damn wrong on both!
#StandWithFreedom #StandWithUkraine #DefendDemocracy #DefensiveDemocracy #Freedom #Democracy #FreeRussia #PutinsWar #PutinTribunal #FuckPutin
@zakyfarms @rvawonk Most of the free world's democracies, which I was mentioning, are not significantly impacted by Putin's destabilization ops.
As for the U.S., you're certainly not wrong. However, the dire situation of American democracy even predates Putin's takeover of Russian presidential office. Electoral fraud methods like voter suppression, disenfranchisement, gerrymandering & other cheats weakened democracy over many decades without significant accountability, to an extent hardly known in other democracies of the free world.
Adding to it flawed separation of powers (=>judiciary, SCOTUS....) & separation of church & state (pseudo-religious fanatics taking public offices).
And it shouldn't be accepted as part of "American exceptionalism".
Fanatical enemies of the democratic constitutional order don't belong in any public office.
#DefendDemocracy #DefensiveDemocracy #Democracy #Politics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defensive_democracy
Attached: 1 image Ok, so now that I’ve had a moment to breathe, let me take a few minutes to dive into the study I just published about Russian involvement in the 2022 truck convoy in Canada. The study can be read in full here: https://journals.lib.sfu.ca/index.php/jicw/article/view/5101
You have underscored their full- scope propaganda machine that's ready to roll and prize apart the smallest, dopiest crack.
@rvawonk *Chinese* influence campaigns, FTFY:
"a “global campaign that’s operating in seven languages, on at least 30 social media platforms and across 40+ website & forums,” experts at Mandiant and Google say"
Which the Chinese emulated from the Russians in 2016, so maybe it's a chicken-and-egg thing:
"noting parallels to the Russian disinformation campaign around the 2016 presidential election."
@rvawonk Yup! Ironic that it was neo-Nazis the Russians were funding in Canada, during the weeks-long coup attempt:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/coutts-arrests-charges-border-protest-1.6354587
Previous criminal convictions, a willingness to die for the cause and connections to a violent insurrectionist movement. CBC News has learned new details about some of the men and women arrested in connection with the Coutts, Alta., border blockades on Monday.
These telegram channels were basically boiling pots and those who followed them were frogs slowly being boiled with Russia propaganda.
@rvawonk are there archives of the Telegram channels? The closest thing I've found was on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/tamgau/2022_freedom_convoy_protest_archive/
Really interesting paper. Thanks for posting it and the summary.
The convoy of shame was part of Putin's attack on Ukraine. Part of Putin's dictatorship.
Treason.
#ConvoyOfShame #cpc #russiansubversion #ableg #canpoli #nspoli
@rvawonk Interesting. Do you think it was the Russians or the Chinese who purchased this Trend Takeover on 20 Nov 2022:
https://nitter.unixfox.eu/TheSpoonless/status/1595217893255413760#m
I thought it was the Chinese, due to deteriorating relations (or at least the appearance of same) between China and Canada, but it definitely could have been the Russians, as well.
The repetitive use of specific words & phrases is deliberate.
Repetition creates belief.
It doesn't matter where the repetition comes from, unreliable sources promoting lies or reliable sources "debunking" the lies.
The more a person hears a lie repeated, the more likely they are to believe the lie.
That's why liars keep repeating known lies & why it's bad that news orgs repeat these same lies in their coverage.
👀 : https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/11/03/misinformation-brain-beliefs/
🧵 : https://newsie.social/@ZhiZhu/109530716627287778
@rvawonk The coup attempt in Canada was absolutely used as a distraction; the Russians then went on to spread their "denazification" propaganda to justify their war in eastern Europe, when it was neo-Nazis they were funding to attempt a coup in Canada:
@marktaylor @rvawonk @donieosullivan @mehdihasan
Does your research examine the role fundamentalist churches from Alberta played in the Feb 2022 convoy?
Links to a Koch-funded think tank, Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (@JCCFCanada) are concerning. This group has managed to involve some high profile Canadian Conservative Party members.
The anti-democracy movements in America also have the same parallels; political conservatives, fundamentalist Christians, & oil interests.
1/2
Examples of Russian-supported narratives from conservatives, grifters, fundamentalist Christians, and oil: all to subvert elections & intimidate judges.
https://vancouversun.com/news/john-carpay-advocates-justice-then-tries-to-subvert-it
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/faith-convoy-truckers-1.6350538
* NYT, Fox, & CNN are oligopoly-funded propaganda outlets.
* Ukraine, Russia, and the US have very active & inflential fascist elements.
* Accusations of "aiding Putin", "Russian bot", etc are actively being used to suppress dissent in the West. Most egregiously it was used against healthcare workers in the UK.
* There's a necessary discussion that needs to happen about the war in Ukraine and where it's leading us. Especially in light of our decades long involvement in Afghanistan.
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