Policy & Research
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This report presents research by CAIDAC and Digital Public Square detailing Russian efforts to influence Canadians’ perceptions of the war in Ukraine over the last two years. We examined Russian information campaigns tailored to Canadian audiences on Twitter and the supportive ecosystems of accounts that amplify them. This ecosystem included at least 200,000 Twitter accounts that have shared content with millions of Canadians since the war began. Our analysis found that Russian influence operations integrated sophisticated narratives with incendiary images and videos tailored to Canadian audiences. These narratives rapidly evolved, responding to emerging news events in Ukraine, Canada, and Russia. See the full report for additional findings and recommendations.
"Russia Weaponization of Canada’s Far Right and Far Left to Undermine Support for Ukraine"
International Journal Vol. 79 (2) 2024
This article details the Russian government’s efforts to influence Canadians’ perceptions of the war in Ukraine. Specifically, we examined Russian information campaigns tailored to Canadian audiences on X (formerly known as Twitter) and the supportive ecosystems of accounts that amplify those campaigns. By 2023, this ecosystem included at least 200,000 X accounts that have shared content with millions of Canadians. We identified ninety accounts with an outsized influence. The vast majority of the influential Canadian accounts were far right or far left in orientation. These networks were among Canada’s most prolific and influential political communities online. We determined this by comparing these networks’ potential influence on the online community engaging with Canada’s 338 members of Parliament on X and a sample of twenty influential X accounts in Canada. The sophistication and proliferation of Canada-tailored narratives suggest a highly organized and well-funded effort to target Canadian support for Ukraine.
This report offers a preliminary examination of the Taliban’s online information campaign during the takeover of Afghanistan and its immediate aftermath. Weaponizing Twitter as its primary social media platform, the Taliban pursued a sophisticated information campaign to convince Afghans and the international community that its takeover of Afghanistan was inevitable.
Laura Courchesne and Brian McQuinn explore how the study of insurgencies provides insights into how and why the January 6th insurrection unfolded as it did.
Laura Courchesne and Brian McQuinn argue that analysts and governments are failing to capture the full range and anticipate the potential consequences of armed group social media use.