Foreign networks target Alberta referendum, researchers say

Suspected foreign influence activity aimed at Alberta's referendum has run at about 40,000 items a month since July, according to researchers tracking the campaign.

About 80 per cent of that suspected activity was linked to Russian bots and content farms promoting pro-separatist messages, the researchers said. About 20 per cent was linked to American sources, including influential podcasters, right-wing political pundits and social-media influencers. The findings come from the University of Regina's Centre for Artificial Intelligence, Data, and Conflict. The Globe and Mail

The researchers said activity from the United States increased in the final weeks before the vote. They said the dominant message pushed into Canada by American sources was that Alberta has no choice but to sever ties with Canada and join the United States.

A separate McGill study found that pro-independence accounts are outperforming anti-independence accounts online by a ratio of roughly eight to one. Maclean's

Alberta is holding a non-binding vote asking residents whether the province should remain part of Canada, meaning the result alone does not change Alberta's constitutional position. The ballot also asks whether Alberta should remain a province or whether the provincial government should commence a legal process toward separation. Reuters

Prime Minister Mark Carney, speaking in Calgary on Thursday evening, urged Albertans to vote for Alberta to remain in Canada. He also urged voters to reject nine other ballot proposals put forward by Premier Danielle Smith.