An analysis by the Financial Times finds bot activity artificially promoting Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre on X.com ahead of the Canadian 2025 election.
Canadian Anti-Hate Network
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An analysis of social media accounts has found networks of bots boosting Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and lambasting Liberal Leader Mark Carney ahead of the 2025 election result.
Conducted by the Financial Times, an analysis of over 350,000 social media posts on X revealed what they called a “network of coordinated accounts” attempting to influence voters as they head to the polls on Monday.
The analysis was performed by researchers at the University of Southern California. Seeking to identify networks of suspicious accounts, using prominent political hashtags, they have identified accounts sharing right-wing “memes and news sources.”
“Often the accounts push misleading content, such as associating Carney with the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein,” the Financial Times reports.
Adding that the accounts have “tell-tale signs” of being artificial, which include posting a high volume of content very quickly, often retweeting content, and consistently sharing a variety of common links.
There is no indication about where the source of the bot activity is coming from at this time.
The researchers also report taking steps to make sure that as little authentic content and posting is captured in the analysis as possible.
“Our approach is deliberately cautious to reduce misclassification and minimise false positives — ensuring that organic accounts are not misclassified as malicious actors,” Luca Luceri, who led the research team, told the Financial Times.
“Therefore, our analysis likely represents a lower bound of malicious inauthentic activity in the run-up to the election, as additional accounts and networks may also be operating under the radar.”
Other research has also found networks of X accounts supporting the idea that Canada join the 51st state, echoing calls from President Trump that the country be adopted in the Union in exchange for lower taxes and changing our entire system of governance.
Recent surveys have found that Canadians are significantly worried about US influence in the nation’s democracy. Multiple warnings and incidents have made foreign interference an issue on Canadian's minds.
Numerous races and candidates have been accused of being aided or hindered by foreign governments. In 2021, a story in the Globe and Mail said that CSIS found attempts by the Chinese Communist Party to influence the election in favour of a Liberal minority government.
After the drop of the election writ, platforms like WeChat have been found promoting false narratives about candidates.
A January report about foreign interference in Canadian elections suggest efforts were mostly coming from China, but includes countries like Russia and India.
According to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act foreign interference is activity involving “clandestine, deceptive or threatening activity by a foreign state, or those acting on a state’s behalf, that is detrimental to the interests of Canada."
There have been much smaller-scale examples of attempted voter interference during the election as well. On April 21, a worker in Ontario’s King-Vaughan riding was allegedly removed after being accused of trying to influence voters to vote conservative during advanced polling.
The individual has been suspended from working at Election Canada stations pending an investigation. According to the CBC, multiple people complained about the attempts at alleged influence.
Rob McKee, a pastor at a controversial Ottawa church, claimed that an officer with the city’s police force invited him to “numerous” protests.
The 33 people standing together outside the Toronto Exhibition Place, chanting slogans, claim to be made up of members of multiple groups from Southern Ontario.
While the parties accept the final results, baseless claims of a stolen election began to circulate before the polls even opened.