Canada confirms ‘elements’ of alleged Israeli misinformation campaign targeting politicians

The Canadian government says it has corroborated “elements” of an alleged Israeli misinformation campaign targeting politicians and citizens over the ongoing crisis in Gaza.

Global Affairs Canada said it is aware of “reports of a divisive, coordinated, Islamophobic, and inauthentic information campaign” targeting Canadians and Canadian politicians.

The foreign department did not indicate any direct link to the government of Israel.

But the department said that the Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM), a division set up to combat online disinformation and foreign interference, is investigating.

“While investigations are still ongoing, RRM Canada has been able to corroborate elements of these claims,” said James Emmanuel Wanki, a spokesperson for the foreign affairs department.

“At this time, RRM Canada has not been able to decisively attribute this network to a state actor.”

Haaretz, a prominent Israeli newspaper, and the New York Times both reported last week that the Israeli government was behind a social media campaign to influence politicians in Canada and the U.S. over the conflict in Gaza.

Despite not having definitive proof that the Israeli government was behind the campaign, Global Affairs said the Canadian government had “conveyed our concerns over these allegations directly to the Government of Israel.”

A request for comment to the Israeli Embassy in Ottawa was not returned Tuesday by publication time.

Haaretz reported on June 5 that the Israeli government was behind a “large-scale influence campaign primarily aimed at Black lawmakers and young progressives in the United States and Canada.”

The aim, according to the newspaper, was to sway public opinion on Israel’s conduct of the conflict, which the United Nations estimates has