The emerging breadth and depth of Russian disinformation tactics represent a clear and present danger to Canadian sovereignty and freedom.

Just as troubling, some Canadians consider Canada immune to Russian propaganda. It’s a mistaken belief that only helps these disinformation campaigns spread and take root.

Modern-day Russian propaganda is relentless, pernicious and is widespread globally. It aims to dull critical thinking, divide society and undermine democracy. It challenges our commitment to open debate by replacing informed critical conversations with paid lies.

Media and social influencers, academics, journalists, community leaders, politicians and others are increasingly caught in the dragnet of these surreptitious tactics.

The many faces of Russian propaganda

Propaganda created or supported by the Kremlin and spread from within the West is a vital component of Russia’s war against Ukraine. It aims to sow confusion about who is to blame for the war and doubt about the effectiveness or desirability of western support for Ukraine.

Recent high-level warnings of Russian’s malicious actions include:

– Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent statement under oath that Russia is directly funding the prominent American provocateur Tucker Carlson to promote disinformation.

– U.S. justice department revelations of the use of a Canadian-owned media company to spread Kremlin-generated propaganda.

– Witnesses appearing before a House of Commons committee to raise concern that some members of the Russian state-run Valdai Club might be working as Russian propagandists.

Many other examples abound.

Yet, it’s an open question of how well the Canadian public and some of the country’s political leadership understand what is happening.

Some visible forms of disinformation include angry online rants filled with outrageous and obvious lies about Russia’s war against Ukraine and bot and troll campaigns on social media.

But these are not the primary threat.

Rather, the Kremlin promotes a softer, more insidious approach that moves away from the sledgehammer to one based on the scalpel, which seeks to split open divides in western societies. This is achieved by funding content that appears domestic while furthering Moscow’s agenda and is unwittingly spread by those who don’t realize its origin and purpose.

A key issue we are facing in Canada is the difficulty distinguishing between Russian propaganda and well-informed, constructive debate. As propaganda gets absorbed into everyday discourse, our democratic debates are reframed and made increasingly inflammatory. Polarization occurs.

Moscow relentlessly exploits western citizens’ right to freedom of speech by insidiously inserting paid propaganda — chiefly into online networks — into those dialogues. Even for cultural, opinion, and political leaders, telling fact from fiction and propaganda from legitimate speech is not easy.

Unfortunately, pointing this out often raises angry and defensive responses among those who find meaning or belonging in online communities, and even from experts saturated with Russian misinformation. In turn, those who raise the issue can find themselves under attack and branded as opponents to free speech.

Safeguarding freedom of speech requires simultaneously preventing the distortion of facts targeted by Russian state-propaganda while fostering broad, vibrant, open, well-informed public conversation.

War on Ukraine: conflicting narratives

In the context of the Russian war on Ukraine, it is critical to remember that Russia does not hope to rally the West behind its illegal invasion. It uses its propaganda machine not to build Russia up but to tear Ukraine down.

Taking its lead from Putin, Russian propaganda presents Ukraine’s continued resistance as futile or threatening escalation. Ukraine’s capitulation or acceptance of Russia’s partial conquest is framed as peacemaking.

It presents western support for Ukraine as prolonging the war and obscures the obvious, that Russia can choose to halt its war and withdraw from Ukraine at any moment.

And, right out of 1984, it blames Ukraine or NATO for the war that Russia started.

Safeguarding democracies against authoritarian sharp power

Defending against disinformation

Fight disinformation to strengthen our democracy

Safeguarding Canadian democracy in the age of growing digital disinformation

Recently, Anastasia Trofimova’s film Russians at War became a point of debate in Canada. The film features Russian soldiers at the front, and it received funding from the Canada Media Fund and TVO, Ontario’s public broadcaster.

Critics argued over whether the film is an excellent and exceptional documentary or sanitized propaganda. The divide is indicative of the difficulty of upholding free speech while educating Canadians about Russian propaganda tropes.

The narrative promoted in the film subtly suggests the war is Ukraine’s fault. It whitewashes well-documented atrocities committed by Russian troops against innocent Ukrainian civilians. It encourages western audiences to ignore the realities of this illegal invasion of a sovereign state in favour of a sob story that paints the aggressor in a sympathetic light.

The soldiers trot out justifications for the invasion, accusing Ukraine of fueling a “civil war.” They imply that Ukrainians are Nazis, that Russians are defending Ukrainians, and that Ukrainian soldiers murder injured Russian troops.

All of these false claims remain unchecked and unchallenged. The reality of Russia’s illegal actions and Russian soldiers’ war crimes go unmentioned.

Those critical of the film point to Trofimova’s past ties with the Russian state broadcaster RT, where the Russian-Canadian filmmaker worked for several years. RT exists only as a propaganda arm of the Russian government. The CRTC banned it from Canadian airwaves in 2022.

There is also the question of how she was able to film Russian forces at the front in a country where independent journalism is effectively illegal. Trofimova has said she had no military authorization to be there, but given the realities of Russia’s harsh authoritarianism, this claim stretches the imagination.

The film is a classic example of how Russian disinformation enters civil discourse. Uncertainty around its release is symptomatic of the murky world of Russian propaganda spreading in the West.

In September, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress expressed dismay that Canadian organizations had helped fund the production. TVO announced it would stop promoting the film it helped to fund.

TIFF cancelled then resumed screenings of it. Other film festivals appear to have abandoned any attempt to understand how Russian propaganda works and have continued to promote the film.

Counteraction needed

As the trickle of verifiable news of Russia’s interference in our democracy turns into a flood, and as Moscow continues its war against Ukraine, it is time for Canadians to act. Simply turning a blind eye to Russian propaganda will neither neutralize it nor make it go away.

Canada is not waging an offensive information war against Russia, but we are most certainly a strategic target for Russian disinformation.

Complacency will only invite an intensification of disinformation efforts and amplify the negative consequences. Fact-checking campaigns are worthy but reactive and do not stop the disinformation perpetrators. We know what Russia is doing with its disinformation campaign.

There are numerous remedies that could be considered. These range from diplomatic expulsions to legislation to public-awareness building to supporting independent organizations in their pre-bunking interventions and more.

Russia is actively attacking our democracy. Remaining on the current course is not an option.