Inauthentic YouTube channels are still churning out content on Alberta separatism even after a Canadian report raised concerns about the videos’ presence.
According to the study released last week by the Media Ecosystem Observatory (MEO) at McGill University, a network of 20 channels has received over 40 million views over the past year, publishing what the researchers called “slopaganda” about Albertan secession using paid actors and artificial intelligence.
MEO Director Aengus Bridgman emphasized there is an organic online conversation about oil-rich Alberta separating from Canada, but his research found much of the noise, particularly on YouTube, was coming from accounts which appeared to have no connection to the province.
“We’re talking about double the content on Alberta separatism: half authentic and half inauthentic,” Bridgman said in Montreal on Monday.
The MEO report details how these YouTube accounts using paid actors, AI-generated avatars and apparently AI-generated scripts push sensationalized stories and “obvious lies,” such as one video which declared that western Canadian provinces were already moving towards becoming U.S. states.
“In a democratic society, we would not allow any of this content to air on any media channel in the country, or any radio station in the country,” Bridgman said.
A YouTube spokesperson said the platform does not allow scams or “other deceptive practices that take advantage of the YouTube community” and that it had taken down 30 channels after reviewing the MEO report.
As of Monday, two of the most prolific channels mentioned in the study, “Canadian Reporter” and “David Fraser,” were still live.
Low-quality, AI-generated content — sometimes called “AI slop” — is appearing more frequently in users’ feeds, and Bridgman said polarizing political topics, such as Alberta separatism, prove to be lucrative subjects for their creators.
The long-simmering Alberta separatist movement has picked up steam in recent months and a citizens’ petition currently collecting signatures could send the independence question to a vote before the end of this year.
Some Alberta separatists voiced support for joining the United States after a potential secession, which has raised concerns about American interference.
Bridgman said there was still more to investigate before concluding if the “slopaganda” network was simply a monetization effort or a foreign influence campaign.
