Post #3519395

2026-07-01 20:54 UTC

On this #CanadaDay I'm struck by how few Americans know their government and the Russians are involved in a psyop in Alberta to incite a separatist movement. The goal: force a populist referendum to leave #Canada and join the #USA. Albertans are being swayed by glitzy YouTube influencer videos, many of which are #AI generated abroad,, to suggest their lives would be better in the US. You know, Florida mansions, control over immigration, pristine health care, high valued US dollar, and other grass is greener lies. Very #Brexit-esque, Cambridge Analytica playbook. As the US under this administration seeks to capture and manipulate oil internationally, Hormuz and Venezsudentenland are not enough. They are coming for the Canadian oil fields not with arms, but with algorithmically amplified #disinformation and millions of corrupt dollars to influence an election in their favor. For Russia, cracking Canada means destabilizing yet another Western democracy in the international illiberal project, plus Canada recently signed an agreement to provide drones to the #Ukraine. How can you help? I wish I could say call your Congressional Rep, and that might still work in some districts. However, this is digital guerilla warfare, and we still don't have good innoculation against it. Any information you can get out there on social media --about what it is really like to live in the US (maybe more about how actually likely it is to own a mansion or paying for your health care!), about how disinformation campaigns work, about what happened to democracies that voted to shoot themselves in the face based on peddled lies and are now dealing with the consequences (hello #UK), would help. Please tag Alberta separatism to ensure the message gets out. And tell your friends. People need to know this is going on. #elbowsup Receipts: https://thewalrus.ca/alberta-separatism-fuelled-by-russian-networks-and-us-influencers/ https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/article/co-ordinated-network-of-fake-youtube-channels-pushing-alberta-secession-and-us-annexation-narrative-report-finds/ https://www.cdmrn.ca/slopaganda-the-inauthentic-youtube-network-selling-secession-to-albertans https://thetyee.ca/News/2026/04/21/Dishonest-Online-Campaign-Support-Alberta-Separatism/ https://disifnowatch.org broke this story with international journalists' help: see: https://disinfowatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Alberta-and-Foreign-Interference-Report-Final-052026-web.pdf

Replies (15)

@NMBA@mstdn.ca 2026-07-01 21:51

@cyberlyra@hachyderm.io Thank you neighbour!

Open ##3520358
@MtnSunTrees@mstdn.party 2026-07-01 20:56

@cyberlyra@hachyderm.io Don’t fall for it, Canada!

Open ##3526930
@notyourfanboy@kolektiva.social 2026-07-01 21:55

@cyberlyra@hachyderm.io First I've heard of it.

Open ##3526931
@crzwdjk@mastodon.social 2026-07-01 22:00

@cyberlyra@hachyderm.io Running the Donetsk/Luhansk "local separatists" playbook, it seems like. Is there also an unusual concentration of criminals and fraudsters among the "local separatists" in Alberta?

Open ##3526932
@edieto@social.vivaldi.net 2026-07-01 22:23

@cyberlyra@hachyderm.io ya its funny i have yet to see any one in real life that all for it just online bots and trolls

Open ##3526933
@mcahalane@mastodon.world 2026-07-01 22:25

@cyberlyra@hachyderm.io geez... healthcare? Here? They're really being sold a bill of goods.

Open ##3526934
@bitbraindev@mastodon.gamedev.place 2026-07-01 22:38

@cyberlyra@hachyderm.io follow the money. Unfortunately, only 10 years later UK started doing this and waking up now to Farage's shenanigans with the Russians.

Open ##3526935
@ModernMaslow@techhub.social 2026-07-01 22:56

@cyberlyra@hachyderm.io So the US Divide and Conquer Strategy is more accurate than previously thought.

Open ##3526938
@Beachbum@mastodon.sdf.org 2026-07-01 22:58

@cyberlyra@hachyderm.io Russia did the same here with our 2016 elections. They did the same thing with Brexit. They don’t do it overly they do it covertly by swaying you with lies and mobilizing people to do things using propaganda.

Open ##3526939
@Scienceisnotopinions@mstdn.ca 2026-07-01 23:48

@cyberlyra@hachyderm.io They are all so ignorant. I say we send them off to a lawless country and have them stay there permanatly and see how they like it then.🤔

Open ##3526940
@MyView@aus.social 2026-07-02 01:07

@cyberlyra@hachyderm.io From my view ... the only surprise to me is how few Americans know their government ... or care unless/until the shit hits their own fan ... It's more subtle in Australia ... more in keeping with the U$ tradition of subterfuge ... Keep fighting ...

Open ##3526941
@tapforms@mastodon.social 2026-07-02 01:32

@cyberlyra@hachyderm.io I live in Alberta and I'm a proud Canadian. And I only know a few people who swing towards separatist views. I'll be voting to stay in Canada for sure. This is a great country.

Open ##3526942
@VWSteve65@mastodon.social 2026-07-02 02:36

@cyberlyra@hachyderm.io Actually, I will do no such thing. I am a secessionist in New jersey who believes that the U.S. should break up into separate countries, or at least, the blue states should leave the Union and either form new countries or join Canada. A Russian bot didn't make me do this. Trump did by defeating Harris in November 2024.

Open ##3526943
@BillMcGuire@mastodon.social 2026-07-02 02:48

@cyberlyra@hachyderm.io As a lifetime American, retired banker, etc. Army Veteran, I can assure your province in Alberta that this trump administration & his idiot Republicans are destroying America as fast as they can. Some with Data Centers slurping up our water, poisoning the air we breathe, and being so noisy it is difficult to sleep, but unless trump & his cretins are run out of office (assuming musk doesn't help them steal the vote again), we are doomed. That said, don't come here!!

Open ##3526948
@joeinwynnewood@mstdn.social 2026-07-02 04:29

@gottalaff.bsky.social 👀

Open ##3527661