A network of inauthentic YouTube accounts that were portraying themselves as homegrown Albertans have spent months pushing for Alberta secession and American annexation, an incident report from the Canadian Digital Media Research Network and the Media Ecosystem Observatory found.

The network has racked up nearly 40 million views by "exploiting genuinely-held grievances and repurposing them to advance narratives that normalize the prospect of secession and US annexation," the researchers wrote.  

Thanks to the additional work of journalists over at the CBC and CNO’s own Rory White, we know that at least two of the YouTube presenters pushing this narrative were voice actors from the US while another is a former radio host from Calgary, who told CNO that an audition tape of him was used without his consent by one of the channels. We also know from the CBC investigation that there are at least three individuals in the Netherlands “whose digital trail links them to accounts that hired actors to appear on the YouTube channels.” 

But that still doesn’t really give us a full picture of what’s going on. One of the key findings from the report is that we don’t really have a clear motive, nor do we have a full picture of the network’s true origins. “We cannot confirm this network's origin or intent, and the available evidence is inconclusive on both counts,” the report read. “The potential scale of a daily political operation targeting Albertans and Canadians nonetheless........

© National Observer