EDMONTON— Premier Danielle Smith says there are foreign entities attempting to meddle in Alberta's independence debate; however, it has thus far centred around disinformation. "I've got my security briefing from CSIS, and we get regular briefings from the RCMP, and so what we're seeing right now is that there's nothing out there that has elevated to a level of criminal involvement in our process, but we are seeing influence campaigns," said Smith during an interview with OMNI posted on Monday. .Researchers recently published a study after using the artificial intelligence tool Cipher AI to monitor the Alberta independence debate during July and August, and found that some Albertans were spreading pro-independence content pushed by Russian-backed "content farms." During a two-week window in early August, Cipher found 147 examples of disinformation about the independence movement, pushed by foreign-based outlets, 80% of which were Russian. "What we do say is people just need to, before they believe everything they read on social media, they need to check the source and to verify and to make sure that they're not sharing things and inadvertently amplifying a message that is being used to try to interfere in our contest," Smith said. "I trust that Albertans are able to do that research. I trust that they can identify sources that are credible and sources that are not. But we have to make sure that that information is available so that people are not inadvertently sharing things they wish they didn't." .Critics of the Alberta independence movement have long accused it of being run, or at least amplified, by foreign agents, including the Russian-backed media outlet Pravda. Individuals also look at actions by U.S. officials and comments made by American media personalities and accuse them of amplifying the independence message. Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi has been outspoken about his concerns over foreign interference in the independence movement and even went so far as to write to CSIS in June, calling on them to provide transparency, regular updates, and "a clear assessment of the dangers we face." "Democratic events such as the upcoming referendum could create the conditions foreign actors seek to exploit, such as through the use of mis- and disinformation, to advance a narrative aligned with their objectives," wrote CSIS director Dan Rogers in a letter sent to Nenshi in July. "These are concerns that CSIS and our national security partners share, and that we take measures to counter."In March, Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis said the RCMP told him that they had found "no credible information that has been received to suggest that Alberta separatist movement has been subject to foreign interference."
