Ottawa spent $128K tracking pro-Israel social media activity after Hamas attacks

The Department of Canadian Heritage quietly spent more than $128,000 on a six-month contract to monitor social media posts by supporters of Israel following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, according to newly released Access To Information records.

Blacklock's Reporter says the contract, awarded to the UK-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue, aimed to assess the online spread of extremism, hate and disinformation in Canada in the aftermath of the violence that left hundreds dead and eight Canadians among those killed or kidnapped.

A government summary titled Digital Analysis Situation Room And Rapid Response Programming For Israel-Gaza Extremism, Hate And Misinformation stated that the initiative focused on “right wing responses to the conflict” and content from “prominent news sources.”

One of the project’s stated priorities was tracking online criticism of then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Among the most widely shared posts flagged by researchers were claims that Trudeau’s government had “funded” the Hamas attacks via support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

Similar allegations circulated about groups like the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the National Council of Canadian Muslims, accused in the dataset of wanting to bring terrorists into Canada.

The project also tracked complaints from pro-Israel social media users who claimed that police had been uneven in their handling of protests, unfairly targeting pro-Israel demonstrators while showing leniency toward pro-Palestinian rallies. The documents did not clarify whether researchers assessed the validity of these concerns.

One internal report, dated June 19, described critics of the federal cabinet as extremists and noted that many of the most active Twitter accounts had taken strong pro-Israel positions. Researchers observed narratives that equated sympathy for Palestinian civilians with support for Hamas, and by extension, terrorism.

The project also logged personal criticism directed at Trudeau, then-Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, and then-Addictions Minister Ya’ara Saks. New Democrat MP Heather McPherson was also cited as a target of suspicion by pro-Israel users for allegedly being “pro-Hamas.”

Some Facebook posts cited in the final report expressed concern over immigration in connection with the Israel-Hamas conflict, warning that “Canada will soon be unrecognizable and filled with these religious extremists.”

Researchers found the war had been used as a platform to push anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Officials did not explain the overall benefit of the monitoring project to taxpayers. The initiative concluded in June 2024.