Top Alberta content creator demands apology from CTV over 'slopaganda' claims

CALGARY — One Alberta content creator is fighting back against the mainstream media after clips of his YouTube channel were shown by CTV News during a recent segment on alleged online disinformation involving the Alberta independence movement.Citing a report from the Canadian Digital Media Research Network (CDMRN) titled Slopaganda: The Inauthentic YouTube Network Selling Secession to Albertans, CTV stated a network of around 20 YouTube channels had been “posing as Albertans” while promoting Alberta independence and possible annexation by the United States..CDMRN researchers said many of the channels appeared coordinated, used similar scripts, authentic news clips, and AI-generated avatars or synthetic voiceovers.However, controversy emerged during the broadcast when CTV reporters were discussing AI channels and “slopaganda” while showing several clips of Derek Smith, an authentic Albertan independent creator who operates the YouTube channel Unacceptable Fringe.In the CDMRN report, Unacceptable Fringe is listed three times as an “authentic” outlet promoting Alberta sovereignty along with other creators such as John Bolton and the Western Standard’s own Cory Morgan..Smith took CTV to task in a video he posted to his channel on Sunday, criticizing its coverage and rejecting any suggestion that he was “posing as an Albertan” or pushing any ideas about US annexation.“I'm an actual Albertan. I pay my taxes here,” Smith said.“They've said here that we're trying to push for annexation into the United States... US statehood is not a viable option. Why would we all work so hard to free ourselves from the taxing jurisdiction of Ottawa only to have to pay it to the US? Why would we discount what we're trying to do for our prosperity by leaving Canada's debt only to inherit the United States' debt?”.Smith told the Western Standard he agreed that AI-run channels should be removed, but said legitimate creators such as himself were being wrongly swept up in the controversy.“As online journalists/influencers, we have an obligation to do what the mainstream media fails to do, be transparent and report fact over our bias,” Smith said.“We have succeeded in gaining a higher audience because we give people what they want, honesty and the ability to relate. To take down or falsely label those channels that are actually real only shows that the mainstream media are upholding the same values and standards as these AI channels, a stretched reality to rope people in and push a false narrative."Smith also accused mainstream media outlets of attempting to discredit and shut down independent competitors, saying they were scared of and resented the amount of viewership channels such as his get, claiming he had outperformed the CBC, CTV, and Global News on YouTube over the last year.“CTV wants to put my channel on blast with a bunch of AI channels and say that I'm fake, that the government needs to shut me down,” he said.“We try to provide news that the mainstream media won't, and they hate it. They hate that we get more views. So their answer is, ‘Well, who needs competition when we can just continue lying to the public? Let's just shut them down.’”.Jon Alberta Patriot — another content creator in the independence realm — took to social media platform X, calling CTV’s segment “completely unacceptable” and saying the outlet presented the issue in a way “that suggests grassroots voices are ‘deepfakes.’”“That’s a serious misrepresentation,” he said, adding CTV needed to issue a “clear public apology.”“We’ve now reached a point where independent Albertan voices can be dismissed as ‘AI’ simply for having influence outside legacy media. When people stop trusting traditional outlets and start listening to independent voices, those voices get framed as illegitimate.”Going forward, Smith said he demands a “full apology” from CTV and that while his viewers have encouraged him to take legal action against the outlet, the expenses make that unrealistic.“I've consulted lawyers, it's gonna cost upward of twenty, thirty, forty thousand dollars or more to even get started before we walk into a courtroom. That’s what going up against the government media costs,” Smith stated.“I really don't know how to feel about this. On one side, it shows we're winning, and I'll take the high road and continue on the way I always have. But in another sense, it's very disheartening to think that at any time my essential job could be rug-pulled.”The Western Standard has reached out to Bell Media for comment.

Top Alberta content creator demands apology from CTV over 'slopaganda' claims

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