Carney targeted by Chinese WeChat operation in Canada election: officials – National [Video]

Canadian officials monitoring the federal election for foreign interference said Monday they have detected a Beijing-backed operation on the Chinese social media platform WeChat focused on Liberal Leader Mark Carney.

The “information operation” was launched by Youli-Youmian, WeChat’s most popular news account, which has been linked to the Chinese Communist Party’s central political and legal affairs commission, officials from the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) task force said.

According to the assessment unveiled Monday, the operation was intended to influence Chinese-Canadian communities and “mould perceptions” about Carney through articles that were amplified and spread by other WeChat accounts “in a coordinated and inauthentic way.”

“This information operation had contrasting positive and negative narratives, first amplifying Mr. Carney’s stance with the United States and then targeting his experience and credentials,” Laurie-Anne Kempton, assistant secretary to the cabinet for communications at the Privy Council Office, told reporters in Ottawa.

“I don’t think …