Federal unit uncovers ‘malicious’ effort tied to China aimed at Chrystia Freeland [Video]

Former finance minister Chrystia Freeland is seeking to distance herself from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as she competes for his job. (Photo: Chrystia Freeland on X)

A federal unit that tracks suspected foreign interference has uncovered a “co-ordinated and malicious” effort — possibly launched by China — against Liberal leadership candidate Chrystia Freeland.

Rapid Response Mechanism Canada, based at Global Affairs Canada, is monitoring cyberspace for signs of state-sponsored information manipulation on behalf of the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections Task Force.

The government recently announced the task force, which is usually active during election campaigns, would operate during the Liberal leadership contest.

In a statement, the task force says the information operation directed at Freeland was traced to WeChat’s most popular news account — an anonymous blog that has been previously linked to the Chinese government.

The task force says RRM Canada identified over 30 WeChat news accounts …