Russian disinformation fogs up view of Ukraine war for many Canadians – National

More than two-thirds of Canadians say disinformation campaigns about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have made an impact on their ability to sort through true and false information about the conflict, according to internal federal government polling obtained by Global News.

Questions about disinformation and Ukraine were part of the Privy Council’s weekly polling program in October. That polling data was recently released to Global News under federal access-to-information laws.

The polling program is supervised and often directed by officials in the prime minister’s office and the results are circulated among the country’s most senior decision makers, including the prime minister, his top aides, cabinet and every deputy minister.

Two months after polling Canadians on the impact of disinformation, Global Affairs Canada unveiled the most visible program so far in the government’s campaign against Russian disinformation: A website which fact-checks bogus Russian claims about the conflict.

On Friday in Toronto, while marking the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government would do more to combat disinformation.

“We will continue to support brave journalists who are telling the truth, who are sharing actual news and facts around the world,” Trudeau said. “We will continue to ensure that there is no place for the lies that Putin is sharing.”

But James Bezan, a Conservative MP from Manitoba with Ukrainian ancestors, said the Trudeau government has been slow to counter Russian propaganda and could take more aggressive action against disinformation, including by removing Russian diplomats from Canada.

“I don’t know how much more that this government needs to hear and see, to continue to sit back on its hands rather than being aggressive with those that are propagating this disinformation and foreign interference here in Canada,” Bezan said.

“So if there is direct links, as I believe there is, to the Russian embassy, as well as their diplomatic missions across the country, then there needs to be concrete action taken by the government.”

In the October poll commissioned by…