ICYMI: April 20-26
Blogroll
Story of the Week
Dutch YouTube creators behind Alberta separatist videos getting millions of views, Eric Szeto, Ivan Angelovski, Christian Paas-Lang, Jordan Pearson, Jeff Yates and Nicholas De Rosa, CBC Investigates (April 23)
CBC News identified three individuals in the Netherlands whose digital trail links them to accounts that hired actors to appear on the YouTube channels. Two of them attended the same online course that teaches customers how to create “faceless” YouTube channels that generate passive income for the creators, who remain in the shadows.
Many of the videos contain sensationalized and misleading views of Canadian politics, and are promoted through thumbnails featuring images of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney with headlines that are blatantly false.
Two individuals reached by CBC News denied involvement, despite the evidence tying them to the scheme.
This week, a report by the Media Ecosystem Observatory (MEO), a joint project between the University of Toronto and McGill University in Montreal looking into Canadian media, identified 20 YouTube channels as part of a co-ordinated network focused on separatism in western Canadian provinces, and other political issues.
The report noted they use near-identical scripts and dubbed them “slopaganda.”
Altogether, the accounts have garnered roughly 40 million views.
Alberta
After more than two decades, Alberta Water Council prepares to shut down, citing funding cuts, Joel Dryden, CBC News (April 20)
Alberta will now be on daylight saving time year-round, says Premier Smith, Rick Bell, Calgary Sun (April 20)
Kevin O’Leary pins water licence for $70-billion data centre project on a small Alberta municipality, Marc Fawcett-Atkinson, Canada’s National Observer (April 22)
Unprecedented, “coordinated hit” by Alberta government used snitch law to spy on Turning Point Society, Euan Thomson, Drug Data Decoded (April 23)
Legacy coal mines tied to toxic selenium levels in Alberta lake, as legal pressure mounts for cleanup, Kathy Le, CTV News (April 24)
Impact assessments not required for Olds, Mihta Askiy data centres. Expert says legislation needs to catch up, Rukhsar Ali, CBC News (April 26)
Canada
Cops keep showing up to arts events about Palestine. What can organizers do? Richie Assaly, The Grind (April 20)
Most doctors say they’ve had to intervene after patients accessed misinformation, survey finds, Kristy Kirkup, Globe and Mail (April 21)
Carney Liberals change rules to gain seats in Commons committees, Ryan Tumility and Raisa Patel, Toronto Star (April 22)
The BC Separatist and Small-Scale Farmer Who’s Enthusiastic About Hitler, Jen St. Denis, The Tyee (April 22)
Washington demanding ‘entry fee’ from Ottawa before trade talks: sources, Laurence Martin, Fannie Olivier and Daniel Thibeault, CBC News (April 22)
These American Weapons Used In Iran Are Partially Made In Canada, Emma Paling, The Maple (April 23)
Sikh Groups Were Frustrated by Politicians’ Responses to the Targeting of Canadian Sikhs. So They Threatened to Bar Them from Photo Ops. Rumneek Johal, PressProgress (April 24)
Avi Lewis is smart to shed light on surveillance pricing, Supriya Dwivedi, Canada’s National Observer (April 24)
Alexandre Boulerice moves to Québec solidaire, Patrick Bellerose and Marc-André Gagnon, Le Journal de Montréal (April 24)
Slew of new major natural resource projects will be under way by next year, Hodgson predicts, Niall McGee, Globe and Mail (April 24)
StubHub still listing resale tickets despite Ontario’s new price cap rules, Mariya Postelnyak, Globe and Mail (April 24)
U.S.
The Onion Has a New Plan to Take Over Infowars, Benjamin Mullin and Elizabeth Williamson, New York Times (April 20)
Progressive Group Founded By Bernie Sanders Endorses Billionaire Tom Steyer for California Governor, Akela Lacey, The Intercept (April 20)
F.B.I. Said to Have Investigated Times Reporter After Article on Patel’s Girlfriend, Michael S. Schmidt, New York Times (April 22)
DOJ arrests soldier who made $400,000 betting on Maduro’s removal, Katherine Faulders, Aaron Katersky, Peter Charalambous, and Alexander Mallin, ABC News (April 23)
Palantir Employees Are Starting to Wonder if They’re the Bad Guys, Makina Kelly, WIRED (April 23)
Trump’s Justice Department is bringing back firing squads for federal executions, Holmes Lybrand, CNN (April 25)
CIA Did MK-ULTRA Experiments on Prisoners of War in U.S. Custody, Declassified Docs Confirm, Garrett Kim, The Intercept (April 26)
World
Hungary must arrest Netanyahu if he visits, Magyar says, Ferdinand Knapp, Politico (April 20)
Global clean power growth points to permanent shift, analysts say, Rachel Millard, Financial Times (April 20)
Argentina’s economy records sharpest monthly contraction under Javier Milei, Ciara Nugent, Financial Times (April 22)
Russia to suspend Kazakh oil flows through key pipeline supplying Berlin, Anastasia Stognei and Anne-Sylvaine Chassany, Financial Times (April 22)
How one of the world’s smallest countries is feeling the fuel crisis, Financial Times (April 25)
Middle East
These Middle Eastern News Sites Are Actually U.S. Government Propaganda Operations, Sam Biddle, The Intercept (April 20)
What went wrong in Israel? A genocide scholar examines ‘what Zionism became’, Aaron Gell, The Guardian (April 21)
Trump’s ‘dirty ceasefire’ tested as Iran hits shipping, Andrew England, Financial Times (April 22)
Pentagon Erases Injured U.S. Troops from Iran War Casualty Risk: “Definition of a Cover-Up,” Nick Turse, The Intercept (April 22)
The military man trying to save US-Iran peace talks, Humza Jilani and Andrew England, Financial Times (April 22)
Settlers push for ‘Greater Israel’ more boldly on the borders, Mark MacKinnon, Globe and Mail (April 24)
Benjamin Netanyahu’s biggest rivals merge Israeli political parties, Neri Zilber, Financial Times (April 26)
Iran war hits pistachio supplies amid Dubai chocolate boom, Susannah Savage, Financial Times (April 26)
Tech
‘Why isn’t the energy used by people?’: China’s global AI push hits resistance, Michael Pooler, Financial Times (April 21)
Smartphones to be banned in schools in England, Jim Pickard, Financial Times (April 21)
The week that Meta employees became training data, Casey Newton, Platformer (April 23)
Palantir Is Helping Trump’s IRS Conduct “Massive-Scale” Data Mining, The Intercept (April 24)
Google to invest up to $40bn in Anthropic, Cristina Criddle and Ryan McMorrow, Financial Times (April 24)
Culture
Mission improbable, Barry Hertz, Globe and Mail (April 25)
The A/V Corner
Watch: The Breach and The Serfs teamed up to debunk a viral residential school denialist film that’s making its way across the online right-wing mediasphere.