Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois-Philippe Champagne after a NATO meeting on Thursday criticized COVID-19 disinformation campaigns spread by state actors, of which Russia has been accused.
“Disinformation was a big topic amongst NATO allies” at the meeting held by videoconference, Champagne said. “We stand united against a common enemy which is invisible and knows no borders, and we need to also stand ready to respond to the disinformation campaigns that we’re seeing around the world.”
Champagne, although asked about it, did not specifically mention Russia in his remarks, but a researcher earlier identified Russia as the main source of disinformation about COVID-19 aimed at undermining faith in Western governments.
Photo: Reuters
“Unwittingly, Canadian audiences will be exposed to fake news coming from Russia, potentially China and other players,” University of Calgary public policy researcher Sergey Sukhankin told Canadian broadcaster CTV.
“We are concerned about what we’re hearing,” Champagne said. “Certainly, this is not the time for a state actor or non-state actor to spread disinformation, at a time when basically humanity is facing one common challenge, which is the virus.”
“We need to stand together as liberal democracies to make sure that we inform our citizens and equip them to make fact-based decisions, science-based decisions, and that we call out those who would be engaging in disinformation as a tool to exert influence at a time of crisis,” he said.
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