An investigation into the most popular Facebook groups dedicated to Alberta separatism has found that many of the loudest voices behind the movement are not Canadians at all, but a web of accounts operating from abroad that are quietly cashing in on the cause. The findings suggest that much of the online energy around Alberta independence is being manufactured far from the province.
Following a trail of digital clues, investigators identified more than a dozen accounts based in Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Some of them steal content from real Canadians, rack up tens of thousands of reactions and comments, and a number of them even post about being paid by Meta, the parent company of Facebook.
One striking example is an account using the name Niera Aquila, a frequent poster in the group called Alberta Independence, the most popular of its kind with more than one hundred thousand members. The account claimed she had been in Canada and was branded a traitor, even having rocks thrown at her, for supporting Alberta independence.
In reality, the person behind the account lives in the city of Palembang, in Indonesia, where she mostly posts about her daily life and the food she eats, and sells homemade noodles. The dramatic harassment story was not her own: a reverse image search traced the post back to Brock Ireland, a real Albertan from Edmonton.
Told that his posts had been copied and reused elsewhere without his knowledge, Ireland said he had no idea it was happening and that he felt absolutely violated. He described it as the work of scammers who exploit other people's content for their own gain.
According to the investigation, the driving force is usually money rather than ideology. As one expert explained, these operators have recognized that there is a genuine movement of people who are passionate about the cause, and while many assume such manipulation must be a coordinated political operation, it is far more often financially motivated simply because it is so easy to do.
The investigation also uncovered what appears to be a coordinated network: three accounts that together drew tens of thousands of reactions, all of them administrators of a small Alberta separatist group, with their pages pointing to links in Pakistan and the United States. Another account, using the name Riri Sire and which Facebook says is run from Pakistan, even posted against foreign interference. Investigators concluded there are two main beneficiaries of the scheme, the operators who monetize the attention and the platform itself, which profits from the advertising revenue generated by all that engagement.