Canadian Researchers Develop AI Tool to Fight Online Disinformation

Canadian researchers have developed an artificial intelligence system that significantly enhances their ability to combat online disinformation campaigns designed to divide Canadians and distort reality.

The tool, known as CIPHER, was developed by the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and has recently been upgraded with AI capabilities that allow it to better keep pace with the constant flow of false and misleading claims circulating online.

Brian McQuinn, an associate professor at the University of Regina and one of the project’s lead researchers, explained that while CIPHER currently focuses on analyzing Russian disinformation campaigns, it will soon expand to include content in Chinese languages and potentially monitor information coming from the United States.

“Russia was the main threat targeting Canada most generally,” McQuinn said in a recent interview. “We are now beginning to shift.”

The system works by scanning foreign media sites for questionable claims, which are then evaluated by human fact-checkers. McQuinn cited a recent example where CIPHER identified a Russian media outlet falsely reporting that Alberta is moving toward independence. While separatist movements exist in the province and have reportedly engaged with U.S. officials, no formal separation process is underway.

“Effective disinformation often has kernels of truth in it,” McQuinn noted.

CIPHER was launched three years ago following research that revealed pro-Kremlin social media accounts were targeting both far-right and far-left groups in Canada with false narratives about the war in Ukraine. These included unfounded claims that Russia invaded to eliminate a neo-Nazi regime and that Ukraine was seeking nuclear weapons.

According to McQuinn, the overarching goal of disinformation campaigns is to fracture societies and potentially incite violence. These campaigns become particularly effective when ordinary citizens share the content with their personal networks.

“(Campaigns) will use events in the news and tailor stories to advance it in different ways,” McQuinn explained. “It is essential for China and for Russia, especially, to show that it looks like the Western project is decaying, is falling apart economically, politically, socially.”

McQuinn highlighted that the United States is increasingly becoming a primary source of disinformation affecting Canadian audiences. “You have to always remember that most of Canada’s dialogue when it comes to social media is on U.S. platforms,” he said, adding that “Canadian news and certain types of Canadian content are being downgraded and throttled within these algorithms.”

While artificial intelligence has contributed to the creation and spread of disinformation on social media, McQuinn emphasized that CIPHER needed to incorporate AI technology to make the debunking process more efficient. “We are in an AI arms race around disinformation,” he observed.

The researchers aim to eventually place CIPHER in the hands of government agencies or non-profit organizations. Currently, the tool is being utilized by DisinfoWatch, an organization dedicated to exposing falsehoods to Canadians.

Marcus Kolga, founder of DisinfoWatch, has called for stronger legislation and regulations on digital platforms to prevent social media accounts from spreading misinformation. “Us doing it alone is not sufficient enough. It requires technology and for us to harness existing technologies in order to sort of make up that gap that we have,” Kolga said.

McQuinn revealed he has discussed CIPHER with government agencies but declined to provide specific details. The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research has received funding from both federal and Alberta governments to support this work.

For everyday Canadians navigating social media, McQuinn offered simple advice: pause before sharing content. “If I’m going to forward something, what am I forwarding?” he suggested. “The research has shown if you just take like an extra 10 seconds, the amount of disinformation that gets transferred is significantly less.”

The development of tools like CIPHER represents a critical response to the growing sophistication of disinformation campaigns that threaten to undermine public discourse and democratic processes in Canada and around the world.