COVID Conspiracies, Anti-Vaccination and “Tyranny”

In this issue of DisinfoWatch, we look at the shift in COVID disinformation narratives and the continued rise of anti-mask and anti-vaccination movements and their polarizing effects on western societies, and how some elected officials have legitimized and amplified them.

DisinfoWatch looks at the latest CSE Cyber Centre report and declassified CSIS documents which re-confirm that Russia, China and Iran are (still) using information warfare and influence operations to destabilize Western and Canadian society and democracy.

A recent massive hack of US government agencies via a software update in the SolarWind software supply chain is being attributed to Russia’s SVR Foreign Intelligence Agency’s APT29 hacker group. We examine the Kremlin’s reaction which is to deny and then label those who accuse it of “russophobia” and “Russia-bashing.”

We also look at a recent pro-Beijing online disinformation and political intimidation campaign targeting a pro-Hong Kong restaurant with online hate and vandalism for its support of Hong Kong’s independence.

Tyranny of the Mask: Shifting COVID Disinformation Narratives

Over the past weeks, DisinfoWatch has observed a shift in COVID related disinformation from origin conspiracies and hoaxes, to anti-mask and vaccine related narratives. COVID related health protocols are being presented as forms of tyranny – this ranges from the wearing of masks to the closing of a Texas BBQ restaurant in Toronto. Global Research, a conspiracy platform that was recently identified by the US State Department’s Global Engagement Center as a pillar in the Russian disinformation ecosystem, recently published a far-left article about “Vaccine Tyranny” which advocates against vaccines.

Such narratives seek to exploit the widespread confusion, uncertainty and fear that the pandemic has caused in western society. They are further amplified on social media platforms and are being widely shared by anti-mask and anti-vaccination movements in many Western States. Canada is no exception where fringe movements like Hugs Over Masks and The Line, promote weekly rallies against government health protocols.

Fringe Facebook groups claiming to represent a Western Canadian separatist movement, known as “WEXIT,” have been among the leading groups promoting COVID-related conspiracies and anti-mask content.  Marginal far-right Canadian officials have also lent legitimacy to the COVID conspiracy movement, by attending rallies and amplifying narratives.

Elected Officials Lend Legitimacy to COVID Anti-Vaxx and Conspiracy Movement

In a recent Globe and Mail column, Robyn Urback wrote that Conservative MP Derek Sloan, sponsored a petition initiated by the director of the anti-vaccine group Vaccine Choice Canada, which contains erroneous “claims that ‘COVID-19 vaccines are not designed to prevent infection or transmission’ and that ‘COVID-19 vaccination is effectively human experimentation’.”

Urback also wrote of the Conservative MP that:

“Anti-vaxxers have found their useful idiot in Conservative MP Derek Sloan. Mr. Sloan, who has previously suggested that mask ordinances are about government control and compliance – not about stopping the spread of an incredibly infectious virus – has sponsored a petition in the House of Commons that is rife with hysterical misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines.”

In October, DisinfoWatch noted that a former Progressive Conservative MPP, Randy Hillier suggested that the Canadian federal government is planning to convert COVID-19 quarantine sites into internment camps or prisons in order to detain Canadians in them.

Canadian Reservist Publicly Promotes Insubordination Based on Conspiracy Theories

In videos posted to social media in early December, a uniformed member of the Canadian Armed Forces, Leslie Kenderesi, gave a speech at an anti-mask/vaccination rally in downtown Toronto on December 5^th in which he urged his military colleagues to defy orders that require them to assist in the distribution of COVID vaccines across Canada.

In an email to DisinfoWatch, Canadian Forces confirmed that Leslie Kenderesi is an active member of the Cadet Instructors Cadre (CIC), which is part of the Cadet Organizations Administration and Training Service (COATS), which a sub-component of Canada’s Reserve Force.

In the video of his speech, the Reservist states calls the COVID vaccine a “killer vaccine” and tells his colleagues, “Do not take this unlawful order in distribution of this vaccine”.

While the Canadian forces clarified that “the individual’s comments are not reflective of views of the Government of Canada or Canadian Armed Forces policy,” such statements urging members of Canada’s Armed Forces to disobey orders serve to dangerously undermine Canadian trust in the military, its leadership and elected officials. Furthermore, they legitimize false narratives and conspiracy theories that put the health and lives of Canadians at risk.

A search of Leslie Kenderesi’s social media posts brings up an Instagram account that features nationalist Hungarian images, including one that includes Hungarian soldiers in Nazi German style helmets and the same individual dressed in what appears to be a Hungarian army uniform.

CSIS, Canadian Centre for Cyber Security and EU External Action Service Re-Confirm That Russia, China and Iran are Spreading Disinformation

Recently declassified CSIS briefing documents confirm what DisinfoWatch has been warning about for some time. According to a previously classified document obtained by Global News, Russia is “actively spreading disinformation blaming the West for the virus.” The Kremlin has taken advantage of the COVID pandemic in order to advance its broader effort to destabilize western democracies and societies.

The EASS report highlights the threat posed by pro-Kremlin outlets which “continue to amplify voices that downplay the threat of the virus and aim to undermine governments’ strategies of curbing the second wave of infections.”

China has been actively engaging in information warfare in order to deflect blame for the pandemic, which it covered up in early 2020, when it arrested whistleblowers and disappeared doctors who were publicly critical of Beijing’s failure to address the initial outbreak in Wuhan. Former Canadian Justice Minister, Irwin Cotler said in April that China, instead of “heeding the warnings coming from their own medical leaders and scholars, they ended up suppressing the information, imprisoning the dissidents and then engaging in a disinformation campaign that went so far as to say the US military … caused the virus.”

In March, 2020, a Chinese Foreign Ministry official, Lijian Zhao tweeted a conspiracy theory promoted by pro-Kremlin media and Canadian conspiracy theory platform, Global Research, in which they claimed COVID-19 was produced in a US bioweapon lab.

CSIS warned that China “is focused on a propaganda campaign that protects its own reputation and domestic legitimacy while touting its pandemic aid abroad.”

The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security at CSE also warned in a new report that malign foreign regimes will use “online influence to further their core interests, which typically consist of national security, economic prosperity, and ideological goals.”

Meanwhile, the EU’s External Action Service issued an assessment report of COVID related disinformation between May-November 2020 and warned of the shift from COVID related online mis/disinformation to vaccine related disinformation. The EASS report highlights the threat posed by pro-Kremlin outlets which “continue to amplify voices that downplay the threat of the virus and aim to undermine governments’ strategies of curbing the second wave of infections.”

Deny, Deny, Deny: The Kremlin Responds to CozyBear APT29 SolarWind Hack

On December 8, cyber security firm FireEye, reported a significant and broad cyber security attack “by a nation with top-tier offensive capabilities”. According to the initial FireEye report, “the attacker primarily sought information related to certain government customers.”

The Washington Post reported on December 24^th, that a Russian government hacker group known as APT29 or “CozyBear” which are part of the Kremlin’s SVR foreign intelligence service, had “breached email systems”.

The scale of the Russian APT29 attack is broad and, in the U.S. alone, includes “all five branches of the U.S. military, the Pentagon, State Department, Justice Department, NASA, the Executive Office of the President and the National Security Agency, the world’s top electronic spy agency”.

While it’s unclear which Canadian systems were affected by the Russian hack, Canada’s CSE Cyber Centre is investigating. According to a search of historic Canadian government procurement documents, Canada’s Department of National Defence has had multiple contracts with SolarWinds, indicating that National Defence systems may have been affected.

The Russian government has reacted with vehement denials, as it usually does when its malign activities are exposed. An RT piece accuses the Washington Post, which reported on the hack, of engaging in “fake news” and claiming that the well documented Russian APT 29 and APT28 hacks of DNC email servers was “unproven.” However, multiple organizations including FireEye, Crowdstrike and other cybersecurity firms have confirmed, after conducting forensic research into the hack, that it was most likely Russian government hackers who were behind the DNC breach.

The Kremlin’s tactic of issuing aggressive denials is usually supported by pro-Kremlin activists and proxies who seek to legitimize and amplify them, sowing further doubts about genuine facts. Denials are generally followed by counter-accusations of “Russia bashing” or “Russophobia”, which in the U.S. is often labeled “‘Russiagate’ activism” by Kremlin propagandists.

Toronto Area pro-Hong Kong Restaurant Caught in Political Intimidation Campaign

A restaurant north of Toronto, “Pepper Wok” has been the subject of an online smear campaign and vulgar graffiti for its support of the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement and for posting a sign, asking patrons to wear masks and identifying COVID-19 with Wuhan, China, the city that the virus is widely believed to have originated in.

According to a report in The National Post, online comments suggested “reporting the owners to Chinese authorities to make it difficult for them to visit their native Hong Kong.” The post on a York Region Chinese language online bulletin board stated that: “It should be very easy to obtain owner’s information and send them to the Chinese consulate. And the owner would be in trouble when going back to HK.”

Harassment and intimidation of activists who are critical of the Chinese government is a growing problem. In February 2019, a Tibetan-Canadian student at University of Toronto faced threats of violence including rape and death by supporters of the Chinese government after she was elected student union president at the University of Toronto Scarborough campus. One such threat included a threat to shoot her and “the bullet that will go through you was made in China.”

The National Post describes posters inside the restaurant that “declare “Free Hong Kong” and “Save the 12 Hong Kong Youths,” a reference to protesters who were arrested by Chinese authorities while trying to escape by boat to Taiwan.”

Efforts to intimidate the owners of the restaurant with online disinformation and harassment are quite clearly politically motivated. Such tactics are intended to silence criticism of the Chinese Communist Party and the regime in Beijing.

According to activists, vandalism against the restaurant was encouraged in an online post: “PM me for $100 if anyone goes to break the storefront of this pro-HK independence restaurant. I believe many others here are willing to provide rewards.”

Starting on December 7, an online smear campaign began as Pepper Wok’s Google review page was bombarded by negative reviews. These reviews alleged the food is bad, the restaurant was unhygienic, and the service is terrible. The reviews also claimed the restaurant was discriminatory towards Mandarin speaking customers.

According to the restaurant’s owner, Wyman Chan, in a press conference, reviews also claimed the poster the restaurant posted on their front door is racist against mainland Chinese as it says “Please Wear a Face Mask. Prevent from unidentified virus pneumonia in Wuhan.” Prior to the vandalism, Chan already felt threatened after finding this letter posted on the restaurant’s front door which alleged the restaurant may have violated the human rights code.

In an interview to CBC, Stewart Xu, a Toronto resident from mainland China, says he posted the letter. On a popular Chinese forum, Xu uploaded this post a week ago verifying his claim. Xu says he condemns the vandalism and doesn’t know who did it, but he wants the owner to respond on the allegations of discriminatory practices at the restaurant against Mandarin speakers.

On the same forum, various threats have been made against the owner. Some have suggested that it would be easy to find the owner’s information and send it to the Chinese consulate. One post claims the owner could run into trouble if they were to return to Hong Kong.

Another post also suggested getting the Chinese consulate involved to apply political pressure as the user did not believe a boycott would work due to the established Hong Kong community: “After the riots in Hongkong, most Hongkongers in Canada are against China. Most of us believe we can boycott this restaurant and make it shutdown. In fact, it will make Hongkongers unite instead. Hongkongers have been established here for a while, their economical and political influence are much bigger than what we imagine. The outcome will be disastrous for us. The best solution is to report this to the Chinese Consulate, and have them to apply political pressure”

Other posts on this forum has called upon others to cause financial damage to the restaurant by ordering take out, but not picking up the food, or filing a tax fraud report to the CRA in order to shutdown Pepper Wok.

York Region Police say they have launched an investigation into possible hate crimes, and a local councillor called the vandalism “hate-based conduct,” according to The National Post.