Country facing a test of strength Putin, Trump and Maga stars weigh in on historic vote in neighboring country

It's an election in Alberta that could have consequences for the whole of Canada: On October 19, the province will vote on its independence. Experts warn that actors from Russia, but also from the USA, as well as third parties, are trying to influence the election.

When the protests against the regime in Iran got out of hand, Tehran cracked down. While demonstrators are shot dead in the streets, the country imposes an internet blackout on January 8.

The consequences are felt in the UK. "Social media accounts for Scottish independence go silent after Iran's internet blackout", headlines the Telegraph.

Users who sell themselves as "Scottish lads" and campaign for the region's independence are suddenly no longer posting anything at all. It is hardly surprising that Iran is supporting separatists in the UK in order to weaken London as a whole.

There is also an independence movement in Canada - particularly in the province of Alberta. According to a new report, foreign actors are also involved here. Russia is said to have a finger in the pie. The USA is also said to be involved.

But what is it actually about?

Following a successful referendum, Alberta's population will vote on independence from the federal state of Canada on October 19. A report by various IT NGOs now warns that foreign forces are trying to manipulate the vote. The title: "Decision-making & national unity under attack".

"Separatism in Alberta has become one of the greatest challenges to Canadian national unity in recent decades," the authors state. The movement is rooted internally. However, the "threat" comes from foreign actors who propagate that secession is "inevitable, desirable or internationally supported".

Russians working secretly in English

One of these actors is Russia, which is covertly supporting separatism, the report continues. Specifically, the propaganda group Sturm-1516 is involved, which spreads disinformation online. State-controlled media such as "Sputnik" and the "Pravda News Agency" are also spreading content that picks up on the Alberta separatist narrative.

Russia specifically operated websites such as "albertaseparatist.com", which is now offline. The creators had also distributed their content on TikTok and YouTube. In addition to independence, anti-LGBTQ content and conspiracy theories were core themes of the portal.

At the same time, the authors also accuse the USA of exerting influence: "Involvement is evident, escalating and in some areas converging with Russia," according to the report. Canadian separatists have reported that they have met at least three times with high-ranking US representatives.

Carlson denies Canada's sovereignty

"These meetings and statements do not appear to be isolated incidents," the report states. "If true, [...] this would be highly unusual." In addition, "populist influencers from the maga-sphere with large followings" - such as Steve Bannon or Tucker Carlson - would intervene.

"Canada is not a sovereign country. It never has been," Carlson claimed on his show on April 3. It used to be part of the British Commonwealth, but today it is "a colony of India and China. It was never sovereign, and there's no reason why it should be."

Canada is "completely falling apart" as a nation: "It's a domestic political mess," says the former Fox News presenter. "A country that oppresses its own people." It would only be right to strive for a regime change in the USA's neighboring country, Carlson sounds.

Russian money for American influencers

Republican chief strategist Steve Bannon is mentioned because of a clip from January 17 in which he spreads the word that Canadians are "hostile to the United States of America": "[Bannon] portrays separatism in Alberta as part of a broader struggle against liberal democratic institutions."

The influence of such influencers should not be underestimated, the report warns. But it gets worse: "The most troubling dimension of US involvement is where the influencer ecosystem and Russian funding intersect," the study warns.

It points to the example of Tim Pool and Benny Johnson: the US influencers received around ten million dollars from Moscow from the company Tenet Media to spread Russian propaganda.

Canadians Lauren Chen and Liam Donovan played leading roles in setting up the company, which was dissolved in 2024 following the indictment of two Russians by the Department of Justice. Pool and Johnson are still on the air - they claim to have known nothing about the Russian money at the time. Today, they continue to campaign for the separatists.

"Looks like we're taking Canada, guys"

"Massive amounts of people want to secede the 51st state from Canada. 51st state," Benny Johnson explained to his six million followers on January 18. "We would welcome it." Tim Pool adds on January 30: "Trump people have met with Canada's separatists [...] It looks like we're taking Canada, guys."

This is the latest video from Benny Johnson on Canada, who sees Alberta as already siding with the US over the October vote:

The report warns that these influencers could sow doubt about the democratic process - "including claims aimed at discrediting the electoral authorities, delegitimizing the process or casting doubt on the outcome."

The investigation also identified a third group: users who use AI to create fake videos that get a lot of clicks. Although they are not controlled by the state, but primarily for profit, they are still potentially "polluting the information environment".