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McGill researchers find 293 accounts using stolen faces in trade-war deepfakes aimed at Canadians

See how this story connects

Source: Centre for Media, Technology and DemocracyAlso reported by The Globe and Mail

McGill University’s Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy found at least 293 TikTok and Instagram accounts (257 on TikTok, 36 on Instagram) that posted 3,201 videos between 7 August and 4 November 2026, with 22.1 million plays. The videos take real creators’ faces and give them AI voices and AI-redrawn lips to read scripts about the US-Canada trade war and other divisive topics; 84% are about Canada. Its most-played story, a fabricated “48-hour ultimatum” from Trump, was played 5.1 million times across 161 videos.

Why it matters

None of the videos disclosed AI use, and TikTok’s AI label flagged only 4% of the videos built on real creators’ footage, so viewers in Canada and the US saw them unlabelled.

When
12 Nov 2026
ID
WTA-N-2026-0885
Who
Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy, McGill University, TikTok, Instagram

Summary written with AI by wheresthe.ai, from Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy and the reporting credited above. Checked against the source on 13 Nov 2026.

Read the original at Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy

Source copy: saved on 13 Nov 2026 to check this story and not republished, because the text belongs to its publisher. Also held by the Internet Archive.

Cite this story

WTA-N-2026-0885: “McGill researchers find 293 accounts using stolen faces in trade-war deepfakes aimed at Canadians.” wheresthe.ai, 12 Nov 2026. https://wheresthe.ai/d/ca-mcgill-researchers-find-293-accounts-using-stolen-faces-i-2026-11/ (source: Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy).

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