Canadian researchers develop AI tool to fight online disinformation

Brian McQuinn, associate professor at the University of Regina and co-lead of CIPHER, stands for a photograph in Regina, on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu

REGINA — Researchers say artificial intelligence has helped them ramp up the fight against online disinformation meant to divide Canadians and distort perceptions of reality.

The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research says incorporating AI technology into its debunking tool CIPHER has allowed it to better keep up with a constant flow of false and misleading claims.

Brian McQuinn, an associate professor at the University of Regina who is one the project’s leads, said the technology currently only analyzes Russian campaigns but is expected to start decoding those that use Chinese languages.

It could also look at information coming from the United States, he added of the tool, which works by scanning foreign media sites for dubious claims that are then assessed by a human fact-checker.

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

McQuinn cited a recent example where the system found a Russian media outlet had reported Alberta is moving towards independence, which is factually incorrect. Separatists in the province have held events and reportedly spoke with U.S. officials, but no process is currently underway for Alberta to separate.

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

CIPHER launched three years ago after McQuinn and his colleagues released a report that found pro-Kremlin social media accounts targeted far-right and far-left groups in Canada with false notions about the war in Ukraine. That included baseless claims that Russia invaded to root out a neo-Nazi regime and that Ukraine had sought nuclear weapons.

McQuinn said the overarching goal of disinformation campaigns is to tear societies apart and incite violence.

It becomes effective when regular people share it with their friends or family.

“(Campaigns) will use events in the news and tailor stories to advance it in different ways,” McQuinn said.

“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.”

He said the United States is increasingly becoming a main source of disinformation in Canada.

“You have to always remember that most of Canada’s dialogue when it comes to social media is on U.S. platforms,” McQuinn said.

“We have seen that Canadian news and certain types of Canadian content are being downgraded and throttled within these algorithms.”

Artificial intelligence has been the source of much disinformation on people’s social media feeds, he added, but he said CIPHER needed the technology to make debunking easier.

“We are in an AI arms race around disinformation,” he said.

McQuinn said the goal is to get CIPHER into the hands of government agencies or non-profits.

It’s currently being used by the debunking organization DisinfoWatch, which works to expose falsehoods to Canadians.

DisinfoWatch founder Marcus Kolga called for stronger legislation and regulations on digital media platforms to prevent social media accounts from spreading lies.

“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,” he said.

McQuinn said he’s spoken with government agencies about using CIPHER but declined to provide details. The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research has received funding from the federal and Alberta governments.

He said Canadians should take a beat before sharing what they see on social media.

“If I’m going to forward something, what am I forwarding?” he said.

“The research has shown if you just take like an extra 10 seconds, the amount of disinformation that gets transferred is significantly less.”

Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press