Convoy’s fundraising strategies show we need to protect our digital borders

Opinion

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This article was published 11/02/2022 (1049 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I’m not sure I ever expected a national wake-up call to come in the form of blaring horns from an 18-wheeler. But such is the situation that Canada faces currently.

The so-called “Freedom Convoy” has given this occasionally sleepy nation a rude awakening. Partly, we are coming to terms with the fact that we too are not immune to a small, hard-right minority whose definition of freedom appears to also include a freedom from responsibility. And hopefully we are also alerted to a stunning failure of state capacity: the fact that the Ottawa police and federal government are so ill-prepared that they could allow the nation’s capital to be paralyzed by an arguably illegitimate protest.

That a small group of misguided and misled Canadians might cause so much trouble will no doubt be cause for much reflection in the coming months and years. But one aspect that seems particularly troubling is that a significant portion of both the online organizing and funding appeared to come from the U.S.

It bears thinking upon — specifically, that part of Canada’s national security policy going forward has to include securing our digital borders from foreign interference.

We should be clear: the convoy itself is a Canadian phenomenon. As reported by the Globe and Mail, leaders of the convoy — Tamara Lich, Chris Barber, Benjamin Dichter — all have had connections to Canadian far-right causes and some, like Barber, have a history of sharing racist material.

That kind of prejudice, often swept under the rug, is an unfortunately persistent presence in this country.

But it’s also part of why the convoy was able to raise so much money, with its initial GoFundMe crowdsourcing more than $10 million. The company ultimately refunded that money after stating it had reason to believe the protest had become an occupation.

Of course, the convoy then continued to raise money via a different platform called GiveSendGo, which describes itself as a Christian fundraising site.

But as CTV News reports after conducting its own analysis, donations from south of the border may in fact outnumber those in Canada. This might be a Canadian protest, but it is being partially funded by Americans.

It makes a certain kind of sense. As much as the convoy is composed of Canadians, the anti-government nature of it, including the small hard-right, white nationalist components, have an American flavour to them.

The ability of foreign actors to fund quasi-seditionist movements seems like a profound problem. While platforms like GoFundMe are very often used for noble causes like helping those in need, or at the very least, stitching holes is our social safety net, the capacity to amass large amounts of money through anonymous donations is troubling.

For one, foreign influence can often have a dissonant effect on sovereign states. Canada’s far right, for example, may be given both literal and figurative support it would not enjoy without input outside our borders.

As former Green Party leader Elizabeth May put it when arguing for new laws around fundraising, “you can be not a political organization, not registered with Elections Canada but find the right kind of dog whistle and put up a GoFundMe campaign.”

It would seem that the oversight of how charitable or non-government organizations are funded needs updating for the digital age.

Like all potential regulation, it would need to balance freedoms and democratic norms with restrictions that protect those ideals.

But the awful character of the “Freedom Convoy,” not to mention the deeply unsavoury anti-social minority among its ranks, suggests that beyond Canada’s other failures, there is a need to protect digital borders from the effect of foreign money — particularly because they can import or bolster ideas that are fundamentally unCanadian.

It is an issue, however, that extends beyond the question of money. American news site Grid reported that a significant portion of popular support for the convoy on Facebook came not only from America, but through the hacked account of a Missouri woman.

Put another way: Canada’s political climate may be subject to interference not just from foreign fundraising, but social media activity.

As such, part of this country’s national security operations must now consider the state of online discourse and crowdsourcing in protecting Canadian sovereignty.

Yet, beyond that necessary legal or governmental intervention, Canadians themselves also need to be aware that they too may be being affected. Simple narratives, politicized hyperbole, and easy demonization are all mechanisms through which people are manipulated into a distorted view of this country and the world. The so-called “freedom convoy” is the wake up call that our national consciousness is easily hijacked — now it is up to us to heed the warning.

Navneet Alang is a Toronto-based freelance contributing technology columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @navalang