Canadian troll farm manufactures consent for Haiti invasion
As Canada deployed military aircraft over Haiti, a private military contractor operated a troll farm to give the appearance of popular support for foreign military intervention.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on Uncaptured Media.
Written by: Dan Cohen
On Monday, February 6, I reported for Redacted on how multiple mainstream media outlets, after months of uninterest in Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Cherizier, the leader of Haiti’s G9 federation, suddenly bombarded him with interviews requests. He declined to be interviewed by the AP, which has run propagandistic hit pieces on him before, yet they showed up at the entrance to his neighborhood, demanding he grant them an interview. He agreed, and the result was another hit piece, smearing him as a “gang leader.”
Al Jazeera and Sky News also published articles branding him as such.
Days later, the Canadian government, which is acting on behalf of the Biden administration, deployed military aircraft over Haiti. While the U.S. and Canada have sought to remain quiet about their plans for military intervention in Haiti, Ottawa publicly announced it, suggesting that it wanted public attention. The Canadian government press release specified that its mission was to “disrupt the activities of gangs” – using the exact same language those media outlets had used to describe Cherizier.
This suggested a level of coordination between the Canadian government and media outlets, which would hardly be surprising given the warm relationship between western intelligence agencies and the media.
I reported on this for Redacted, where I am a correspondent.
As soon as that report was published, I began to notice Twitter accounts that had all the hallmarks of a troll operation were attempting to discredit my work.
I broke this story on Redacted. What follows is a written and detailed exposé of the troll operation.
The account that commented on my Redacted report, @JohnsonJrSaint, was created in January 2023, as Biden officials and Canadian Prime Minister Justin discussed military intervention amid a summit in Mexico, and Haitian government of unelected prime minister Ariel Henry signed an MOU with Canada to “strengthen the capabilities of the Haitian Police and facilitate cooperation.” Trudeau commented that "We're all very aware that things could get worse in Haiti and that's why Canada and partners, including the United States, are preparing various scenarios if it does start to get worse.”
I easily located the source of the profile photo on Unsplash.com, where it is listed under “Black people”.
The same troll account thanked Sébastien Carrière, Canada’s ambassador to Haiti, and Bob Rae, Canada’s representative at the UN.
Another troll similarly thanked Carrière.
This troll accused me of “spreading fake nasty rumours and conspiracies about Canada’s effort to help Haiti.”
Like all of the others, it was created in January 2023 and took its profile photo from Unsplash.com.
On February 8, the troll account thanked the Canadian military and said the intelligence it had gathered would help the Haitian National Police “end criminal violence”.
The account also hoped that an international invasion of Haiti would happen soon.
Another troll tweeted “False accusations about the Canadian efforts to aid Haiti. How low of you Mister @dancohen3000. Another white man paid to spread misinformation and conspiracies.”
That comment was retweeted by 7 other troll accounts.
A Google image source search reveals the origin on Unsplash.com listed under “Black man Pictures.”
Similarly, the troll account @StanleyREtienne wrote that I was promoting a “conspiracy theory”.
Another account tweeted the Youtube link to my Redacted report, claiming to be in Haiti and saying that “The consensus in the streets of Port-au-Prince is that of contentment with the Canadian military aircraft providing oversight and surveillance.”
The account took its profile picture from here.
Its first tweet is praising the signing of the Canadian government/Haitian National Police MOU.
The original tweet was promoted by several other trolls.
The trolls have also taken aim at popular accounts that oppose foreign intervention. One account told @JeanJacquesDes7 its “story sounds really ridiculous.”
The left-wing media outlet Jacobin was also denounced by a troll account.
While most of the accounts have carefully hidden their ties, three accounts give away the game.
The troll account @EstherIGermain was created on January 17th, just before the MOU was signed. Its only follower is David Khazanski, the CEO of a firm called INKAS.
The troll accounts @MackensonSamue3 (original photo here) and @JeffAGeorges and are followed only by Khazanski.
INKAS is a private security firm based in Toronto. It works with NATO, the U.S. Department of Defense, and Canada’s Department of National Defence.
When those vehicles were delivered, INKAS posted photos on Facebook with Haitian National Police Director General Frantz Elbe.
After the assault on the Varreux fuel terminal, INKAS posted on its Facebook page, “INKAS is doing important work in Haiti!”
On January 24, 2023, after the MOU was signed, INKAS boasted on Facebook that its “fleet of vehicles in use by Haiti’s National Police have sustained countless (in the 1000’s) rounds from high-power ammunition.”
The INKAS troll operation is a third element in the Canadian government’s attempt to manufacture consent for what former U.S. special envoy Dan Foote told me is an “imminent” invasion of Haiti.
With Canada acting as the Biden administration’s frontman, it is employing fifth-generation warfare and using waging psychological operations to disrupt and influence public conversation in favor of military intervention.
Fortunately, I’ve been able to expose this agenda at Redacted and here at Uncaptured Media.
Editor’s note: The Canada Files is the country's only news outlet focused on Canadian foreign policy. We've provided critical investigations & hard-hitting analysis on Canadian foreign policy since 2019, and need your support.
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Dan Cohen is a journalist and filmmaker. He is a correspondent for Redacted and founder of Uncaptured Media. His most recent film is Another Vision: Inside Haiti’s Uprising.
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