Facebook is paying people overseas promoting Alberta separatism
CBC found 14 overseas accounts in Alberta separatist groups that stole local posts and earned about $14 US a month from Meta, investigators said.
- A CBC investigation identified 14 overseas Facebook accounts in Alberta independence groups, including some from Indonesia and Pakistan, that pose as locals to post divisive content and profit through Meta's monetization program.
- Foreign operators steal content from real Albertans to manufacture engagement, with screenshots showing some accounts earned roughly $14 in a month from Meta's monetization program.
- One account, Nieta Aqila, claimed to be canvassing in Calgary while actually residing in Palembang, Indonesia; she copied a post from Edmonton resident Brock Ireland, who said he felt "absolutely violated."
- The scheme benefits two parties: the foreign operators monetizing divisive posts and Meta, which earns ad revenue from platform traffic generated by this attention-driven content.
- Social media consultant Matt Navarra suggested platforms like Meta profit from such content, raising questions about the company's enforcement of its own authenticity and monetization rules.
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Alberta Fact Check: CBC claims Facebook is paying people overseas to promote Alberta sovereignty
Subhead:The focal point of a CBC investigation turned out to be a noodle vendor from Indonesia, who, while piggybacking on discussions about Alberta's independence movement, earned $14 USD in a month from Meta.# The CBC headline is pretty leading. It says, “Facebook is paying people overseas promoting Alberta separatism.” Technically, the claim in the extended article from Canada’s state broadcaster is true. In reality, though, the payments ar…
Alberta Separatism and Monetized ‘Content’ on Social Media – Pixel Envy
Eric Szeto, Jordan Pearson, and Christian Paas-Lang, CBC News: You might think, based on the volume of her Facebook posts, that Nieta Aqila is an Albertan who supports separation. “I signed the Alberta independence petition” because “Canada is not a great country anymore,” an account in her name wrote in a popular Facebook group called Alberta Independence that promotes the movement and has more than 100,000 members. […] But the account owner, …
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Bias Distribution
- 67% of the sources lean Left
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