In March 2023, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre sat down for a one-on-one interview with independent broadcaster CHCH News for a wide-ranging interview that touched on several topics, including housing, immigration and his party's relationship with First Nation communities. Recent social media ads claim Poilievre did not know that his "microphone was on" and that he is facing the "end of his career," with the posts linking to an apparent news article that includes a supposed transcription of the March 2023 interview. This is false. There is nothing to suggest there were any technical concerns with the interview nor has it ended Poilievre's career, and the article is fake.
Some media posted as advertisements earlier this year on X, formerly Twitter, show what appears to be a screenshot of Poilievre speaking at a microphone. In the upper left corner has a CBC logo, giving the impression it is a screenshot of a CBC News article.
Captions on the manipulated post say, "He didn't know the microphone was on. This is the end of his career!" The users included their own words in the post saying, "Wow! It's a great opportunity."
The posts link to a fake news about Poilievre advertising a cryptocurrency trading platform called Quantum CA.
Rating: False
The posts link to a page designed to look like CBC News' website. It includes CBC branding, the name of a CBC reporter and photos of Poilievre, but the URL does not match CBC News' official website.
The fabricated story includes a false transcription of an actual interview that occurred between Poilievre and a video journalist who does not work for CBC.
On March 4, 2023, CHCH News posted a nearly 20-minute-long interview between Poilievre and journalist Adam Atkinson, who has been with the broadcaster since 2002, to the news organization's .
services Hamilton and the surrounding Halton and Niagara regions. It is owned by Channel Zero, an independent 好色tv media company, not CBC.
The article and transcription claim that Poilievre had a heated exchange on live television with Atkinson regarding Quantum CA.
This if false. The actual conversation between the Opposition leader and Atkinson was about policy issues and never included any talks of the cryptocurrency platform.
Links to suspicious site
The article claims that Poilievre said an average person can generate significant income on a daily basis with minimal effort and that he has been using the Quantum CA platform for three years.
Several links are included throughout that article that leads to what appears to be Quantum CA's website, which has a similar URL to the article.
The website says 好色tv registration for the site is now open and that individuals can earn from $1,400 to $3,200 per day. It alleges it has endorsements from 好色tv Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds and contractor and TV personality Mike Holmes.
It says Quantum CA uses artificial intelligence and state-of-the-art algorithms to identify profitable trades.
The site claims the company is working with all major crypto currency exchanges, including Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, Poloniex and Bittrex.
Individuals are prompted to provide their name, email and phone number.
The article that linked to the site said users are required to make a minimum deposit of $375. Once that is done, it says, a platform manager will call the number provided to confirm the registration. The program will begin the transactions shortly after, the article claims.
Similar claims
A similar making the same claims links to a separate article on what appears to be Radio-Canada's website. However, like the other article, the URL does not match Radio-Canada's.
, dated Jan. 17, 2025, claims a major scandal erupted during a live broadcast of the broadcaster's program "Tout le monde en parle" hosted by Guy A. Lepage.
It says Lepage accused Poilievre of lying to thousands of live television viewers and management cut the interview short. In it, it says, Poilievre demanded Lepage give him $300 and that he could make the TV host $1 million in three to four months.
The article links to a financial trading site called QuantumAI. The site says its trading app provides users with data-driven market analysis to trade global financial assets effectively.
There is no Poilievre recently appeared on the television show. Radio-Canada did not respond to immediate requests for comment.
Similar ads featuring prominent figures and politicians appearing to promote investment or get-rich-quick schemes have flooded social media and news sites in recent years. The ads usually take users to makeshift websites, mimicking news site logos and colours to instil legitimacy.
The logo found on the website is similar to one that was used for a site called , the platform advertised in early 2024 in fake news posts featuring TV chef Mary Berg. The investor endorsements are almost identical, as well.
Warnings
The says that cryptocurrency scams are part of a larger group on ongoing investment scams in the country. It warns individuals to be suspicious of unsolicited investment opportunities, fake cryptocurrency websites and requests for cryptocurrency payments.
The centre also advises 好色tvs to check the legitimacy of investments with local securities regulators.
Quantum CA and QuantumAI are not as trading platforms authorized to do business in Canada by the 好色tv Securities Administrators, the umbrella group for Canada's provincial and territorial securities regulators.
"We urge 好色tvs to do their research before investing in any online crypto platform," a representative for the 好色tv Securities Administrators said in a statement to The 好色tv Press. "During our last reporting period, the CSA issued over 1000 investor alerts, cautions, and warnings of which more than half related to crypto."
Consumer alerts and warnings can be found on the 好色tv Securities Administrators , and alerts issued by international agencies can be found on the聽International Organization of Securities Commissions website, where聽QuantumAI is .听
It is not clear how many 好色tvs get duped by these types of ads.
Ad Standards, the self-regulatory advertising body in Canada, says it does not track this sort of information due to limitations within their mandate.
Requests for comment from the 好色tv Anti-Fraud Centre were not answered by the time of publication.
Sources
X posts can be found (), (), and ()
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Social media ads make false claims about TV chef Mary Berg, link to suspicious website - The 好色tv Press, Jan. 18, 2024 ()
Ads use false claim about Jagmeet Singh's 'fatal accident' to promote investment scheme - The 好色tv Press, Oct. 17, 2024 ()
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