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It's been a busy few months in ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø politics. Since Justin Trudeau stepped down as Prime Minister in early January, ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs watched as former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney campaigned for and eventually won the Liberal leadership race and became Canada's 24th prime minister amid an escalating trade war with the United States.

On Sunday, Carney triggered Canada's 45th general election by asking Gov. Gen. Mary Simon to dissolve Parliament, setting himself up for a faceoff against Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, whose party remains neck and neck with the Liberals according to most polling, while Jagmeet Singh's NDP trails in third.

With the election campaign started, ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø looked at images and ads appearing on social media since January that made various false claims about the federal leaders' connections to high profile figures or investment platforms. Here's a look at some of them. 

PHOTOS DO NOT SHOW POILIEVRE MEETING WITH MODI 

On Dec. 29 a user on the X platform, formerly Twitter, that seemingly showed Pierre Poilievre posing in a pool with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

On Jan. 1, X claimed Poilievre, former prime minister Stephen Harper and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe went to India and met with Modi.

One of the accounts included an image of Poilievre posing for a photo with others, which the user claimed originated from India. 

RATING: Fake/misleading images

The first image of Poilievre's pool meeting with Modi clearly shows the Grok logo in the bottom right corner, meaning the image was generated using the artificial intelligence (AI) tool and is not authentic. 

A reverse image search shows the photo of Poilievre posing with others is from a 2023 event at the Toronto Durgabari temple, on March 13 of that year that includes the photo supposedly taken in India. 

One of the photos posted by Poilievre to X shows a poster with the Toronto Durgabari name and website printed on it, and an from someone who met Poilievre during the event lists the location as Toronto Durgabari.

The poster in the background advertises Toronto Durgabari's Durga Puja 2022 event, which took place Sept. 30 to Oct. 4, however of Poilievre on Facebook that appear to be from the same event include a poster advertising a meet and greet with the Conservative Leader on March 11, 2023. 

The is from Modi's visit to Canada in 2015 and the is from a February 2024 event with the Canada-India Business Council in Delhi.

A keyword search found no media reports or announcement from Poilievre, Harper or Moe about time spent in India in December or January. 

CARNEY 'EPSTEIN ISLAND' IMAGE IS FAKE 

On March 11, an X user that at first glance appears to show Carney with Ghislaine Maxwell and Tom Hanks on a beach, with the post receiving more than 40,000 likes. 

"Why was Canada's new Liberal woke Prime Minister Mark Carney on Epstein Island," the accompanying caption reads, referring to the private island owned by Jeffrey Epstein where his accusers say crimes against them took place. 

Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while under arrest for federal sex trafficking charges in the United States and in 2022 Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison for offences related to her association with Epstein. 

RATING: Fake image

A keyword search of "Mark Carney" and "Tom Hanks" on X from before March 11 shows a posted on Jan. 18, with the Grok watermark clearly visible in the bottom right corner, indicating it was generated using AI. 

The seems to be on Feb. 16, and in that version the Grok watermark is visible. 

Authentic images of Carney with Maxwell do exist; they were in 2013, before Maxwell was publicly accused of crimes associated with Epstein, when Carney served as the governor of the Bank of England. 

FAKE NEWS ARTICLE, CARNEY IMAGE USED TO SELL INVESTMENT SCHEME

In March, Facebook said they came across fake ads featuring Carney made to look like an authentic CBC News article. 

While most of the links users flagged are no longer live, ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø associated with the ads. 

The URL, which does not match that of the CBC website, brings up a web page meant to look like a CBC News article. 

"Canada's new prime minister Mark Carney announces new federal relief initiative to help offset the devastating cost of US tariffs to ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs," reads the headline.

RATING: False 

The "article" is written as if it were an authentic interview between Carney and the CBC's Rosemary Barton and the name and picture of a CBC reporter appear below the headline, giving the impression of it being a real CBC News article.  

In the fake interview, "Carney" promotes an investment platform described as a crypto trading app where users can earn money — after a $350 dollar deposit, that is.

The name of the platform appears on the site as both "Capstone Growth Initiative" or "Capstone" and "" or "CCF," appearing to change when the page is refreshed or accessed in a different tab or browser.

However, the names Capstone, Capstone Growth Initiative or Canada Crypto Fund do not appear in the , a requirement for investment firms doing business in Canada.  

A Google search for "Capstone Growth Initiative" retrieved zero results. 

The first picture used in the fake article, which shows Carney standing behind a podium, is real and is from as prime minister on March 14. 

In one version of the fake article, a manipulated photo of Carney speaking at the Liberal party appears as the second image, replacing the Liberal logo with a doctored "Canada Crypto Fund" logo.

In the other version, the second image of Carney is also real, , but was manipulated to include the logo for "Capstone" in place of the Mark Carney campaign logo. 

A third picture of Carney sitting across from Barton is from a ." The chyron has been edited to read, "Carney speaks about the benefits of Capstone for ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs," while the actual chyron reads, "Carney speaks about impact of climate change on ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs." 

The 2023 interview with Barton contains no mention of Capstone or Canada Crypto Fund. 

FAKE ADS TARGET SINGH 

Some Facebook users reported encountering another fake CBC ad, this time featuring NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh.

A keyword search of the headline — "Supporters gather for Jagmeet Singh's release after scandalous interview" — that copies the appearance of a CBC News article. 

This time the fake article promotes the investment platform "Massive Execution AI," which claims to give its users passive income with a $350 deposit. 

RATING: False

The article claims to be an interview with CTV anchor Anne-Marie Mediwake and on "CTV Your Morning" from September 2024, but the full interview includes no mention of the investment platform. 

The header image, which shows a protester holding up a sign saying "Freedom for Jagmeet Singh," was altered from taken at a Feb. 5, 2022 protest in Toronto. 

In the original photo, the demonstrator's sign reads "I want my freedom back."

A appears online advertising the "TrueNorth" investment platform using Singh's image. 

Neither the "Massive Execution AI" nor "TrueNorth" platforms are registered to do business in Canada.

TrueNorth appears on an for the Alberta Securities Commission from March 11. 

"Neither TrueNorth, nor any person or company associated with these websites, are registered to facilitate the buying or selling of investments, or to provide advice in relation to investments, in Canada," the caution notes. 

Fake ads featuring federal leaders and other politicians appearing to promote investment schemes appear frequently on social media. 

ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø fact checked similar fake ads targeting Singh and Poilievre mimicking the website for broadcasters CTV and CHCH News. 

SOURCES

Dylan Robertson. Federal election begins, ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs to go to polls on April 28. ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø website. March 23, 2024 ()

Poilievre claims posted to X Dec. 29, 2024 (), and Jan. 1, 2025 () and ()

Photos of Poilievre at Toronto Durgabari March 13, 2023 (), with Poilievre from March 11, 2023 () and photos of Poilievre at the event on March 13, 2023 ()

Photo of Stephen Harper with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Toronto. Getty Images . April 16, 2015 ()Ìý

Photo of Scott Moe in Dehli Feb. 23, 2024 ()

AI image of Mark Carney, Ghislaine Maxwell and Tom Hanks March 11, 2025 ()

Similar AI image of Carney, Maxwell and Hanks Jan. 18, 2025 () and first posted Feb. 16, 2025 ()

Photos of Carney pictured with Maxwell on Aug. 10, 2013 from ()Ìý

Facebook posts about fake Carney ad posted March 18, 2025 () and March 14, 2025 ()

of fake Carney ad from March 21, 2025 using Canada Crypto Fund name, and from March 21, 2025 using Capstone Growth Initiative 

ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Securities Administrators ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Registration Search , accessed March 21, 2025 ()

Minas Panagiotakis. Mark Carney Sowrn-In As New ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Prime Minister. Getty Images . March 14, 2025 ()

David Kawai. Liberal Party Of Canada Leadership Announcement. Bloomberg via Getty Images . March 9, 2025. ()

Bill Spurr. Mark Carney talks tariffs, climate during Halifax visit. The Chronicle Herald . Jan. 31, 2025 ()

Rosemary Barton Live episode description. Apple TV . June 11, 2023 ()

of fake Singh ad from Feb. 11, 2025 

Jagmeet Singh Lays Out Plans for the Future of the NDP | Your Morning. CTV Your Morning on . Sept. 27, 2024 ()

Geoff Robins. TOPSHOT-CANADA-HEALTH-VIRUS-VACCINES-PROTEST. Getty Images . Feb. 5, 2022 ()

of fake Singh ad referencing TrueNorth investment platform from Jan. 26, 2025

TrueNorth investment caution list. Alberta Securities Commission . March 11, 2025 ()

Ritika Dubey. Ads use false claim about Jagmeet Singh's 'fatal accident' to promote investment scheme. ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Fact Checking website. Oct. 17, 2024 ()

Brittany Hobson. Articles claiming Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre promotes crypto trading platform are fake. ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Fact Checking website. Jan. 22, 2025 ()

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