TikTok removed accounts associated with a network using deepfakes to spread divisive and false content across Canada, Canada’s National Observer reported on Nov. 13, 2026.
The platform permanently banned the accounts identified in a report released by McGill University’s Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy.
TikTok said Friday it permanently banned the accounts named in the McGill report, which was released Thursday. The company also launched its own investigation that removed additional content and accounts breaking the platform’s rules on deceptive behaviour and misleading AI-generated content.
“As tactics evolve, we continue to collaborate with researchers on this industry-wide challenge and strengthen our moderation technology, which helps us remove more than 98 per cent of deceptive behaviour content before it’s reported to us,” a TikTok spokesperson said.
According to the McGill report, the network uses deepfakes of real influencers and includes nearly 300 TikTok and Instagram accounts whose videos reached 22.1 million views in the past three months. Many of the videos focused on the US-Canada trade war, featuring false information such as a video about a non-existent 48-hour ultimatum from US President Donald Trump that received more than 5 million views.
The report notes that commenters on the videos do not seem to realize they are fake, with only 6.3 per cent stating the video is inauthentic or propaganda. While the report states it is not clear who is behind the network, it is “almost certainly” operated from outside of North America.
Meta declined to comment on the report, and a spokesperson did not immediately answer when asked a follow-up question about whether it has taken down the videos on Instagram.