OTTAWA — TikTok says it has taken down accounts associated with a network that uses deepfakes to spread divisive and false content to Canadians. The company says it has permanently banned the accounts named in a report released by McGill University’s Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy on Thursday. TikTok says it also launched its own investigation that removed additional content and accounts that were breaking the platform’s rules on deceptive behaviour and misleading AI-generated content. The McGill report says the network uses deepfakes of real influencers, and included nearly 300 TikTok and Instagram accounts whose videos were viewed 22.1 million times in the past three months. The report says many of the videos focused on the U.S.-Canada trade war and the most-watched videos included false information. It says it’s not clear who is behind the network but it is “almost certainly” run from outside of North America. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2026. Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press
