The Canadian government under Justin Trudeau contracted a U.K. firm to monitor pro-Israel social media, labeling many accounts of Jewish and pro-Israeli Canadians as "extremist hatemongers".
— According to National Post, Government of Canada paid $128,268 to the U.K.-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue.
— The contract was awarded in early 2024 for monitoring exclusively pro-Israel social media related to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
— Reports claimed rising right-wing extremism in Canada linked to pro-Israel sentiments and discontent with pro-Palestine protests.
— Influential social media accounts were identified as taking staunch pro-Israel positions since the October 7 attacks and therefore "extremist".
— The Institute for Strategic Dialogue labeled posts linking UNRWA funding to the October 7 attacks as right-wing extremism.
— While the monitoring program was part of the Digital Citizen Contribution Program aimed at countering online disinformation, no such program was initiated to monitor and counter Hamas propaganda in Canada.