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Canada's National Observer
@nationalobserver.com

This morning — following two investigations into Toronto mayoral candidate Brad Bradford's use of an app that rewards supporters for posting AI-generated comments and sharing contacts — Bradford called our reporting "inaccurate." We're now releasing the recording that proves our reporting.

nationalobserver.comBradford calls CNO reporting of AI app rewards ‘inaccurate.’ Here’s the recording proving our reporting.Canada’s National Observer has decided to publish the segment of the Zoom call that corroborates its reporting.

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Canada's National Observer
@nationalobserver.com

We are also taking all three stories (the two investigations and today's corroboration piece) out from behind the paywall for the sake of transparency and accessibility. Barbara Streisand would be proud.

Canada's National Observer
@nationalobserver.com

Our first investigation, published last week, revealed that the Bradford campaign is using the Victory App. The way it works: supporters are given "missions" that can include posting messages (generated by AI) on social media. They earn points for those activities, which may be traded for rewards.

nationalobserver.comToronto mayoral candidate Bradford using Israeli app that feeds supporters AI-generated commentsThe Victory App, a campaign tool built by the Israeli company LogiVote, prompted users to participate in a mission to post AI-written comments supportive of Toronto mayoral candidate Brad Bradford.
Canada's National Observer
@nationalobserver.com

The campaign has offered several competing explanations for the AI-generated comments; at times it has said the comments are created by real people, while at others it has said they're edited by real people. Neither appears to be true.

Canada's National Observer
@nationalobserver.com

Today, we published a second investigation looking at a separate aspect of this app and its implications for privacy. That story is now out from behind the paywall.

nationalobserver.comToronto mayoral candidate Bradford’s campaign appears to have breached its own privacy policyIts campaign tool, called the Victory App, was the subject of a CNO investigation last week for its use of AI to locate online discussions about Bradford. But another aspect of the app also raises que...