Youtube A.I. Scam Ads vs Canadian Cyber Security

Recently, a series of fixed ads has popped up on the right side of my YouTube screen. They show obviously AI generated fake news stories of noted liberals getting caught in shocking scandals. I first noticed this phenomenon last year when ads targeting celebrity chef Mary Berg circulated on Twitter. Whenever an ad appears in a video I can block or report it and it disappears, but these remain at the side of my screen regardless of what I do, attesting to their dominance on the YouTube platform.

First, let's look at the most recent one showing former NDP leader Jagmeet Singh looking down as two police seem to perp walk him.

The paratext states, "It's trending nationwide... An unexpected situation drew national attention." This is a call to attention or outrage bait, designed to make the reader curious. The ad doubles down on this open appeal with a caption, "Everyone heard what Jagmeet Sing's said off the record" (sic).

If anything, from the grammatical irregularities, such as the misspelling of Singh's last name and addition of an uneccesary apostrophe in an awkward phrase implies either AI or a writer unfamiliar with English conventions.  Although the provenance of the ad is unverifiable, if anything, the appeal to attention echoes the Hindustan Times' criticism of Singh for supposed ani-India rhetoric, and may indicate a foreign influence.

The irony in criticizing Singh for an overheard indiscretion is that such 'hot mic' moments usually happen to right wing politicians, as when Jacques Parizeau famously blamed immigrants and middle easterners and scuttled the chances of Quebec separatism in the mid 1990s.

Next, I also received this ad featuring prime minister Mark Carney last week.

 

The caption is in French this time, noting "Des actifs reels pour des temps changeants... Gerer vos investissements directement a partir de votre telephone portable." This is an appeal to efficiency, "Real actions for changing time... Manage your investments directly by your smart phone." The picture shows the country's leader with arms outstretched welcoming readers while the signs of Canada's major banks are in the background. This seems to be aimed at older Canadians with savings, specifically French speaking, by the outdated phrase 'telephone portable.' The paratext is translated as "Limited number of places... The report contains useful information," the reference to 'limited places' intending to cause readers to hurry to clock the link, while reassuring them of the validity of the information with the word 'report.'

Obviously, both these ads seem suspicious to most viewers, there is always a portion of the population that will take them as legitimate, believing the implied political scandal of the first ad, and trusting their finances to urgent promise of the second.

As Canada's Cyber Centre reports, 'state adversaries' are attempting to disrupt Canada and divide its populace, through Cybercrime-as-a-Service and ransomware that would be downloaded via unsafe links.

But the most dangerous aspect of these ads to me is that they are both brazen in their use of falsehoods and there seems to be no way to block or report them reliably. Canada needs to step up its cyber security response, and blocking such ads, and banning the services that host them, from Canadian internet access.

Sources

HT News Desk. (Oct 16, 2024)"Jagmeet Singh mocked after making anti-India remarks; reporters laugh as he exits, ‘that’s not how it works'" Hindustan Times.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/jagmeet-singh-mocked-after-making-anti-india-remarks-reporters-laugh-as-he-exits-that-s-not-how-it-works-101729048721832.html

Government of Canada. (2025). "National Cyber Threat Assessment 2025-2026." https://www.cyber.gc.ca/en/guidance/national-cyber-threat-assessment-2025-2026

The Discursive Power of the No Kings Slogan

The USA is currently seeing a massive upswelling of protest against president Trump under the slogan No Kings, with between 5 to 11 million people reportedly taking part in the mass demonstrations across the US and in cities worldwide. This wave of protests were organized by a broad coalition of over 200 organizations, including the Indivisible movement, the American Federation of Teachers, Communications Workers of America, American Civil Liberties Union, and MoveOn.

Why is the slogan No Kings so resonant with people in America?

First, in terms of American identity discourse, the War of Independence against King George III has been a defining event for American cultural identity. Add to that American evangelicals balk at the name King Herod, who was searching for Jesus to destroy him, then the broad ideological appeal of the slogan becomes clear.

Second, the overreach of the 2nd Trump administration stands out as a wild abuse of power to many Americans. Once again, this harkens back to the Revolutionary War, with its slogan of taxation without representation. With Trump temporarily handing the reigns of America's finances and civil service to Elon Musk and his DOGE 'experts' to disastrous results, then the adverse reaction to this financial power grab is natural for Americans.

Last, American history prescribes only one type of interaction against such ideologically oppositional force - resistance. Trump's birthday military parade has served as a catalyst, give both symbolic and real focus to protests. 

It should be noted that other slogans might not have had the same discursive power as No Kings. Tyrant would seem like a leftist slander, ditto dictator, which Trump has already claimed he'd be on day one of his second presidency. Emperor has been levelled against Trump in political cartoons and satire for months, and although this entertains American liberals, this has no bite for a broader swatch of Americans.

So branding Trump a king seems a smart move in terms of American social semiotics. The question remains, can a popular movement sustain itself against a duly appointed president, and can it rollback the damage already done to America's political system and global reputation?



Sources

Archie, Ayana (June 14, 2025). "'No Kings' protests against Trump planned nationwide to coincide with military parade". NPR. Retrieved June 14, 2025.

"Indivisible Announce 'No Kings' Nationwide Day of Defiance". Retrieved June 15, 2025.

Rubin, April; Falconer, Rebecca (June 15, 2025). ""No Kings" anti-Trump protests attract millions, organizers say". Axios.

Journalist, Mark Rattner NonStop Local Digital (June 15, 2025). "Yakima rally unites 2,200 people in national "No Kings" movement". NonStop Local Tri-Cities/Yakima.

Rattner, M. (June 15, 2025). "Yakima rally unites 2,200 people in national "No Kings" movement | FOX 28 Spokane". KAYU-TV. Retrieved June 15, 2025.

My Thoughts on Trump 2.0

I thought I'd drop my thoughts here about Trump's second presidency instead of leaping into the polluted waters of social media.

Here goes.

As for Trump 1.0, Robert Reich has already given Trump the failing grade he deserves, not to mention Rick Wilson's scathing review, so I will refrain from giving my thoughts.

Instead, here is how a Discourse Analyst sees it.

1) Trump Winning Was Foreseeable (and Facilitated by the Left)

The past few weeks there was a serious uptick in left leaning sites gloating about Trump's 'worst day' and predicting a Harris victory. This is both a worrying signal of complacency as well as a media trend that conversely emboldens Trump-sympathetic Americans into voting for him to pwn the leftist elites.

The left (ie Harris) should have been focusing on issues that appeal to ALL Americans instead of laughing at one American (Trump) who appeals to many others. And who feel insulted along with him.

It reminded me of nothing else than the moment when Obama showed The Lion King at the correspondents dinner in 2011. Trump was in the audience, and Obama's response to the birther theory Trump espoused was witty, but also condescending. There is a shot during the exchange of Trump, sitting stock still while the room erupts with laughter at his expense.

If you ask me, this is the moment when Trump decides to become president. "You got me," his stiffness seems to convey, "But I will get you."

The Trump presidency was a spite presidency, the ultimate victory of a wounded male ego of epic proportions propped up by millions of smaller ego who resonated with similar hurt and hate.

Not understanding this sowed the seeds of the 2nd Trump presidency.

2) Donald Trump Isn't The Real Threat

As Reich noted, Trump was a dud as president, and only his inability to govern effectively saved America from worse. In many ways, he seems more cognitively impaired and in decline than ever.

Trump is no longer to be feared. It is instead the Project 2025 architects who surround him that will do the real damage. Although the real extent of Trump's decline is debatable, his followers have created their own playbook and have four years to ram as much of t through as they can, while supported by a base that is either indifferent or supportive of its extremist vision for America.

Here is what we can expect from 'murica 2024-2029

Increase in GDP (fueled by record corporate profits and lowered wages and worker protections)

Further dismantling of government organizations, such as what Trump did to the Covid response team (I suspect the EPA and education will go back on the chopping block)

Some sort of armed conflict in which America colludes or sides with tyranny (the end of Ukraine? Palestine)

Attempts to exonerate Trump for his crimes and possibly change the term limit for US presidents

So go out for a walk in the woods, hug your friends, and have a cup of tea. You'll need it.

Alien Romulus Review - Soulless Paint By Numbers (SPOILERS)

Saw this last night. Always been a big fan of the original films - Alien, Aliens, and Prometheus.

Romulus was close, but no cigar. You can tell that Fede loves the original films as much as anyone, and that he is a talented filmmaker. But he is interested in the spectacle, not the story. What we got was more of a cutscene than cinema. I wanted to love it, but came away only liking it.

Here is what it needed:

1 Give Us Characters We Give A Shit About

The original Alien gave us unforgettable characters. Without Googling I can name them off. Dallas. Ash. Kane. Parker. Ripley. Jonesy. Lambert. Brett.

We remember them because the original Alien lingered slowly on the characters so much that we knew and liked them. Even before there was any threat, we saw these working joes and empathisized with them stuck in their shitty jobs because we are equally stuck in ours. We could have watched two hours of them bitching about the shares in their contracts, hating on one another, and complaining about the food.

So when the alien shows up, we are scared and horrified for the people we know, the break from the routine. The chest burster scene isn't amazing because some puppeteer put his hand under John Hurt's shirt, but because we lost a friend in a horrifying way. (This is something Alien has in common with The Thing, another classic)

Ditto Aliens. We're not all soldiers, but getting to know Hicks, Hudson, Vasquez, and Apone made us admire them and mourn when they get picked off. Except Burke, because fuck Burke.

Prometheus is where the series (I hate the marketing word franchaise) started giving us unloveable characters. We kind of like Shaw's pluckiness and are creeped out by David, we admire Captain and distrust Vickers. We may even remember Millburn and Fifield as the two idiots who get themselves killed petting dicksnakes.

But we don't really bond with the characters anymore. They're not working joes, they're meddlers in the unknown on a corporate mission that makes little sense.

Romulus gives us flat, one dimensional characters without much of a reason to like them, or care that they're in danger. I remember Rain is the last girl, Andy is the robot. Other than that is British prick guy, the ex boyfriend, bald Asian pilot, and pregnant girl. They aren't characters, they are types, and thus hard to bond with.

How could Fede have fixed this?

Cut out that silly, unnecessary scene of Weyland-Yutani staff finding the original alien. We learn about it later when the characters meet the science officer Rook anyway. Also, it is intended to make us hate the company, which we do already, and seeing the planet the characters are on gives us a taste of that.

Instead, give us 20 minutes hanging out with the kids. Let us see Rain's dad, how nice he was, then get the news he's been killed in the mines. Ditto British guy's mom. Add a few kids, give them all personalities and tragic backstories. Show us, don't just tell us.

That would have made us care when they start getting killed.

2 Let The World & Drama Unfold At Its Own Pace

Just as we are not given the time to know the characters, we are rushed through a Disneyworld like tour of the corporate space that is the real horror of Alien(s). It feels like Alvarez has a checklist of Shitty Dystopia tropes he is ticking off fast as he can so he can 'get to the good stuff.'

Unsafe work conditions? CHECK
Broken corporate promises? CHECK
Union agitators? CHECK
Senseless street crime? CHECK

But the universe of Weyland-Yutani IS the good stuff. We want to savour it, to see how different yet similar it is to our own. The Alien RPG knows this and spends pages of text and gives beautiful art to ground us in this.

Instead, show us how these kids are getting by in the corporate hellscape, how they have the life and tech hacking skills from navigating Elon Musk Space Prison to make us believe they have a chance of pulling off the caper. And this film is a caper movie, but doesn't seem to know that itself. 

The Asian chick is a pilot? Good, make her from a family of pilots, slightly higher in the food chain than her mine worker friends.
The Brit has a big lighter and likes to trash talk? Make him the son of a tough UK security guy devastated and drug addicted by his wife's death.
The boyfriend knows how to use guns from video games? Give us a shot of him in a VR headset destroying space beasts and customizing his guns.

So much could have been done.

And here is a related issue. In Alien we believe these are space truckers because time is spent showing their drudgery. We believe we are watching colonial marines in Aliens because we see them doing chin ups and shit talking one another. Once again, Prometheus gives us a weird science expedition briefing, but it is enough that we believe these people are on a mission.

Romulus gives us no one that seems real. Take the lady who denies Rain's request to leave the planet. She is just a grumpy office worker. Take a page from Neil Blompkamp, who would have made a stellar Alien film if allowed. In Elysium Matt Damon's character has to talk to a remorseless robot parole officer. THIS would have been excellent with Rain.

3 More New Stuff, Less Overt Old Stuff

Let's give Fede his due - he introduced some good new stuff. The final Alien? Stuff of nightmares. Hiding your heat signature from facehuggers? Meh, kind of like no teeth fillings as a tell from The Thing prequel. Using the black goo to go transhuman? Interesting if underdeveloped. But at least he is thinking and trying.

But at any rate, Fede has shown he can spice things up, and has the tech and knowhow to make a good action film.

As for his callbacks and easter eggs...

Listen, I appreciate the readout mirrored on a helmet. But someone should go through the film to count how many drinking birds are in it. We get it, its an Alien film, you don't need to signal every ten seconds. Easter eggs are less interesting than sly callbacks. The "Get away from her you bitch" line was cringecool, but would have been just cool if it hadn't been telegraphed so much.

Conclusion

B or B -, could have been an A or the coveted S had we gotten to know, like, and fear for the characters.

Spam Discourse

NOTE: This is an unfinished post from years ago I am posting to relieve my backlog and start afresh.

Spam Emails are a modern inconvenience. What are the discourses on display in spam emails?

This is the Email:

Message from sender: GOOD DAY

MY NAME IS MS BIANCA MORRIS WILLIAMS,WIFE OF LATE AMBASSADOR OF JAMAICA TO IVORY COAST,PLEASE I WANT YOU TO REPLY ME BACK AS SOON AS YOU READ THIS MESSAGE BECAUSE I WANT TO DISCUSS SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT WITH YOU,I AM A CANCER PATIENT WITH A VERY SHORT TIME TO LIVE AND I AM CONTACTING YOU BECAUSE I WANT TO ENTRUST THE SUM OF (USD$12.7MILLION)TO YOUR HAND AS A DONATION FOR CHARITY WORK., TO HELP THE ORPHANAGES, WIDOWS, AND MOTHERLESS CHILDREN AROUND YOU, THIS MONEY WAS DEPOSITED BY MY LATE HUSBAND IN ONE OF THE BANK HERE IN ABIDJAN AND OUR PLAN WAS TO USE IT FOR INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT BEFORE DEATH TAKE HIM AWAY FROM ME ,,I AM WAITING YOUR URGENT REPLY FOR MORE INSTRUCTION AND INFORMATION ABOUT THIS FUND,

REGARDS
MS BIANCA MORRIS WILLIAMS 

Movimentos Micropolíticos em Saúde, Formação e Reabilitação


First, looking at pretext, the subject line "MS BIANCA M WILLIAMS" gives us three different aspects if identity. The all caps font can be both a sign of amateur, as well as a raised voice. Next, the use of 'MS', for unmarried female, suggests both availability and need of help. Last, the name in the header has two different discourses, that of the Caribbean 'Bianca' and the English 'MORRIS WILLIAMS.'

There are several attempts to exercise power of persuasion over the reader. The first is the identification of the speaker as 'A CANCER PATIENT', designed to curry sympathy. 

As for hypertext, the final line of the text is a hyperlink, as visible by its blue colour and underlined font.

Cultural Appropriation vs Cultural Appreciation

NOTE These are thoughts from an unfinished article from years ago. I am tying to empty out my backlog to start afresh.

I hesitated commenting on the native headdress photo shoot of a white media student who does modelling in Japan, where you can rent kimonos and get painted like a geisha.

The question:
How can we do good cultural appreciation vs bad cultural appropriation? Two prerequisites.

1) The community approves of it, ie has the power over their image and is happy to spread their unique culture for profit or goodwill
2) The community is involved in making it, ie not headdresses made in sweatshops for sporting fans or photo shoots

It is disingenuous to say "Who do I ask permission?" Like kimono shops in Kyoto, permission is everywhere. If you are asking this question seriously, then you should not do it.

The Japanese were insensitive to the use of the headdress because they see it just as a neutral cultural marker, like their kimonos. They were a colonial power and are still an economic one, unlike indigenous people in the USA.

Wakanda & Black on Black Violence Forever

NOTE - This is an unfinished post from years ago that I want to clear out as I re-orient myself towards scholarship.

I was in New York a few days ago, and had the chance to go see Black Panther in the cinema. I loved its subversive take on racial politics and afro-futurism.

I have also started watching the Black Panther animated series, the first two episodes of which Marvel has generously uploaded to YouTube. The series is replete with discourses, not surprising as it has become a central Marvel property, and one designed specifically with race and American politics as a selling point. I'd like to dive into some of these here.

Born in Violence

S1 E1 of the anime starts with invisible Wakandans massacring warriors from another tribe.

That the Wakandans are invisible and use technology instead of face-to-face battle sets up a curious analogy with modern US drone strikes. Also, Black on Black Violence (BoBV) is depicted graphically here in a way that white violence is not.

Wakanda, the Anti-America

Later, in the White House, presidential aide Everett Ross tells how Wakanda repulsed colonial powers, but this is not shown.

"Wakanda is a small country in Africa for never having been conquered in its entire history. When you consider the history of the region, the fact that the French, the English, the Belgians or any number of Christian or Islamic invaders were never able to defeat them in battle, well, it's unprecedented. The Wakandans have a warrior spirit that makes the Vietnamese look like, well, the French. They've also maintained a technological superiority that defies explanation." (4:09-4:36). 

Like ancient technology, black superiority is hard for Americans to believe. This requires an attempt to compare the Wakandans, but like the realworld colonial exception that is Japan, none of the analogies make sense or are useful. Wakanda, like Japan, is its own civilization, its own empire of supposed inferior people who suprisingly give America a run for its money. Ross goes on to deny Soviet or other influences, and mentions Wakanda's independence from oil and use of environmentally-friendly technology.

Wakanda is, in effect, an anti-America. It uses technological superiority to defeat foes like America, flips the demographics for a black supremacy, and stands freer than the US ever could of both opposing state and corporate interests.

When the 1941 Black Panther says to Captain America "We take our borders very seriously, and you have crossed ours" (8:20-8:25), this is a deliciously ironic reversal of American border policy discourse. White ubermensch Cap is now the illegal alien, and the black, technologically superior Panther the 

Revising Fantasy History

The anime is notable for the absence of blacks fighting white oppressors, a palpable absence in the tory of a character named after realworld fighters for black rights and independence.

First, white oppression cannot be shown, but BoBV is on full display. There is a flashback of Nazi solders (German) being slaughtered which is filmed like history. Wrong side of the history being vanquished in a sanitized fashion compared to the bloodshed of Wakandan self-defence against other Africans.

Next, the independence of Wakanda is stressed.

WWII Cap issues the ultimatum 8:16-8:19 "These are dangerous times. You need to choose a side. "

BP replies "We have. Our own." 

This is the struggle for vibranium for rockets on either side of the UK-German conflict. Paoints Wakanda as an Afro-futurist neutral power uninvolved in white imperialism and its conflicts.


Last, black is a racial identity, not a national one, except for Wakandans.

Lots of statements trying to put Wakanda in the context of 20th century US geopolitics.

"They're a rogue state."

"Before you go adding them to the Axis of Evil, I should point out that they have never invaded anyone. The only time they've taken hostile action is defending their own borders."

"But a regime change could bring about a change in that policy."

This villifies American foreign policy and meddling in sovereign states that leads to further tyranny.

There are also subtle comments on the present day America.

"There is no way that bonehead is taking the throne. They have a literacy requirement." (13:08-13:13). Is this a jab at Trump?

Conclusions

The live action movies have had to 'play it safe' and thus have gotten progressively more conservative / boring. The hint of questioning Wakanda's aloofness and supremacy while letting black people suffer was one of the refreshing highpoints of the first film that seems lost after the untimely death of Chaswick Boseman. The anime seems to have a lot more discursive range.

Sources

Gordon, Max. (2018). "Come Get Your Life, Come Get Your Death." Medium.com.
https://medium.com/s/story/come-get-your-life-come-get-your-death-on-ryan-cooglers-black-panther-616039d97e5d

Marvel Entertainment. (2018). "Marvel Knights Animation - Black Panther - Episode 1." YouTube video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry8e5ldzLDQ