CANADALAND

Who is Daniel Robson?

Since 2025, Robson quickly established himself as a prolific freelance columnist, with bylines in the Ottawa Citizen, the Montreal Gazette, The Hub, Western Standard, and Policy Options.

But there’s one problem: he doesn’t seem to exist.

When a Turkish journalist began asking Canadian editors to verify Robson’s biographical details, they realized they couldn’t and that Robson’s persona and writing was A.I. generated.

Who or what is behind this mysterious A.I. entity and what does it have to do with Morocco?

Stuart Benson of the Hill Times joins Julian Abraham to go down the Daniel Robson rabbit hole.

Host: Julian Abraham
Credits: James Nicholson (Senior Producer), Gökçe On (Fact Checking), Caleb Thompson (Mixing and Mastering), Jesse Brown (Editor)
Guest: Stuart Benson

Additional music by Audio Network

Vote for CANADALAND at the Signal Awards! Nominations include “My Chatbot Encouraged my Psychosis” for Best Writing and “The Freelancer’s Guide to Getting Revenge When You’ve Been Ripped Off” in Arts and Culture

Further reading:
Why Policy Options removed an article published under the name Daniel Robson - Policy Options
Exclusive—Fake AI columnist dupes Canadian press to target Moroccan dissidents, and a Turkish 'middleman' - Türkiye Today
AI fabrication suspected of writing dozens of articles in Canadian publications - The Globe and Mail
Why the Citizen removed articles by Daniel Robson — and what we're doing next | Ottawa Citizen
A statement on articles by ‘Daniel Robson’ - The Hub
Industry 'frustrated' as Liberals' Bill C-39 falls short of proactive strike-prevention powers - The Hill Times
Baked potato offered as incentive for attendees of Nova Scotia MAID info night - Toronto Sun

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If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
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Earlier this year, we asked you to call in and tell us about news stories that were a big deal in your town, but were not necessarily getting much, if any, national attention. We ended up hearing some incredible stories and even got a few leads out of that episode.

This week, we decided to dive back into the world of local news and pose the same question to our listeners — and you did not disappoint.

On this episode, we hear what it’s really like to weather a referendum storm from an Alberta citizen, we experience an Ontario town’s “gift of nuclear waste,” and our host James reconnects with an old friend of the forest.

Host: James Nicholson

Credits: Caleb Thompson (Producer), Tony Wang (Executive Producer), Jesse Brown (Publisher)
Additional music by Audio Network & Kale Beaudry

Further Reading:
'It's not a done deal': Community nearest nuclear waste site to hire lawyer - NWO News Watch
As Alberta separatism referendum looms, flags become symbol of voting intention — and tension - CBC
Cat in the Hat suspect who chased a teen girl in B.C. appears to be a trend copycat - CBC
This B.C. woman accidentally sold toxic mushrooms to customers - CBC
Kale Beaudry & dangertree - Bandcamp

This show is available exclusively to Canadaland supporters
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Mark Carney sat down for a wide-ranging hour-long interview with the New York Times. The headlines focused on Canada’s preparations for the “extreme tail risk” of a US invasion, but what else can we learn about Carney’s political approach from the 8000 word transcript?
The interview drew criticism in Canada, centered around Carney’s choice of a foreign outlet, rather than a Canadian one. But what can that tell us about his intended audience and communications strategy?
Zain Velji joins San Grewal to discuss our Prime Minister’s global messaging and the domestic concerns waiting at home.

Host: San Grewal
Credits: James Nicholson (Senior Producer), Julian Abrham (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Mixing and Mastering), Jesse Brown (Editor)
Guest: Zain Velji

Further reading:
A Transcript From The Times Interview with Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada - New York Times
Special Edition: Our Interview With Mark Carney - The New York Times
Do the PM’s liaisons south of the border amount to cheating on Canada’s media? - The Rewrite [Substack]
Carney tells NYT he studied risk of U.S.-led military action in Canada | CBC News
Opinion | When Mark Carney wants to speak to Americans, this is how he does it - Toronto Star
As federal budget nears, Canada’s health ministers to meet to talk funding | Globalnews.ca
Meta bans another Toronto performer from Instagram and Facebook, saying an old photo of dancers in bikinis promotes harm

Sponsors:
Fizz Mobile: Visit fizz.ca and activate a first plan using the referral code CAN25 to get 25 off and 10GB of free data.
Douglas: Douglas is giving our listeners a FREE Sleep Bundle with each mattress purchase. Get the sheets, pillows, mattress and pillow protectors FREE with your Douglas purchase today. Visit douglas.ca/canadaland to claim this offer.
BetterHelp: Visit BetterHelp.com/canadaland today to get 10% off your first month.

If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
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Elizabeth May is a fierce, dogged critic. No matter the government. Mark Carney’s Liberals are no exception. I wanted to know what she’s actually seen and heard, because even though Elizabeth May has been pissed before, host Noor Azrieh is sensing a rage she hasn’t seen before.
Plus, after a long hiatus, Parliament reconvened last week. And Mark Carney’s Liberals wasted no time tabling their Building Canada Strong Act. So, what is it?
Host: Noor Azrieh
Credits: Aviva Lessard (Senior Producer), Sam Konnert (Host/Producer), Noor Azrieh (Host/Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor), Jesse Brown (Editor), Tony Wang (Artwork)
Guests: Elizabeth May, Nick Taylor-Vaisey,
Background reading:
Bill C-39 Introduction – Government of Canada
Poilievre dismisses Bill C-39 as all talk, no action at outset of Commons debate – The Globe and Mail
Five things to know about the Liberals' new Building Canada Strong Act – Toronto Star
Carney’s Bill C-39 overhauls environmental reviews and Indigenous consultation – The Narwhal
Liberals table bill to speed up major project approvals, avert labour disruptions – CBC News
Why a plan to end strikes impacting ‘national interest’ is drawing criticism – Global News
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Douglas is giving our listeners a FREE Sleep Bundle with each mattress purchase. Get the sheets, pillows, mattress and pillow protectors FREE with your Douglas purchase today at douglas.ca/canadaland
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Did you know we have a monthly supporter exclusive show?
Last week, Canadaland’s senior producer James Nicholson took over Off The Record and asked you about all the interesting stories happening in small towns across Canada.
That episode comes out Oct 1st!
If you want to hear that (or if you want to catch up on all the great episodes of Off The Record you’ve missed!) become a supporter at canadaland.com/join
If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
Make sure you’re up to date on our upcoming events by going to canadaland.com/live!
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You can't really call Regina a news desert. They still have a newspaper. But if you actually look under the hood you’ll discover that they stopped printing the newspaper in Regina. They stopped editing it in Regina. The editor lives somewhere else. And as far the CBC goes, well, that acronym is now synonymous with layoffs.
Everyone from the legacy media who purports to be telling people in Regina what is going on in their own community is doing so with less resources than ever before. These are zombie news organizations. That creates a news vacuum. A place for someone new to step in. And somebody did.
And that somebody peddles garbage. That's not a value judgment of this new news source in Regina. It's just the objective truth. They're a garbage company called Just Bins. They provide dumpsters and news to the people of Regina. And they may be providing news to more people in Regina than anyone else.

Host: Jesse Brown
Credits: Kevin O’Keefe (Reporter), Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), max collins (Production Manager), Jesse Brown (Editor and Publisher), Caleb Thompson (additional production assistance)

Additional music by Audio Network

Further Reading:
Guardian Law Group no longer representing URSU in Just Bins/Khan defamation lawsuit

Sponsors:
Visit fizz.ca to learn more about Fizz mobile and its long list of added-value features, and activate a first plan using the referral code CAN25 to get 25 off and 10GB of free data.
Shopify: Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at https://shopify.ca
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If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.
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