The deterioration in relations between the United States and Canada has led to a number of false claims about diplomatic and commercial progress between the two countries, and a new series of unsubstantiated video posts alleging that US President Donald Trump has expelled dozens of Canadian envoys from Washington in mid-2026. These videos originate from a large YouTube network that employs AI-generated content to promote unverified stories about Canada for nearly a year, with no legitimate reporting to back them up.
“Two hours ago, the State Department issued deportation orders for 58 Canadian diplomats based across the United States,” the now-deleted July 1, 2026 YouTube video claims at the beginning.
The stilted narration continues to report what appears to be Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s reaction to the disrespect, without giving a clear reason for the envoys’ expulsion.
Several other clips on YouTube circulated the same claim, and the rumor also spread to Facebook, TikTok, and Threads.
Facebook Reels screenshot taken on July 3, 2026
TikTok screenshot taken on July 3, 2026
Canada has distanced itself from its historic ally since President Trump returned to the White House in 2025 and incited a trade war with tariffs. In June, the president again challenged Canada to potentially become the 51st US state (archived here), and the US refused to renew the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement in its current form, increasing uncertainty for businesses.
New tensions between Canada and the United States have led to a number of false claims about trade and diplomacy between the two countries, including a video falsely claiming that U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra was expelled from Ottawa.
A post claiming that President Trump expelled 58 Canadian diplomats from the United States is similarly fabricated and appears to be part of the “Slopaganda” network of YouTube channels that have been using paid actors and artificial intelligence to fabricate articles about Canada for nearly a year (archived here).
Although the video and social media post were shared on different dates, both titles claimed the purported news was published “two hours ago.” Some YouTube videos promoting this claim also included platform labels indicating AI-generated content.
Screenshot of a YouTube video taken on July 3, 2026, with AI labels and highlights added by AFP
AFP contacted YouTube about the video, and a spokesperson said in an email on July 6 that the video and associated accounts have now been removed (archived here, here, here, and here).
”On YouTube Strict community guidelines“Spam content or content intended to mislead users is not allowed on the platform,” the spokesperson said.
Furthermore, AFP could not find any valid evidence that Canadian diplomats were expelled in mid-2026. Keyword searches don’t turn up news articles about the conflict, but instead show more content based on AI-generated claims.
The expulsion of a foreign envoy usually signals a major diplomatic break that is publicly announced, such as when Canada expelled India’s ambassador in Ottawa in 2024 and when the United States expelled a South African diplomat in 2025.
However, there was no such announcement regarding the expulsion of Canadian diplomats from the US Department of State, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Canadian Minister of International Affairs, and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand (archived here, here, here, and here).
Read more about AFP’s coverage of misinformation in Canada here.
