People based in the Netherlands are behind several YouTube channels that promote Alberta separatism but are fronted by hired actors, according to an investigation by CBC News’s visual investigations team and Radio-Canada’s Décrypteurs.

CBC News identified three individuals in the Netherlands whose digital trail links them to accounts that hired actors to appear on the YouTube channels. Two of them attended the same online course that teaches customers how to create “faceless” YouTube channels that generate passive income for the creators, who remain in the shadows.

Many of the videos contain sensationalized and misleading views of Canadian politics, and are promoted through thumbnails featuring images of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney with headlines that are blatantly false.