Fake Arctic Today site used to spread misinformation in Greenland
In recent days, Facebook users in Greenland have been getting articles claiming to be from Arctic Today, however, these are fake stories from a site completely unrelated to our publication. The paid posts are sponsored by an unknown entity and seem to only appear in Greenland. We recommend our readers not click on these links, as they might take you to a scam site.
The fake articles claim that Greenland Prime Minister Múte B. Egede and member of the Greenlandic parliament Kuno Fencker have been caught in a scandal that involves the Bank of Greenland. Another fake post leads to Arctic Hub’s real website—but only if accessed from outside Greenland. However, users in Greenland are instead redirected to a fraudulent website.
A fake news story featuring a chat between Egede and former Icelandic President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson.
A dead giveaway is that the site displays a older, no longer in use layout of the Arctic Today website with a now discontinued Arctic Business Journal logo.
Previously experts and politicians have warned of the dangers of fake news being propagated to influence the upcoming March 11 elections in Greenland.
Writing on LinkedIn, Signe Ravn-Højgaard, PhD, the director of the Digital Infrastructure Think Tank, claims that most likely these posts are part of a financial scam, rather than a concerted misinformation campaign. However, she claims that the timing is worrisome.
“This scam is not necessarily political disinformation intended to sway public opinion in Greenland. Instead, it appears to be a financial scam designed to trick people into giving away their money,” she wrote. “The timing of this scam is particularly concerning as it coincides with an ongoing election campaign in Greenland. This raises the question of whether similar fraudulent schemes have been active for some time without being noticed.”
In the past, similar misinformation has been linked to financial fraud. While it is sometimes difficult to determine the exact intent behind such ads, they can often be both disinformation and a scam at the same time.
