Shell (Or Not?) Pitches Fake Investments to Canadians, Because Scamming is the New Oil Drilling

Posted by John Donovan: 5 Aug 2024

In case Shell wasn’t already rolling in enough dirty cash from destroying the environment, now we’ve got fake Shell investment ads popping up on Facebook, targeting poor unsuspecting Canadians. These ads, as fact-checked by Agence France-Presse (AFP), are about as real as Shell’s commitment to a greener planet—which is to say, completely and utterly fake.

According to these fake Facebook posts, Shell is apparently on a philanthropic mission to “ensure a secure future for every Canadian.” Ah yes, nothing says “secure future” like investing in a sin stock that’s been at the forefront of environmental destruction for decades. Shell—who, let’s be clear, has nothing to do with these ads—is surely thrilled at the idea of being the poster child for a scam aimed at people who are already struggling with Canada’s high cost of living. You’d almost think the real Shell was involved, given how much their real investments also come with environmental and social costs.

The pièce de résistance of these ads? A video featuring Jagmeet Singh, leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party, spouting words that could warm the hearts of oil executives everywhere: “Together with the company Shell, we have created an investment project that will help to solve housing issues and ensure a secure future for every Canadian.” Except there’s just one small problem: Singh’s mouth seems to be operating on its own schedule, completely out of sync with the audio. Apparently, even in fake videos, politicians can’t catch a break.

This deepfake masterclass, circulating with over 44,000 views, used footage from a completely unrelated 2023 conference where Singh was busy talking about—wait for it—foreign meddling in Canada’s elections. So, to recap: we’ve got fake ads featuring a fake Shell investment, using a deepfake politician to solve Canada’s real housing problems. You can’t make this stuff up, except, apparently, scammers can.

The masterminds behind these ads even had the gall to use images and titles that hint at Shell or legitimate news sources like Global News. These ads were popping up like weeds all over Facebook’s Meta Ad Library, which catalogues all the shady stuff circulating on social media. AFP’s snooping uncovered at least 15 other ads aimed at Canadians, all selling this bogus Shell investment scheme.

Not to be outdone by simple manipulation, one of the ads went full James Cameron and included a deepfake of a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation broadcast. Because if you’re going to scam people, why not aim for maximumconfusion? It’s like the scammers took a look at Shell’s decades of profit-making schemes and said, “Hold my beer.”

And while Facebook and Instagram (both owned by Meta, naturally) have long been playgrounds for fossil fuel misinformation, this latest stunt takes things to a whole new level. According to Desmog, an organization that digs deep into climate change misinformation, fossil fuel-related bodies spent about $4 million on Meta ads during the COP27 summit alone. And shockingly, none of those ads were offering up hard truths about Shell’s role in global warming.

The Climate Action Against Disinformation (CAAD) coalition even found that over 3,700 ads on Facebook and Instagram were packed with lies, promoting the idea that climate change is some kind of woke scam. Because apparently, facts are just too inconvenient for some people. It’s almost enough to make you wonder: If this scam was actually real, would Shell be that upset about it?

In the end, while Shell has no actual connection to these ads, it’s pretty ironic to see the company’s name dragged into yet another murky scheme. If anything, this whole debacle shows just how low scammers—and oil companies—will go to keep profiting, no matter the cost.

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.