Posts push investment app falsely linked to Imperial Oil

"A Canadian company has released an app that guarantees that every Canadian can earn at least $9,000 per month!" claims an advertisement posted on Facebook on April 4, 2023.

Another ad also posted on April 4 claims: "The government has notified citizens that now every Canadian can earn on Canadian oil. Together with Imperial Oil, they have released a platform that, thanks to smart analysis of the oil and currency stock market, brings passive income of at least $700 daily with a minimum investment!"

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Screenshot of a Facebook ad taken April 7, 2023

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Screenshot of a Facebook ad taken April 7, 2023

 

Imperial is a 140-year-old company and the largest refiner of petroleum products in Canada. It also runs Esso and Mobil gas stations in the country.

Asked for comment about the Facebook ads, the company did not respond, but it warns consumers on its website about the fraudulent use of the Imperial name and logo.

The Facebook pages running the ads differ from the page linked to Imperial Oil's website and were recently created according to page transparency details.

The "Canadian News" page was created on March 19 and following the link in the post leads to a survey website designed to obtain personal information.

Similarly, the "Canadian Partnership" page was originated on April 4. The ads it is running encourage people to install a free investing app which has no affiliation with the Canadian government or Imperial Oil.

Unrelated footage

One of the advertisements stitches together unrelated clips of Alberta's former premier Jason Kenney and former Imperial chief executive officer Rich Kruger to encourage people to download the app.

In the video, Kenney says: "Albertans rightly expect to see real economic benefit, particularly when prices and profits are this high."

A keyword search finds the full video is from Kenney's appearance in Calgary on May 10, 2022. The then-premier was not speaking about investment opportunities for individuals, but answering a question from a reporter about how the provincial government wanted to see oil companies invest their record profits.

Similarly, Kruger, who retired from his role at Imperial in 2019, was not discussing a new app for Canadians to make money, but speaking to local media about the government's decisions regarding the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion in 2018.

Another ad opens with a clip of CBCNN anchor Heather Hiscox speaking about the war in Ukraine. A public affairs officer for CBC confirmed to AFP in an April 11 email that the CBC report was not about the investment scheme.

Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre also appears in the ad saying: "Dollars for dictators into paychecks for our people. We will bring it." But this clip was lifted from a press conference he gave on March 7, 2023 where he discussed his desire to increase natural gas exports.

AFP previously fact-checked other posts impersonating Imperial Oil.