A Canadian task force said on Friday that malicious news articles originating on Chinese social media tried to disparage former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, who is running to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as the leader of the Liberal Party.

China may have launched a "disparaging" and "malicious" campaign against Liberal leadership candidate Chrystia Freeland on the social media platform WeChat, according to the task force set up to monitor foreign election interference.

OTTAWA—A team at Global Affairs Canada has identified a misinformation campaign targeting Liberal leadership hopeful Chrystia Freeland that appears to emanate from China.

The federal elections monitoring task force says the Chinese government is linked to a “coordinated and malicious” disparagement campaign against Liberal leadership candidate Chrystia Freeland on China’s largest social media platform.

A Canadian task force reported that malicious news articles originating from Chinese social media attempted to discredit former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, a candidate to succeed Justin Trudeau as Liberal

Canada has accused China of targeting Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland with a series of online attacks. The Canadian government believes these actions are part of a broader effort by China to influence its political leadership.

A task force found that WeChat accounts linked to the Chinese government launched "coordinated" and "malicious" content against Chrystia Freeland who is in the running to replace Justin Trudeau as PM.