A popular Quebec Facebook page boasting more than 40,000 subscribers has been generating revenue by publishing AI-assisted false news and rage-bait content, taking advantage of Meta’s ongoing news ban on the platform, 24 heures reported.
The Facebook Page Monetizing Artificial Intelligence Content
The Facebook page operating under the name Alexx Stagg publishes content that mixes entertainment and regional news, which is generated wholly or partly using artificial intelligence tools. Laurence Grondin-Robillard, an associate professor at UQAM, noted that while all of the page’s posts carry an artificial intelligence content label, it remains unclear whether the technology was used to draft the text, retouch images, or both.
While some posts focus on minor neighborhood incidents—such as videos published on Oct. 12 involving late-night doorbell ditching pranks known locally as sonne-décrisse
in Granby and Matane—other material crosses into dangerous territory. Jean-Hugues Roy, a professor at UQAM’s School of Media, pointed to fabricated reports shared between Sept. 30 and Oct. 2 alleging that a Black woman had fired a semi-automatic weapon in the streets of Sorel-Tracy during a live stream on TikTok.
False Shooting Posts Spark Racist Comments and Hate
The posts regarding the fictitious shooting in Sorel-Tracy included immigration-related hashtags and descriptions that sparked a wave of racist comments online. Professor Roy called the posts an outright incitation to hatred, stating that voluntarily publishing false information and monetizing it while stoking public prejudice is criminal behavior. He recalled that the Criminal Code included a specific provision for spreading false news until 2019, though prosecutors are now limited to charges involving the production of falsified documents.
The Sûreté du Québec acknowledged that law enforcement is aware of social media pages disseminating false or misleading public safety incidents. A police spokesperson warned via email that the production and distribution of such content could be subjected to criminal investigations.
Financial Incentives and Meta Policy Breaches
The creator behind the page has a direct financial incentive to publish shocking, sensational material frequently because the account is enrolled in Facebook’s content monetization program, earning payouts based on user engagement metrics like shares, likes, and comments. Grondin-Robillard described the strategy as clickbait and rage bait designed to provoke outrage and high engagement levels from users.
Although Meta’s official creator rules state that pages publishing content flagged as misinformation may lose their monetization eligibility, the Alexx Stagg page continues to operate. Professor Roy criticized the platform for financially benefiting from large-scale monetization of disinformation, noting that the ongoing news ban makes the situation more severe given that 51 percent of Canadians—and 78 percent of young adults aged 15 to 34—rely on social media as a news source, according to Statistics Canada.
Mainstream Media Pick Up Fabricated Challenges
The reach of the false narratives extended beyond social media users when mainstream outlets reported on a fictitious internet challenge called the ghost road challenge. The rumor claimed young people were crossing streets with their eyes closed and filming the results for TikTok. The police service in Saint-Jérôme even published a public warning on Facebook urging parents to caution their children against the non-existent trend. A search on TikTok yields zero results for the supposed challenge, suggesting the Alexx Stagg page originated the local rumor. Grondin-Robillard noted that deadline pressures and the integration of artificial intelligence make it difficult for working journalists to verify every claim before publication.
The person operating the Alexx Stagg Facebook page did not respond to multiple interview requests.
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