Why is the government publishing listicles on Buzzfeed?

Amid kitten GIFs and self-assessments of whether you can or cannot even, the Canadian government has found an unlikely platform to take shots at its foes.

The Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFTAD) recently published its second article on Buzzfeed in the listicle format the American media giant made famous.

“11 Myths Putin Is Spreading About The Crisis In Ukraine” lists a series of statements the department says Putin has said about Ukraine, followed by their own “reality” check. The article, for example, says that Putin said parts of Ukraine belong to Russia, followed by the department’s counter that Russia has in the past affirmed Ukraine’s borders. The 11 items are accompanied by oddly-sized images but, sadly, no GIFs.

The article is posted by the account “DFTAD Canada,” which also published “12 Ways Iran Is At War Over The Internet” two weeks ago in a similar style (and that one does have a GIF).

Department spokesperson Rick Roth confirmed DFTAD published the pieces on Buzzfeed, though did not address questions as to who specifically is running the account. He did note, however, that the government has expanded its footprint online “enormously” over the last year.

“Buzzfeed is just another platform we can use to communicate with Canadians on foreign policy issues in a compelling format, with succinct messages,” Roth said in an emailed statement. “Our digital efforts shouldn’t minimize the seriousness of some of the issues we discuss, nor do they replace the more traditional diplomacy we as a department undertake.”

This is not the first online effort on the part of the DFTAD to gain attention online. The @Canada Twitter account, widely panned when it started posting updates in November, is another example of the department’s public relations efforts on the web.

At the time, Minister John Baird said the account “is one more tool in our diplomatic toolkit as we promote Canada as a nation of strong values, rich culture, beautiful landscapes and a dynamic economy.”

While the Twitter account certainly seems to fulfill the mandate with cute updates about poutine, winter and low-resolution images of mountains, the Buzzfeed articles appear to serve the singular purpose of discrediting Russia and Iran. Neither even mentions Canada or the Canadian perspective on the issues at hand and sources are not cited for the majority of the claims.

Baird’s remarks also suggested that these efforts — which includes more than 410 social media accounts — span offices within the department.

“Establishing digital platforms has to go hand in hand with producing compelling content for those platforms. And doing that well involves policy specialists just as much as press officers,” he said.

DFTAD is not the only government body to take advantage of Buzzfeed’s community features, which allows anyone to publish on its platform. The Consulate General of Israel in New York City published several posts in 2014, including “66 Reasons Why We Love Israel.“

Source:: canada.com