Fabricated Inuit, First Nations and Dene reporters are identity theft layered on content theft
TURTLE ISLAND, September 29, 2026: The Indigenous Media Association of Canada (IMAC) and the Indigenous Journalists Association (IJA) jointly condemn We-News.com and its owner, Hong Kong-based AZ Medias Ltd., for inventing Indigenous journalists to publish stories taken from real northern and Indigenous newsrooms.
As first reported by Nunatsiaq News and later by CBC News, We-News runs 121 AI-generated “correspondents.” At least three are given Indigenous identities: “Leah Qammaniq,” presented as an Inuk journalist raised in Nunavut; “Kaylee Johns,” described as a member of a Yukon First Nation; and “Warren Lafferty,” described as being of Dene heritage. None of these people exist. The reporting published under their names was taken from CBC North, Nunavut News and Nunatsiaq News, reworded and republished with AI-generated headshots and only a small-print AI disclosure.
This is not a technology story. It is a story about who gets to speak for Indigenous communities, and who profits when someone pretends to.
“Indigenous journalists have spent generations fighting to tell our own stories, in our own voices, on our own terms,” said Eden Fineday, Executive Director of IMAC. “Inventing an Inuk reporter to launder stolen northern journalism takes the credibility our communities built and sells it for ad clicks. It harms the real reporters whose work was taken, the newsrooms losing revenue they cannot afford to lose, and the readers who were told they were hearing from one of their own.”
Indigenous communities ultimately pay the price.
“When AI is used to create fake Indigenous correspondents and identities it violates journalism ethics and poses threats to Indigenous communities. IJA does not condone such uses,” said Indigenous Journalists Association Board of Directors President Sunnie Clahchischiligi. “Indigenous journalism is a unique practice that requires accountability that AI-generated bylines cannot have.”
IMAC and IJA are calling for:
1. Immediate removal of all fabricated Indigenous personas from We-News.com, and clear attribution of every story to the journalists and outlets who produced it.
2. Action from platforms and ad networks to stop monetizing sites that republish stolen journalism under fake bylines.
3. Federal action on copyright, so that repurposing news content without permission is explicitly illegal and newsrooms have a remedy that doesn’t require an unaffordable cross-border lawsuit. Copyright protection for journalism was absent from Canada’s AI strategy released this summer.
4. Recognition that fabricating Indigenous identity is its own harm, distinct from copyright infringement, and one that should be named in any policy response to AI-generated media.
The organizations encourage readers to support the Indigenous and northern newsrooms doing this work every day, and to look closely at bylines they don’t recognize.
About the Indigenous Media Association of Canada
The Indigenous Media Association of Canada (IMAC) is a national, Indigenous-led nonprofit representing Indigenous media and broadcasters across Canada. IMAC works to strengthen Indigenous media sovereignty, advocate for Indigenous-led media, and build a more equitable media landscape in which Indigenous Peoples control how our stories, communities and realities are represented.
About the Indigenous Journalists Association
The Indigenous Journalists Association (IJA) is a professional nonprofit organization dedicated to lifting up Indigenous voices across all media platforms. Founded in 1983, the IJA works across the media industry to ensure accurate, contextual, and ethical reporting on Indigenous people and communities. The association advocates for Indigenous press freedom, tribal media independence, and the professional development and sustainability of Indigenous storytellers globally.
Media contacts
IMAC: Eden Fineday, Executive Director — eden@indigenousmac.org
