Facebook gag fools PM's spokesman
Soudas accepted friend request from show posing as man wanted in Alberta arsons
Last Updated: Friday, March 19, 2010 | 3:42 PM ET
CBC News
Prime ministerial spokesman Dimitri Soudas, shown in a CBC appearance in late December 2009, was targeted by the Quebec television show Infoman. (CBC)A Quebec television show has exposed an embarrassing hole in the personal security of prime ministerial communications director Dimitri Soudas.
Soudas, who is Prime Minister Stephen Harper's chief spokesman, took down his personal Facebook page on Friday, shortly after learning he had been the target of the Radio-Canada show Infoman. A message posted on the show's site Friday said, in French: "Here's hoping that he has learned his lesson and that he will be more careful in choosing his friends."
Using the name Christopher David Meer, the show sent a friend request to Soudas, who accepted the overture and gave "Meer" access to his personal Facebook site, which displayed photos of himself, his family, his friends and his home.
However, a quick Google search would have revealed that Christopher David Meer is being sought by the RCMP in connection with two 2007 arson cases in Alberta.
The show's producers then interviewed Michel Juneau-Katsuya, a former senior intelligence officer at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and president and CEO of the Northgate Group, who called the wildly popular social networking site a veritable gold mine for foreign agents, and the incident a real breach of security for someone so close to the prime minister.
When CBC News sought comment from Soudas Friday, his reply was: "I no longer have a Facebook page. When I had it, it was for personal use with pics of family and friends."
The fake Meer page features a profile photo of a young man staring straight into the camera in a manner reminiscent of a police mug shot. Under "relationship status," the page's creators checked off "It's complicated."
As of mid-afternoon Friday, "Meer" still had several other high-profile Facebook friends, including present and former Conservative cabinet members Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Diane Ablonczy, Stephen Fletcher, Lisa Raitt, and Maxime Bernier, as well Pierre Poilievre, Parliamentary secretary to the prime minister.
The site was established on Feb. 1, on which day "Meer" became a fan of Stephen Harper. Among his status updates in the six weeks since then were thoughts on the post-quake rescue efforts in Haiti and the death of Quebec skater Joannie Rochette's mother during the Vancouver Olympics.
On Tuesday, this status message was posted in French: "It's summer… at least in my head!"
A 2008 RCMP news release seeking information about the whereabouts of Meer said that he and several associates were facing charges in connection with arsons in Edmonton and Mulhurst Bay, Alta.
