The British Columbia Securities Commission has warned that misleading articles promoting British Columbia companies may be part of a coordinated international effort to manipulate stock prices. The articles are presented as independent journalism and reached through sponsored Google search results, but the regulator found statements that appeared misleading, unbalanced or inconsistent with public disclosures. The promotions concern Bighorn Metals Corp., Clara Technologies Corp., Leviathan Metals Corp. and Noveris Health Sciences Inc., whose securities trade across Canadian and foreign markets. Campaigns linked to four advertising firms direct investors to 14 news style websites that use apparently AI generated articles to create an appearance of journalistic authenticity. The commission is not alleging that the four issuers or their executives authorized, knew of or participated in the promotions, and the companies have publicly denied involvement. Investors should scrutinize promotions that predict sharp price gains, minimize risks, use urgent language or fail to disclose advertising or compensation clearly. The commission advised investors to compare online claims with company filings on SEDAR+, assess whether risks are presented fairly and verify who paid for the content.

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