VANCOUVER—A Facebook group associated with controversial ads promoting Vancouver mayoral candidate Hector Bremner — which Bremner’s party said it had no affiliation with — has been taken down.

The group “Vancouverites for Affordable Housing,” is behind a series of advertisements on posters, billboards and social media promoting Bremner as the “only credible mayoral candidate on housing.” While a spokesperson of Bremner’s Yes Vancouver party said that they have no knowledge of who is behind the group, the group’s name is also the same as another affordable housing organizations, run by organizer Justin Fung.

On Friday, Fung sent a request to Facebook to have the group removed — and by Saturday morning it appeared to have been deleted.

Fung said that he was prompted to request the group be taken down over concerns that his group could be misrepresented by the copycat and create confusion with the public.

“I think the messaging is confusing, in that our group is associated with a grassroots movement and the other is politically motivated,” he said.

The original “Vancouverites for Affordable Housing” was started by Eveline Xia as a grassroots campaign for better housing in Vancouver, and the Facebook group was used to organize rallies. The group is also associated with Housing Action for Local Taxpayers, which is also currently run by Fung.

Fung said that he still has no idea who is behind the copycat group. Under third-party advertising rules of the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act, groups have until Sept. 22 to spend money on campaigning without having to disclose who they are and how much they spent.

Fung said that this incident is a warning to Vancouverites that they should be more careful of what they see and read as the mayoral election heats up.

“Something doesn’t smell right about it. As we head into the election I hope everyone has a healthy skepticism,” he said.

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