Saudi Arabia has launched a bizarre propaganda campaign against Canada as a bitter diplomatic dispute between the two nations escalates.

The dispute kicked off earlier this month when a Canadian government-linked Twitter account posted two tweets criticizing the Saudi government for imprisoning women's rights activists calling for their immediate release.

Saudi Arabia responded by launching a full-force attack on Canada's record on civil rights in an apparent attempt to prove the old adage that 'people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones'.

A string of outlandish smears - most of them translated from Arabic - has included claims that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is holding University of Toronto professor Jordan Peterson and other critics as political prisoners.

Saudi supporters have also declared that Canada is 'the world's worst oppressor of women' - despite the kingdom's own weak record on gender equality, having only recently made it legal for women to drive.

Amidst the chorus of criticism, a Saudi government-affiliated Twitter account also threatened to carry out a 9/11-style terrorist attack on the city of Toronto in a tweet last week that accused Canada of 'sticking its nose where it doesn't belong'.

Saudi Arabia has launched a bizarre propaganda campaign against Canada amidst an escalating diplomatic dispute between the two nations. Pictured: A government-owned TV outlet calls Canada 'the world's worst oppressor of women' in a segment last week

One of the smears alleged that University of Toronto professor Jordan Peterson, above, is being held as a political prisoner because of his criticisms of the Canadian government

Saudi Arabia appeared to threaten Canada with 9/11-style attack on August 6 after the nation expelled its ambassador in a row over jailed women's activists

The Saudi government is said to be behind the recent influx in propaganda against Canada, spreading unsupported claims through its media outlets, political pundits and various social media accounts.

The majority of the smears have been translated to English from Arabic, potentially skewing the messages to a small degree.

As a whole the campaign has taken aim at Canada's record on a range of civil rights issues, including its treatment of women, indigenous people and its own citizens.

Below is a series of examples of how the bizarre dispute has unfolded:

SAUDI GOVERNMENT CLAIMS PROFESSOR IS A 'POLITICAL PRISONER OF TRUDEAU' IN SPAT OVER JAILED BLOGGER

The feud between the two countries began when the Canadian Foreign Ministry posted two tweets on August 3 following the arrest of blogger Raif Badawi's sister Samar, who is an outspoken civil rights campaigner.

Raif was arrested in 2012 and later sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison for insulting Islam in his writing - a case which sparked outrage from international human rights groups who have continually called for his release.

The blogger's wife and their three children became citizens of Canada earlier this year.

'Very alarmed to learn that Samar Badawi, Raif Badawi's sister, has been imprisoned in Saudi Arabia,' the first tweet read.

'Canada stands together with the Badawi family in this difficult time, and we continue to strongly call for the release of both Raif and Samar Badawi.'

In another tweet the ministry wrote: 'Canada is gravely concerned about additional arrests of civil society and woman's rights activists in #Saudi Arabia, including Samar Badawi.

'We urge Saudi authorities to immediately release them and all other peaceful #humanrights activists.'

Canada last week said it was 'gravely concerned' over a new wave of arrests, including award-winning gender rights activist Samar Badawi, pictured left. Samar is a vocal campaigner for her brother Raif Badawi, a blogger who was arrested in Saudi Arabia in 2012. Badawi's wife Ensaf Haidar, seen holding Raif's photo, has been granted asylum by Canada, where she is raising their three children

In April, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (pictured) expressed his 'serious concern' over the continued jailing of Badawi to King Salman

The Saudi government quickly responded to the tweets by freezing all new trade with Canada and expelling its ambassador over citing 'interference' in the desert kingdom's domestic affairs. It added Canada's actions were a violation of the country's sovereignty.

Saudi-owned TV station Al Arabiya stepped into the feud days later by releasing a series of videos on August 6 in which it accused the Canadian government of holding several of its own dissidents as political prisoners.

The outlet specifically referred to right-wing pundit Jordan Peterson as a 'Canadian prisoner of conscience'.

The best-selling author - who has criticized the Canadian justice system on multiple occasions - made headlines earlier this year for his conservative views on gender and sexuality.

He has never been arrested or jailed, and there is no evidence to support the idea that he is a political prisoner.

The same Saudi TV segment also mentioned the allegedly appalling conditions in Canadian prisons, claiming that 75 percent of detainees die before standing trial.

The Saudi Arabian government responded to Canadian criticism in a string of tweets August 5

TWEET THREATENS 9/11-STYLE ATTACK ON TORONTO

The same day that the inflammatory news coverage was released, a Saudi government-linked Twitter account posted tweet that appeared to threaten a 9/11-style attack on Canada.

The tweet featured an image showing a passenger plane flying towards the CN Tower in Toronto with the words: 'Sticking one's nose where it doesn't belong.'

The caption read: 'As the Arabic saying goes: "He who interferes with what doesn't concern him finds what doesn't please him."'

Hours later in a desperate attempt to wriggle out of the gaffe, the Twitter account responsible, @infographic_ksa, apologized saying: 'Earlier we posted an image, which is why we deleted the post immediately.

'The aircraft was intended to symbolize the return of the Ambassador, we realize this was not clear and any other meaning was unintentional. We apologize to anyone who was offended'.

SAUDI ARABIA CLAIMS CANADA IS 'THE WORLD'S WORST OPPRESSOR OF WOMEN'

In addition to trying to prove that the Canadian government has mistreated its critics, the Saudi media has attempted to paint the country as having a poor record when it comes to women's rights.

One news segment last week, an Al Arabiya commentator claimed Canada has one of the world's highest rates of oppression against women, specifically pointing to the disappearance of about 1,000 indigenous Canadian women over the past hundred years.

Trudeau commissioned a $41million investigation into those disappearances.

Several Saudi social media accounts began sharing a report detailing statistics of crimes against women.

Canadian media outlets were quick to point out that many of the offenses on that list - including spousal rape and domestic violence against women - are not criminalized in Saudi Arabia itself.

The World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report released earlier this year ranks Canada as number 16 for gender equality and Saudi Arabia at 138.

Key distinctions between the countries include the fact that women in Canada were granted the right to vote a century ago, whereas women in Saudi Arabia were just granted that right last year.

Additionally, the Saudi Arabian government considers women to be under the guardianship of men, and thus requires them to get permission to marry, get an education, obtain employment and to travel abroad.

Several Saudi social media accounts have criticized the Canadian government's treatment of indigenous people and alleged that the country is fraught with racism

RACISM IN CANADA IS VERY CONCERNING, CLAIMS SAUDI ARABIAN LOBBYIST

Continuing with the civil rights record theme, the campaign has also targeted Canada's track record on racism.

On Tuesday, top Saudi Arabian lobbyist Salman Al-Ansari tweeted a video of a Canadian woman going on a drunken racist rant against Afghan men in Lethbridge, which had gone viral four months ago.

In the caption Al-Ansari wrote: 'Racism in Canada is very concerning!'

He had also called Canada one of the 'top 10 countries for domestic violence' in an appearance on BBC last week.

Other Saudi commentators also hit out at Canada's treatment of indigenous people, which has long been a sore subject for the nation.

Criticisms ranged from accusations that the government has failed to provide inadequate housing and education for indigenous people to assertions that those groups aren't afforded any rights at all.

In one TV segment, a panel of guests said the treatment was worse than the massacres and mass rapes that the Rohingya ethinic minority is currently enduring in Myanmar.

The Saudi smear campaign also brought up the issue of homelessness in Canada. A homeless man is seen wrapped up a coat in the street in Toronto

HIGHLIGHTING HOMELESSNESS IN CANADA

Also receiving heat from the Saudi smear campaign was the rate of homelessness in Canada.

Oslo-based refugee and blogger İyad el-Baghdadi reported that several pro-Saudi Twitter accounts had tweeted an image of a man in Montreal carrying a sign that reads: 'Canada Land of the Homeless'.

While there are an estimated 30,000 people sleeping on the streets of Canada every night, Saudi Arabia is said to have upwards of 80,000 homeless people.

The Saudi Arabian government has been accused of arresting 'beggars' in the streets and jailing journalists who try to document the homelessness problem in the country.