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☆ In a Worldwide War of Words, Russia, China and Iran Back Hamas
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Steven Lee Myers | Sheera Frenkel | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The conflict between Israel and Hamas is fast becoming a world war online. Iran, Russia and, to a lesser degree, China have used state media and the world’s major social networking platforms to support Hamas and undercut Israel, while denigrating Israel’s principal ally, the United States. Iran’s proxies in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq have also joined the fight online, along with extremist groups, like Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, that were previously at odds with Hamas. “It’s just like everyone is involved,” said Moustafa Ayad, executive director for Africa, the Middle East and Asia at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. The institute, a nonprofit research organization in London, last week detailed influence campaigns by Iran, Russia and China.

Persons: denigrating, Al, ”, Rafi Mendelsohn, Cyabra, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, “ It’s, Moustafa Ayad Organizations: Hamas, Islamic, Institute for Strategic Locations: Israel, Iran, Russia, China, United States, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Al Qaeda, Islamic State, Cyabra, Tel Aviv, “, Gaza, Africa, East, Asia, London

Reuters fact-checking unit has identified numerous cases of social media posts using fake images and information about the Israel-Hamas conflict, and others in which confusion rather than deliberate disinformation appears to have heightened tensions. loading* A video of Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking about Ukraine last year was shared this month with fabricated subtitles warning the U.S. not to interfere in the Israel-Hamas conflict. The sheriff’s office said they were "targeted by the suspect due to them being Muslim and the on-going Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis". Marc Owen Jones, a disinformation expert and professor at Hamad bin Khalifa University in Qatar, said there was often a rise in disinformation during conflicts. Clearly they seem directed at different audiences, but the combined effect is to muddy the waters about the truth in the conflict," he said.

Persons: Khan Younis, Abu Mustafa, Joe Biden, we’ve, Biden, Farida Khan, Al Jazeera, Jazeera, Vladimir Putin, Pink, Gerald Darmanin, Thierry Breton, Rafi Mendelsohn, Abu Obaidah, Tayyip Erdogan, Marc Owen Jones, Hamad, Stephanie Burnett, Stephen Farrell, Hardik, Abdel Fattah Sherif, Neha Mustafi, Jonathan B Mathew, Nidal, James Mackenzie, Andrew Mills, William Maclean, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, Al, Hamas, Reuters, Louvre, Facebook, Meta, YouTube, Israel’s Office, State Attorney, Twitter, Palestine, Hamad bin Khalifa University, Hardik Vyas, Thomson Locations: Gaza, AMSTERDAM, LONDON, Israel, ., Al Jazeera, Ukraine, Guatemala, Israeli, New Zealand, kibbutzes, France, In Illinois, London, Middle, Tehran, Turkey, Qatar, Amsterdam, Bangalore, Jerusalem, Doha

“Getting information from social media is likely to lead to you being severely disinformed,” said Ahmed. Everyone from US foreign adversaries to domestic extremists to internet trolls and “engagement farmers” has been exploiting the war on social media for their own personal or political gain, he added. “Bad actors surrounding us have been manipulating, confusing and trying to create deception on social media platforms,” Dan Brahmy, CEO of the Israeli social media threat intelligence firm Cyabra, said Thursday in a video posted to LinkedIn. The dynamic simultaneously highlights the business models of social media and the role the companies play in carefully calibrating their users’ experiences. ‘Be very cautious about sharing’Despite giving the impression of reality and truthfulness, Brookie said, individual stories and combat footage conveyed through social media often lack the broader perspective and context that journalists, research organizations and even social media moderation teams apply to a situation to help achieve a fuller understanding of it.

Persons: ”, Gazans, Pepe, Imran Ahmed, Ahmed, “, Dan Brahmy, ‘, ’ Graham Brookie, Islamophobic, Elon Musk, it’s, ” Imran Ahmed, ” Brian Fishman, ” Linda Yaccarino, “ We’ve, Andy Stone, Snapchat, TikTok, ” Ahmed, ” Brookie, Brookie Organizations: New, New York CNN, CNN, —, Twitter, European Union, Facebook, YouTube, Center, LinkedIn, Digital Forensic Research, Atlantic Council, European Commission, European, Digital Services Locations: New York, Israel, Russia, Ukraine, London, Egypt, Islamophobic, Washington ,, United Kingdom, United States

☆ Hackers post email addresses linked to 200 million Twitter accounts, security researchers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Email addresses linked to more than 200 million Twitter profiles are currently circulating on underground hacker forums, security experts say. The apparent data leak could expose the real-life identities of anonymous Twitter users and make it easier for criminals to hijack Twitter accounts, the experts warned, or even victims’ accounts on other websites. The trove of leaked records also includes Twitter users’ names, account handles, follower numbers and the dates the accounts were created, according to forum listings reviewed by security researchers and shared with CNN. Troy Hunt, a security researcher, said Thursday that his analysis of the data “found 211,524,284 unique email addresses” that had been leaked. The account data could also be valuable to hackers who can use the information as part of password-reset attempts and account takeovers.

New York CNN Business —Spam and fake accounts are more prevalent on Twitter than on comparable social platforms, according to a data analysis firm hired by Elon Musk as part of his legal battle with Twitter. Bots on Twitter have been central to the dispute over Musk’s initial attempt to get out of the acquisition deal. Cyabra’s analysisCyabra first made waves in May, after Musk’s deal was first announced. Using publicly available data, the company claimed at the time that spam and bot accounts represented 13.7% of accounts on Twitter. Brahmy said Cyabra did not work with the other data analysis firms used by Musk’s team, and he declined to discuss whether or how much Cyabra was paid to perform the commissioned analysis.

☆ Elon Musk's own data scientists couldn't find many bots on Twitter, and he hid that crucial information, the company says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Grace Kay | Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The firm Cyabra told Musk it estimated Twitter to possibly have 11% bots or fake accounts. That's very different from Musk's estimates. "None of these analyses remotely supported what Mr. Musk told the Twitter parties and told the world in the termination letter he served up on July 8." Musk claims this amounts to fraud and allows him to walk away from the acquisition cost-free. Legal experts are unconvinced that any of Musk's claims are strong enough to win this case.

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