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☆ Russia was behind second fake video spreading false voter fraud claims, U.S. officials say
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-01 | by ( Dan De Luce | Dan De Luce Is A Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

It was the second piece of sophisticated Russian disinformation in a week to gain traction online that falsely asserted voter fraud in a key swing state. Easterly said she expected more attempts by Russia and foreign adversaries to spread false information before and after Election Day. The first video falsely claimed to show a person ripping up filled-in ballots in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. U.S. intelligence officials said the video was Russian made and designed to shake public faith in the democratic process. Federal authorities were countering foreign disinformation by “flooding the zone with accurate information,“ Easterly, of CISA, said in her interview on MSNBC.

Persons: CISA, “, Emerson Brooking, ” Brooking, ”, Brooking, Brad Raffensperger, Alex Wong, Elon Musk, “ We’ve, it’s Organizations: Infrastructure Security Agency, MSNBC, National Intelligence, FBI, Democratic, Digital Forensic Research, Atlantic Council, State Capitol Locations: Russia, Georgia, Moscow, United States, Russian, Bucks County , Pennsylvania, U.S, Atlanta, CISA

☆ The U.S. has a new strategy for combating foreign election interference, but will it work?
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-01 | by ( Dan De Luce | Dan De Luce Is A Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +10 min

Last week, a video popped up on social media falsely claiming to show someone ripping up ballots in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Instead of relying on flagging suspected foreign disinformation posts to social media companies, U.S. authorities are declassifying information about foreign election interference in an unprecedented way, seizing web domains and issuing indictments that have exposed the mechanics of Russian and Iranian information warfare, officials and researchers said. U.S. intelligence officials later said Russian “influence actors” were behind the false story. And social media companies, under intense legal and political pressure from Republican critics, have scaled back or scrapped teams in recent years that used to take down inflammatory or conspiratorial content. The combination of homegrown falsehoods about “stolen” election conspiracies, surging foreign disinformation campaigns and a laissez-faire approach by tech firms threatens to undermine the foundations of American democracy, experts and lawmakers said.

Persons: “, ”, Paul Kolbe, ” Kolbe, haven’t, Biden, Yuri Kadobnov, Donald Trump’s, Matthew Olsen, — we’ve, Bret Schafer, ” Schafer, Esteban Ponce de, Tim Walz, Walz, Trump, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, ” Jamieson Organizations: FBI, Justice Department, Central Eurasia, CIA, Media, Russia, Getty, Kremlin, Alliance, Securing Democracy, NBC, Atlantic Council, Forensic Research, Democratic, Gallup, Republican, Democracies, University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication Locations: Bucks County , Pennsylvania, Russia, Iran, China, Cuba, Moscow, Tehran, Tennessee, United States, AFP, Esteban Ponce de León, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Russian, Vietnam

The FBI said Monday afternoon that it is investigating what the Trump campaign has characterized as a successful effort to hack into its campaign and steal private documents. A Trump campaign spokesperson said Saturday that it had been hacked in June. The claim from the Trump campaign adds to what had already been a deeply antagonistic relationship between Iran and the former president. The apparent hack of Trump campaign files echoes the 2016 Russian campaign against Hillary Clinton, but so far seems notably less elaborate in distributing the hacked files. There is no apparent similar distribution system for the hacked Trump files, at least so far.

Persons: Trump, Hillary, Hillary Clinton’s, Donald Trump, Chris Krebs, SentinelOne, ”, Krebs, Qassem Soleimani, Adam Schiff, ” Schiff, Schiff, Hillary Clinton, Simin Kargar Organizations: FBI, Politico, The Washington Post, The New York Times, NBC News, Microsoft, United Nations, Democratic National Committee, U.S, Republican, Infrastructure Security Agency, Biden, Iran’s, Former U.S, Rep, House Intelligence Committee, Intelligence, Democratic, Trump, WikiLeaks, Atlantic, Forensic Research Locations: Russia, China, Iran, Tehran, U.S, Romanian

In repelling disinformation, Chinese and domestic, Taiwan offers an example to other democracies holding elections this year. And when the election results came out, they thought something was up,” said Eve Chiu, the editor-in-chief of Taiwan’s FactCheck Center, a nonprofit journalism organization. Taiwan's FactCheck Center debunked multiple videos of alleged voter fraud, including another one in which voting officials make a human error caught on camera. Taiwan has been able to effectively respond to Chinese disinformation in part because of how seriously the threat is perceived there, according to Kenton Thibaut, a senior resident fellow and expert on Chinese disinformation at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab. Others like, Taiwan FactCheck Center, are careful to not take government money so as to preserve their independence, said Chiu.

Persons: miscounting, “, ”, Eve Chiu, Ko Wen, Taiwan's FactCheck, Kenton Thibaut, Thibaut, Alexander Tah, Ray Yui, Yui, ” Yui, Charles Yeh, Chiu, Donald Trump, they’re, Jim Ludes, Ko, DoubleThink, GaChuDao, Wu, ___ Wu, Didi Tang Organizations: WASHINGTON, Taiwan’s, Taiwan People’s Party, Facebook, DoubleThink, Democratic Progressive Party, Taiwan can’t, Atlantic, Forensic Research, Associated Press, Taiwan FactCheck Center, Google, Media, ”, Pell Center for International Relations, Salve Regina University Locations: Taiwan’s, China, Taiwan, India, Mexico, Russia, America, Kenton, U.S, United States, Iran, Bangkok

☆ Telegram rarely bans channels. Israel-Gaza forced it to step in.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

It has also restricted two of Hamas' official channels on Android and iOS devices. Restrictions, not bans — but rare for Telegram nonethelessTelegram, which is known for its message encryption and lax moderation, restricted two official Hamas channels on Android devices earlier this month. The impact of banning Telegram channels remains to be seenAs for Hamas, Telegram has been under pressure for weeks to cut the militant group from its services. Before the restrictions, Hamas' official Telegram channels saw a three-fold jump in followers after the attacks, the Digital Forensic Research Lab reported. Notably, Hamas channels are not the only ones spreading content related to the October 7 attacks, and some of those channels are still available on the platform.

Persons: —, Pavel Durov, Durov, it's, It's, Abu Obaida Organizations: Service, Telegram, Google, Jerusalem Post, Meta, Hong, Kremlin, Makhachkala International Airport, Morning, Apple, Middle East Media Research Institute, Capitol, Forensic Research, Wired, Digital Forensic Research Lab, Human Rights, Hamas, Brigades, DFRLab, CNBC, Washington Post, Palestinian Health Authority Locations: Israel, Ashkelon, Jerusalem, Hong Kong, Gaza, Russia, Dagestan, Tel Aviv, Makhachkala, Morning Dagestan

☆ Views on Hamas' military Telegram channel have increased tenfold since the war with Israel began
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Hamas' social media following has surged since its attacks on Israel began this month. AdvertisementAdvertisementIn the small digital enclave they have left, the engagement on official Hamas social media accounts is booming, with followers skyrocketing and video views through the roof. AdvertisementAdvertisement"Earlier this week, Hamas used Telegram to warn civilians in Ashkelon to leave the area ahead of their missile strikes. Off Telegram, pro-Hamas posts surgeEven on platforms where Hamas doesn't have official accounts, posts that encourage or sympathize with the militant group have risen sharply after Israel declared war on Hamas following Hamas' attacks on October 7. The DSA includes YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook — but not Telegram — among the very large social platforms it subjects to additional security obligations.

Persons: —, skyrocketing, Elon Musk's, Pavel Durov, Durov, doesn't, Israel, Meta, Linda Yaccarino Organizations: Service, Facebook, Elon, European Union, Hamas, CNN, Atlantic, Forensic Research, Telegram, Meta, YouTube, Twitter, Representatives, Digital Services, DSA Locations: Israel, United States, Ashkelon, Algerian, Europe, Gaza

But its following has surged on popular messaging app Telegram since its October 7 terror attack on Israel. Hamas is a designated foreign terror organization in the United States, and new internet laws in the European Union mean large social media platforms can face penalties for hosting terroristic content. Hamas’ growing audienceThe Telegram channel for Hamas’ military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, had about 200,000 followers at the time of the attack. Fishman said while the huge growth in the number of people following Hamas’ Telegram accounts is concerning, it doesn’t mean all the followers are supporters – pointing out that many journalists, researchers and others are likely following the accounts. And that could make it more difficult for plaintiffs to use legal action to force Telegram to remove Hamas content.

Persons: –, Brian Fishman, Fishman, Hamas ’, Pavel Durov, Durov, ” Durov, John Bergmayer, Thierry Breton, didn’t Organizations: CNN, Brigades, Google, Hamas, European Union, Hamas ’, Atlantic, Forensic Research, Meta, Capitol, Facebook, Twitter, ISIS, Communications, Republicans, European, Digital Services, European Commission Locations: Israel, United States, European, Russian, Dubai, Russia, Ashkelon, US

“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

REGULATORY SCRUTINYWhile disinformation has spread on all major social media platforms including Facebook and TikTok, X appeared to be the most recent to draw scrutiny from regulators. On Tuesday, European Union Commissioner Thierry Breton warned Musk that X was spreading "illegal content and disinformation," according to a letter Breton posted on X. Musk himself recommended that X users follow two accounts that had previously spread false claims for "real-time" updates on the conflict, the Washington Post reported. False information has also spread on messaging app Telegram and short-form video app TikTok, said DFRLab's Trad. Like other online platforms, YouTube has moderation employees and technology to remove content that violates its rules.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Ruslan Trad, X, Bruno Mars miscaptioned, Thierry Breton, Breton, Musk, Renee DiResta, Jack Brewster, Brewster, Tamara Kharroub, DFRLab's Trad, TikTok, Solomon Messing, there's, Messing, Kharroub, Sheila Dang, Riniki Sanyal, Deepa Babington Organizations: Twitter, REUTERS, Elon, European Union, Reuters, Atlantic, Forensic Research, Hamas, Meta, Facebook, European, EU, Stanford Internet Observatory, Washington Post, Washington, Arab Center Washington DC, New York University's Center for Social Media, YouTube, Thomson Locations: Israel, American, New, Dallas, Bangalore

CNN has requested comment from Musk and X on the posts related to the Israel-Gaza conflict. Community notes allow users on X to fact-check false posts on the platform. While notes were appended to both of these false posts, they often come after a false post has been viewed thousands – or in some cases millions – of times. “In times of war, social media becomes a propaganda battlefield; there is always an element of disinformation and exaggeration,” said Emerson Brooking, senior resident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab. He said other platforms that have little or no guardrails including the social media messaging app Telegram are also hotbeds of misinformation, but X is unique given Musk’s behavior.

Persons: Musk, influencer Jackson Hinkle, Hinkle, Benjamin Netanyahu, ”, Israel, Emerson Brooking, ” Brooking, ” Joe Galvin, ” Galvin, X Organizations: CNN, Elon, White, Washington, Pentagon, Jerusalem Post, Directorate, Defamation League, Atlantic, Forensic Research, “, monetization, Twitter Locations: Israel, Ukraine, Russia, Gaza, Azerbaijan

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