Layla Mashkoor
@laylam.bsky.social
📤 4088
📥 465
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Deputy Director of Research,
@dfrlab.bsky.social
.
pinned post!
Book is out today! I had the privilege of contributing a chapter to “Age of Doubt: Building Trust in a World of Misinformation.” Read this to understand how we got to where we are today—and where we go next.
publishing.monash.edu/product/age-...
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Age of Doubt - Monash University Publishing
Today, trust seems harder to find than ever before. It's hardly surprising we feel that way. Our politics is polarised, our online world is awash with misinformation, and we’ve lost faith in our bedro...
https://publishing.monash.edu/product/age-of-doubt/
11 months ago
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Layla Mashkoor
Steve Herman
9 days ago
RFE/RL, which has sued Kari Lake to block her termination of its federal funding grants, resumes shortwave radio broadcasts into Iran following the imposition of an internet blackout by the Islamic Republic.
about.rferl.org/article/radio...
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Radio Farda Returns to Shortwave, Bypassing Iran’s Digital Blackout
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) has today resumed shortwave radio broadcasts into Iran following the imposition of an internet blackout by the Islamic Republic.
https://about.rferl.org/article/radio-farda-returns-to-shortwave-bypassing-irans-digital-blackout/
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Layla Mashkoor
Shashank Joshi
7 days ago
I wrote on the Iranian regime's effort to impose a digital blackout to cover up the scale of its repression. News still getting out, but less than before. Starlink hard to jam, but jamming GPS can disrupt Starlink ground terminals. No magic cyber solution.
www.economist.com/middle-east-...
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How Iran’s regime has hidden its brutal crackdown
It has cut off communication, but outsiders might help Iranians get back online
https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2026/01/12/how-irans-regime-has-hidden-its-brutal-crackdown
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Spoke to the Washington Post for this article about
@dfrlab.bsky.social
’s research into the online chaos that followed Maduro’s capture.
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7 days ago
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Layla Mashkoor
The Associated Press
8 days ago
Malaysia and Indonesia become the first countries to block Grok, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s xAI, after authorities said it was being misused to generate sexually explicit and non-consensual images.
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Malaysia, Indonesia become first to block Musk’s Grok over AI deepfakes
Malaysia and Indonesia have blocked access to Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok due to its misuse in generating explicit images.
https://bit.ly/4qkVSuz
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Layla Mashkoor
Shashank Joshi
9 days ago
"A medic at one Tehran hospital said there were "direct shots to the heads of the young people, to their hearts as well", while a doctor said an eye hospital in the capital had gone into crisis mode"
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
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Iran medics describe hospitals overwhelmed with dead and injured protesters
Hundreds of people are believed to have been killed and injured by the security forces, with more than 70 bodies brought to one hospital.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj9rengvnp9o
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Layla Mashkoor
Mark Chadbourn
13 days ago
An image that captures what’s happening in Iran: a female protester raises a ripped down surveillance camera. Photo via the Hengaw Organisation for Human Rights.
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Layla Mashkoor
Joe Uchill
10 days ago
Twitter‘s solution to making CSAM for free is to make CSAM for profit.
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Limiting Grok AI image edits to paid users 'insulting' to victims, says No 10
It comes after government urged Ofcom to use all its powers – up to and including an effective ban – against X.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c99kn52nx9do
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Internet traffc in Iran dropped to effectively zero as of 18:45 UTC (22:15 PM local time) on 1/8, signaling a complete shutdown in the country, and disconnection from the global internet -Cloudfare
radar.cloudflare.com/traffic/ir?d...
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
10 days ago
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Layla Mashkoor
Maggie Astor
14 days ago
Copy Editing Matters, from HHS's release on the new childhood vaccine schedule: All the diseases will still be available to anyone who wants them
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Russia sanctions 28 Canadians. The list largely targets researchers, many from HREC (
holodomor.ca
), plus
@socialmedialab.ca
. A clear sign these organizations are doing excellent work that should be protected and supported.
news.zerkalo.io/world/117383...
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Россия закрыла въезд для 28 канадских граждан, «продвигающих неонацистскую идеологию»
Решение принято в ответ на ранее введенные Оттавой ограничения в отношении российских граждан и структур.
https://news.zerkalo.io/world/117383.html
14 days ago
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Layla Mashkoor
Raphael Satter
14 days ago
Many are just waking up to the Grok-nonconsensual images story as these pictures began flooding X over the holidays, but here’s our piece from Jan 2 featuring a victim, Julie Yukari, who was brave enough to speak on the record and on camera:
www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...
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Elon Musk's Grok AI floods X with sexualized photos of women and minors
When contacted by Reuters for comment by email, xAI replied with the message "Legacy Media Lies."
https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/grok-says-safeguard-lapses-led-images-minors-minimal-clothing-x-2026-01-02/
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Layla Mashkoor
Lauren Dobson-Hughes
14 days ago
Genuinely find this upsetting to watch. It’s the live and mass violation of women for daring to exist outside the narrow confines of a controlled and sexualised plaything for men
add a skeleton here at some point
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Layla Mashkoor
George Pearkes
14 days ago
Reuters natsec reporter Phil Stewart: "Venezuela orders police to find, arrest anyone involved in supporting U.S. attack-decree"
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It is an inalienable tenet of modern life that disinformation, much of it now AI-generated, will spread in the wake of breaking news events
www.wired.com/story/disinf...
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Disinformation Floods Social Media After Nicolás Maduro’s Capture
From seemingly AI-generated videos to repurposed old footage, TikTok, Instagram, and X did little to stop the onslaught of misleading posts in the wake of the US invasion of Venezuela.
https://www.wired.com/story/disinformation-floods-social-media-after-nicolas-maduros-capture/?_sp=7def3411-a36a-4896-a600-23a2f0a15dcb.1767626758473
14 days ago
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reposted by
Layla Mashkoor
The DFRLab has long tracked the digital means that aided in Venezuela's descent into autocracy. As Venezuela enters a pivotal moment, it is worth revisiting how Maduro weaponized digital tools. See 2024 report: "Venezuela: A Playbook for Digital Repression”
www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-res...
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How Venezuela became a model for digital authoritarianism
This report dives deep into the state of media in Venezuela and the role it played in the country's slide toward authoritarianism.
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/how-venezuela-became-a-model-for-digital-authoritarianism/
14 days ago
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The DFRLab has long tracked the digital means that aided in Venezuela's descent into autocracy. As Venezuela enters a pivotal moment, it is worth revisiting how Maduro weaponized digital tools. See 2024 report: "Venezuela: A Playbook for Digital Repression”
www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-res...
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How Venezuela became a model for digital authoritarianism
This report dives deep into the state of media in Venezuela and the role it played in the country's slide toward authoritarianism.
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/how-venezuela-became-a-model-for-digital-authoritarianism/
14 days ago
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Layla Mashkoor
Phil Lewis
15 days ago
Colin and Sophie Hortman, the children of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, are asking Trump to remove the false posts about their parents' killing:
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Layla Mashkoor
Nardwuar the Human Serviette
19 days ago
I am honoured to announce I’ve been appointed as a member to the Order of Canada. Thank you to everyone for the support! I dedicate this to my late Mom who taught me so much about history, local independent media & research. I know that she would be, like me, screaming with joy!
#orderofcanada
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It has been a year of challenges and turbulence, but the work continues.
dfrlab.org/2025/12/31/t...
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The DFRLab reflects on 2025
The DFRLab's 2025 investigations expose global attempts to undermine democracies, erode public trust, and weaponize emerging technologies.
https://dfrlab.org/2025/12/31/the-dfrlab-reflects-on-2025/
19 days ago
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Layla Mashkoor
The Washington Post
24 days ago
Exclusive: Internal documents reveal Meta pursued a yearslong strategy to bring more teens to Instagram even after critics said it wasn’t safe.
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Leaked documents show Instagram’s plan to win back teens
Instagram has pursued a yearslong strategy to win teens back to the app after its critics said the platform wasn’t safe for them, documents obtained by The Post show.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/12/26/meta-instagram-teen-strategy/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social
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Layla Mashkoor
Kate Starbird
24 days ago
Good article, but I think we could add that many of the current government officials & influencers spreading political point-scoring falsehoods during crisis events HAVE BECOME gov officials & influencers BECAUSE of their bullshit-spreading talents. System effects of rotten attention dynamics.
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Government Officials Once Stopped False Accusations After Violence. Now, Some Join In.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/25/technology/brown-university-shooting-disinformation-politicians.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
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Layla Mashkoor
Yashar Ali 🐘
27 days ago
NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani on Mustapha Kharbouch, the Palestinian student who was falsely accused last week of being the Brown University shooter by various racists and conspiracy theorists.
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Layla Mashkoor
DFRLab
about 1 month ago
Join us today @ 8:30 AM ET | 2:30 PM CET for key lessons from Moldova’s 2025 elections w/ DFRLab's
@buziashvili.bsky.social
@victoriaolari.bsky.social
&
@laylam.bsky.social
bit.ly/49cY1lG
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Layla Mashkoor
RSF
about 1 month ago
#Belarus
: RSF reveals the existence of a previously unknown spyware tool, used since at least 2021 by the KGB against journalists. Installed after the physical confiscation of phones,
#ResidentBat
constitutes a grave violation of press freedom. RSF calls for a ban on these surveillance technologies.
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Exclusive: RSF uncovers new spyware from Belarus
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)’s Digital Security Lab (DSL), working with the Eastern European organisation RESIDENT.NGO, has uncovered a previously unknown spyware tool used by the State Security Co...
https://rsf.org/en/exclusive-rsf-uncovers-new-spyware-belarus
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Layla Mashkoor
I’ll be moderating this discussion on Wednesday on lessons from Moldova’s elections. Anyone who cares about information or election integrity should be closing watching what is unfolding in Moldova.
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about 1 month ago
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I’ll be moderating this discussion on Wednesday on lessons from Moldova’s elections. Anyone who cares about information or election integrity should be closing watching what is unfolding in Moldova.
add a skeleton here at some point
about 1 month ago
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"A.I.s end up collapsing into drivel quite a lot. They somehow manage to be both predictable and nonsensical at the same time."
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/m...
about 1 month ago
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“1 in 10 Canadian Security Intelligence Service investigations now involve at least one extremist under age 18, the agency’s director said on Nov. 13.”
globalnews.ca/news/1154264...
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Youth arrested in Ontario for posting ISIS videos, seeking firearms | Globalnews.ca
The arrest comes amid what security officials are calling a worrying trend of youth radicalization.
https://globalnews.ca/news/11542647/youth-arrested-in-ontario-for-posting-isis-videos-seeking-firearms/
about 2 months ago
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And this is why we need data transparency from platforms.
www.thedailybeast.com/top-maga-inf...
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Top MAGA Influencers Accidentally Unmasked as Foreign Actors
A new feature on Elon Musk’s X has given deeper insight into the online “America First” movement.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/top-maga-influencers-accidentally-unmasked-as-foreign-actors/
about 2 months ago
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Layla Mashkoor
Lora Kolodny
about 2 months ago
Meta halted internal research that purportedly showed (young) people who stopped using Facebook became less depressed and anxious, according to an unredacted legal filing released on Friday.
www.cnbc.com/2025/11/23/m...
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Meta halted internal research suggesting social media harm, court filing alleges
Meta is alleged to have halted internal research suggesting social media harm, according to court documents.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/23/meta-internal-research-social-media-harm-court-filing.html
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New report! 49 African countries now use biometric systems, but weak governance, heavy reliance on foreign vendors, and limited transparency risk exclusion and surveillance.
www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-res...
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Biometrics and digital identity in Africa
Biometrics have become deeply embedded in Africa’s political, social, and economic landscape.
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/report/biometrics-and-digital-identity-in-africa/
2 months ago
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Layla Mashkoor
The New York Times
4 months ago
Several journalists resigned this week from three newspapers in Alaska after the publications’ corporate owner made significant edits to an article about Charlie Kirk’s death, after pressure from a Republican state lawmaker who had criticized the coverage.
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Journalists at 3 Alaska Newspapers Quit Over Charlie Kirk Story
The publications in Alaska lost significant staffing after the owners made changes to an article that had drawn criticism from a Republican state lawmaker.
https://nyti.ms/4o2Lw0z
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Layla Mashkoor
Reuters
4 months ago
Apple removes ICE tracking apps after pressure by Trump administration
reut.rs/4mIfztt
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Apple removes ICE tracking apps after pressure by Trump administration
Apple said on Thursday that it had removed ICEBlock, the most popular ICE-tracking app, and other similar apps from its App Store after it was contacted by President Donald Trump's administration.
https://reut.rs/4mIfztt
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Layla Mashkoor
Julia Carrie Wong
4 months ago
I spoke to parents who are letting their young kids play with generative AI and tried to sort through some of the questions they have about it. "I don’t know what this is doing to their brains," one dad told me. Meanwhile, Sam Altman says, "Kids love ChatGPT on voicemode."
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‘My son genuinely believed it was real’: Parents are letting little kids play with AI. Are they wrong?
Some believe AI can spark their child’s imagination through personalized stories and generative images. Scientists are wary of its affect on creativity
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ng-interactive/2025/oct/02/ai-children-parenting-creativity
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Update from
@freedomflotilla.bsky.social
states the Mikeno came within 7nm of Gaza before being intercepted
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4 months ago
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Layla Mashkoor
Toronto Star
4 months ago
The federal government has updated its travel advisory to the U.S. with a warning that people who have the gender-neutral “X” identifier on their passports may face restrictions when crossing the southern border.
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Canada issues warning for U.S.-bound travellers with gender-neutral passports
The advisory notes some countries, including the U.S., don’t recognize the “X” gender identifier, meaning entry is not guaranteed.
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/canada-issues-warning-for-u-s--bound-travellers-with-gender-neutral-passports/article_962699d0-53ba-4ed3-8afb-ea81beb15a4e.html
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The Flotilla ship Mikeno has gone dark, its current status is unknown. But it is reportedly the first civilian vessel to successfully enter Gaza’s territorial waters.
www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/...
4 months ago
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Yep. LLM poisoning is the next stage of info ops.
add a skeleton here at some point
4 months ago
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A huge communications blackout has hit Afghanistan after Taliban authorities began severing fibre-optic connections in several provinces to prevent “vice”
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
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Afghanistan hit by communications blackout after Taliban shuts internet
Telecoms disrupted nationwide after authorities cut fibre optic connections in several provinces to prevent ‘vice’
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/29/afghanistan-communications-blackout-taliban-shuts-internet
4 months ago
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My takeaway from the Klein-Coates conversation is that Klein repeatedly brushes past the central issue that Coates keeps returning to, which is that "hate is a powerful force." It's a question of when and how to engage with hateful rhetoric.
4 months ago
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Layla Mashkoor
Quinta Jurecic
4 months ago
I have been haunted by this statement all day
www.kgw.com/article/news...
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Layla Mashkoor
The Kyiv Independent
4 months ago
⚡️Pro-EU party leads in Moldova election as votes are counted. The EU has warned that Moldova is enduring "an unprecedented campaign of disinformation" from Russia ahead of the election.
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Pro-EU party leads in Moldova election as votes are counted
The EU has warned that Moldova is enduring "an unprecedented campaign of disinformation" from Russia ahead of the election.
https://kyivindependent.com/moldova-election/
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Just watched CBC’s Lilith Fair documentary and I can’t express how much attending an event like this today would heal my soul.
youtu.be/R0DrZGl39as?...
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Lilith Fair: The story behind the iconic ’90s music festival
YouTube video by CBC Docs
https://youtu.be/R0DrZGl39as?si=a7SdokJkyQfwdGGo
4 months ago
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reposted by
Layla Mashkoor
Reade Levinson
4 months ago
On Aug 25, Israeli defense forces attacked a Gaza hospital, killing our colleague Hussam al-Masri. We spent the last few weeks reviewing footage and interviewing witnesses. The visual evidence contradicts Israel’s official story.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
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Visual evidence upends Israel’s official story for deadly attack on Gaza hospital
Israeli troops say they targeted a Hamas camera in an August strike, but a Reuters investigation found the device belonged to one of the news agency’s journalists. An Israeli official now says troops fired without required approval. The five journalists who died in the strike are among 200 killed by Israel that it has yet to fully explain.
https://www.reuters.com/investigations/visual-evidence-upends-israels-official-story-deadly-attack-gaza-hospital-2025-09-26/
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Layla Mashkoor
Phil Lewis
4 months ago
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Dozens of delegates from multiple nations walk out of UN hall as Israeli prime minister prepares to speak.
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Excellent thread examining the flaws in the study that led to this headline.
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4 months ago
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Major policy shift by Microsoft
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
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Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its technology in mass surveillance of Palestinians
Exclusive: Tech firm ends military unit’s access to AI and data services after Guardian reveals secret spy project
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/25/microsoft-blocks-israels-use-of-its-technology-in-mass-surveillance-of-palestinians?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
4 months ago
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Today
@dfrlab.bsky.social
published an investigation into REST, a newly launched “media outlet” targeting Moldova ahead of its elxn. Our forensic analysis shows REST’s infrastructure and workflow is linked to milblogger channel Rybar, whose creator is sanctioned by the EU
dfrlab.org/2025/09/23/s...
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Sanctioned Russian actor linked to new media outlet targeting Moldova
REST is linked to the Russian threat actor Rybar, which targets EU countries, along with Moldova.
https://dfrlab.org/2025/09/23/sanctioned-russian-actor-linked-to-new-media-outlet-targeting-moldova/
4 months ago
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Layla Mashkoor
Mai El-Sadany
4 months ago
HUGE HUGE NEWS FROM EGYPT!! Egyptian President Sisi has issued a presidential pardon for activist and blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah.
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Layla Mashkoor
Robin Berjon
4 months ago
I can't count the number of times I've cited this tweet to people.
add a skeleton here at some point
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