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How China Is Planning to Win Back the World (Kathy Gilsinan, The Atlantic)
As its global image takes a big hit, the Chinese Communist Party is using an arsenal of spin, obfuscation, hyperbole, and outright disinformation to win back its reputation.

Rubio Warns Fellow Republicans of Russian Disinformation amid Push to Probe Obama Officials (Fadel Allassan, Axios)
Acting Senate Intelligence Chair Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) warned his fellow Republicans in an interview with Politico not to fall victim to Russian disinformation as they move to probe the involvement of Obama administration officials, including Joe Biden, in the opening of the Russia investigation.
Rubio has so far been reluctant to embrace ideas like “Obamagate,” the conspiracy theory that former President Barack Obama ordered such investigations in order to undermine the incoming Trump administration, and he has distanced himself from GOP-led investigations into Biden’s affairs in Ukraine.
The warnings about disinformation are consistent with those from Rubio’s predecessor as intelligence chair, Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), who stepped down amid a federal investigation into stock trades he made before the markets crashed in March.

Feds Charge Ex-Venezuelan Politician with Recruiting Terrorists to Attack U.S. Interests (Tom Winter and Pete Williams, NBC News)
Adel El Zabayar traveled to the Middle East to obtain weapons and recruit members of Hezbollah and Hamas to train at hidden camps in Venezuela, prosecutors say.

The Children Left Behind in West Africa’s Conflict-Torn Regions (Ineke Mules, DW)
Human rights groups say children in conflict regions aren’t receiving enough support. Children who have escaped from Boko Haram are treated with suspicion in Nigeria, while schools are closing in Burkina Faso.

Coronavirus Claims Life of Sweden’s Leading Terror Recruiter (Damien McElroy, The National)
Swedish intelligence monitored shoe salesman with links to plotters from Mumbai to Brussels

ISIS Prisoners Threaten U.S. Mission in Northeastern Syria (Eric Schmitt, New York Times)
Overcrowded, makeshift prisons and camps and fears of Covid-19 have led to two riots by hardened fighters.

Vaccination and Coronavirus: Where the Public Good Clashes with Choice and Freedom (Alina I. Palimaru and Marcus Dillistone, RAND)
With scientists striving for a viable coronavirus vaccine, and public health officials considering its potential rollout, do calls for freedom of choice and anti-vaccination sentiments, as seen in recent televised protests, represent a worrying omen? Choice is central to American life, with freedom of speech and of opinion embedded in the U.S. Constitution. But at what point does a communal necessity, such as immunization, outweigh personal choice? How much choice do people in self-acclaimed free societies really have? Choice to murder a troublesome neighbor, or drive through a red light? Of course not. Choosing to avoid taxes or decline a vaccine may be considered acceptable by some, but are arguably a moral failure (PDF) to contribute to the public good.

Israeli Cyber Chief: Major Attack on Water Systems Thwarted (Aaron Heller, AP / Star and Stripes)
Israel’s national cyber chief Thursday officially acknowledged the country had thwarted a major cyber attack last month against its water systems, an assault widely attributed to arch-enemy Iran, calling it a “synchronized and organized attack” aimed at disrupting key national infrastructure.
Yigal Unna did not mention Iran directly, nor did he comment on the alleged Israeli retaliation two weeks later said to have shut down a key Iranian port, but he said recent developments have ushered in a new era of covert warfare, ominously warning that “cyber winter is coming.”

Deepfakes Are Going to Wreak Havoc on Society. We Are Not Prepared. (Rob Toews, Forbes)
Several deepfake videos have gone viral recently, giving millions around the world their first taste of this new technology: President Obama using an expletive to describe President Trump, Mark Zuckerberg admitting that Facebook’s true goal is to manipulate and exploit its users, Bill Hader morphing into Al Pacino on a late-night talk show.
Today we stand at an inflection point. In the months and years ahead, deepfakes threaten to grow from an Internet oddity to a widely destructive political and social force. Society needs to act now to prepare itself.

Is This New Signal Feature Enough to Make You Ditch WhatsApp? (Kate O’Flaherty, Forbes)
It’s insanely popular with the security community, but secure messaging app Signal has not yet reached the dizzy heights of its closest competitor WhatsApp’s 2 billion users. I use Signal all the time, but sadly very few of my friends and family are prepared to ditch WhatsApp—despite the fact it’s owned by Facebook and is less secure and private.