Our picksWho Benefits from Health Misinformation? | Purging Banned Chinese Tech | DHS & Election Security, and more

DOJ Appeals Court’s Decision to Release Hezbollah Money Man Early (Dan De Luce and Michael Kosnar, NBC News)
The Justice Department argues Kassim Tajideen does not qualify to be freed on “compassionate grounds” due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fratricidal Clash in West Africa Pits al Qaeda Against Islamic State (Joe Parkinson, Michael M. Phillips, and Warren P. Strobel, Wall Street Journal)
Battle for supremacy between world’s most deadly jihadist groups adds new dangers for civilians in a poor region where terrorist attacks have recently exploded

Sahel Summit Agrees Need to Intensify Campaign Against Jihadists (Reuters / VOA)
International and regional powers agreed at talks on Tuesday to intensify a military campaign against Islamist militants in the West African Sahel region, with French President Emmanuel Macron saying victory over the jihadists was within grasp.

Who Benefits from Health Misinformation? (Erin McAweeney, Medium / Data & Society)
This pandemic exposes the erosion of our collective trust in health expertise

A Machine-Learning Approach Could Help Counter Disinformation (Kate Cox , Linda Slapakova , and William Marcellino, C4ISTNet)
Disinformation has become a central feature of the COVID-19 crisis. There are several factors that may account for the rapid spread of disinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the global nature of the pandemic, more groups are using disinformation to further their agendas. Advances in machine or computer learning also contribute to the problem, as disinformation campaigns powered by artificial intelligence extend the reach of malign information online and on social media platforms.

Defense Firms Unlikely to Win Extension to Purge Banned Chinese Tech (Mariam Baksh, Defense One)
Armed Services Chairman Rep. Adam Smith is asking GAO to report on compliance, as companies ask for more time.

During a Pandemic, Stalkerware Becomes Even More Sinister (Shannon Vavra, Cyberscoop)
When public health experts started recommending social distancing to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the goal was to place people out of harm’s way. But the policy has forced many domestic violence victims to possibly face a far more insidious danger: isolating with an abuser. Security researchers tell CyberScoop that data show a rise in invasive surveillance software known as stalkerware — applications that can spy on partners’ texts, calls, social media use and geolocation information — since the coronavirus pandemic began, despite the fact that abusers are much more likely to be sharing the same living space as their victims.

DHS Looks to Expand Tracking of Election Interference Through Social Media (Brandi Vincent, Nextgov)
The request comes four months before Americans head to the polls.

The Sinister Fiction of Russian Aid to the COVID-Plagued World (Michael Weiss, Daily Beast)
Since the start of the pandemic, the Kremlin has spun out the message that only it can save the world. But sometimes its lies are exposed for the bad jokes they are.