Oregon Blaze Conspiracies | Hezbollah & Irish Terrorism | Poisoning Them Softly, and more
· Russian Meddling Efforts Intensifying as U.S. Election Nears
· The Big Question: How Will “Deepfakes” and Emerging Technology Transform Disinformation?
· “Unholy Alliance”: Conspiracy Theorists Are Circulating Russian and Chinese Disinformation about COVID-19 on Social Media
· The Implications of the Poisoning of Alexey Navalny
· Hezbollah’s links with Irish terror group exposed
· Wolf Says “Lone, Homegrown” Terror Threat Is Top DHS Focus 19 Years after 9/11
· Facebook Removing Posts Linking Oregon Blazes to Extremist Groups
Russian Meddling Efforts Intensifying as U.S. Election Nears (Jeremy Herbst, CNN)
Over the past week there have been fresh warnings over Russian hackers targeting the 2020 election, the indictment of a Russian man stealing Americans’ identities as part of election meddling, and sanctions against a Russian-linked politician for spreading disinformation.
The episodes are a stark reminder that Russian-linked election interference efforts — along with the potential threat from countries like China and Iran — are ramping back up with the November 3 election less than two months away, suggesting Moscow is still looking to duplicate its wildly successful 2016 meddling campaign.
The Big Question: How Will “Deepfakes” and Emerging Technology Transform Disinformation? (National Endowment for Democracy)
Disinformation, the intentional use of false or misleading information for political purposes, is increasingly recognized as a threat to democracy worldwide. Many observers argue that this challenge has been exacerbated by social media and a declining environment for independent news outlets. Now, new advances in technology—including but not limited to “deepfakes” and other forms of synthetic media—threaten to supercharge the disinformation crisis.
The International Forum for Democratic Studies asked five leading experts about the role that deepfakes and other emerging applications may play in the disinformation landscape.
“Unholy Alliance”: Conspiracy Theorists Are Circulating Russian and Chinese Disinformation about COVID-19 on Social Media (Eden Gillespie, The Feed)
How much of conspiracy theories are deliberate acts of disinformation? According to experts, conspiracy theorists are sharing COVID-19 messages from state organizations in Russia and China that cater to the countries’ strategic interests and seek to sow division in the West.
Australian conspiracy theorists are helping this kind of disinformation spread like wildfire, according to Dr Timothy Graham, a Senior Lecturer in Communication at Queensland University of Technology.
“QAnon, for example, is a really susceptible population of individuals who are ready to be co-opted and to have their already existing beliefs cultivated and exploited for strategic purposes,” Dr Graham told The Feed.
