OUR PICKSTime to Target Tech Giants Fueling Disorder | The U.S. and China Are Clearing Up Their Deportation Fights | Deterring Foreign Election Interference, and more
· Time to Target Tech Giants Fueling Disorder
We have to punish rioters but the social networks that lit the spark must obey our laws too
· Russia’s election influence efforts show sophistication, officials say
Moscow is using “authentic U.S. voices” on major social media platforms to “launder” propaganda and divisive narratives aimed at swaying American audiences
· Trump Dismisses New Warnings of Russian Interference in Election
U.S. intelligence officials warned Friday of new covert efforts by Russia to sway the presidential election. At a rally in Wisconsin, Trump made clear he doesn’t buy it
· Trump Pledges to Jail Opponents, Baselessly Suggests Election Will Be Stolen from Him
The former president’s latest threats, made in a social media post, represent the most overt signal yet that he will not accept the result in November if he loses
· The U.S. and China Are Clearing Up Their Deportation Fights
Beijing is worried about a sudden surge in emigration
· Deterring Foreign Election Interference
Recent revelations of Chinese interference in Canada’s political system should be a warning to the United States and other democracies
Time to Target Tech Giants Fueling Disorder (Edward Lucas, The Times)
As the smoke from this month’s rioting dies away, the question of who lit the spark becomes even more pressing. One culprit is a social media account on Twitter/X called Europe Invasion. It pumps out racist videos and pictures to 400,000 followers. It was the first to spread the lie that the perpetrator of the Southport stabbings was a “Muslim immigrant” — in a post viewed four million times.
The consequences of what Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, calls “putrid” content were appalling. Yet the outlet faces no serious penalty. A jubilant post crows at reaching more than 700 million views in the past three months.
We are busy jailing thugs and nitwits who believed these and other lies from anonymous news providers. But we have no idea who is behind them. Europe Invasion, like Channel 3 Now — a supposed American website that promoted the lie that the Southport attacker was an asylum seeker — has no street address or any named staff members. (I contacted both outfits: no reply.)
This reflects a deep problem: the abuse of online anonymity. Though a boon for some (such as dissidents in dictatorships), in democracies it is a curse. Bogus websites, email addresses and social media accounts enable cybercrime and the spread of hoaxes, rumors and scare stories. Spreading disinformation from anonymous sources is a well-honed Russian technique, for example in the hacking and leaking of private emails in the 2016 US election.
Given the epidemic of Kremlin-led mayhem across Europe, we should be on high alert. An information operation is under way to inflame moods, corrode trust and provoke disorder. This is not mere mischief. It is a national security threat.
Russia’s Election Influence Efforts Show Sophistication, Officials Say (Ellen Nakashima, Washington Post)
The Russian government’s covert efforts to sway the 2024 presidential election are more advanced than in recent years, and the most active foreign threat this political season, U.S. intelligence officials said Friday.
Russia’s activities “are more sophisticated than in prior election cycles,” said a senior official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) in a briefing with reporters, noting the use of “authentic U.S. voices” to “launder” Russian government propaganda and spread socially divisive narratives through major social media, as well as on sham websites that pose as legitimate American media organizations. (Cont.)
