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Residents of Donetsk line up at an ATM machine after receiving evacuation orders on February 18, 2022.

Fri, Feb 18, 2022

How ten false flag narratives were promoted by pro-Kremlin media

Russian media actively portrays the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics as victims of Ukrainian aggression.

by Givi Gigitashvili, Roman Osadchuk

Disinformation Government
People gather in support of a coup that ousted President Roch Kabore in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, January 25, 2022.

Thu, Feb 17, 2022

Local support for Russia increased on Facebook before Burkina Faso military coup

Pro-Russian support increased in the Sahel, with residents of Burkina Faso holding Russian flags while celebrating recent coup.

by Tessa Knight and Allan Cheboi

Africa Conflict
Malians holds a Russian flag and a photograph with an image of coup leader Colonel Assimi Goita during a pro-Malian Armed Forces (FAMA) demonstration in Bamako, Mali, May 28, 2021.

Thu, Feb 17, 2022

Pro-Russian Facebook assets in Mali coordinated support for Wagner Group, anti-democracy protests

Coordinated network promoted military junta in months leading up to France’s decision to withdraw from the country.

by Jean le Roux

Africa CrowdTangle
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi bump elbows during the signing ceremony of a 25-year cooperation agreement in Tehran, March 27, 2021.

Mon, Feb 14, 2022

A moment of truth for China’s vaccine diplomacy in Iran

Iranian officials echoed Chinese messaging while touting vaccines and criticizing the United States.

by Simin Kargar

China Coronavirus
A nurse holds a vial of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine doses in n Råå, Sweden on December 27, 2020.

Tue, Feb 8, 2022

Tracing the myth that COVID-19 vaccines alter human DNA

Incorrect claims falsely attributed to public health experts were later amplified by anti-vax doctors and activists

by Nika Aleksejeva, Lukas Andriukaitis, Jean le Roux, Roman Osadchuk, , Daniel Suárez Pérez

Africa Coronavirus
Then-German Navy Chief Kay-Achim Schönbach (left) visits Lieutenant General Chandi Prasad Mohanty (right) during his January 2022 visit to New Delhi, India. Schönbach resigned on January 22, after arguing at an event during his visit that Putin deserves respect and Kyiv will never win back annexed Crimea.

Fri, Feb 4, 2022

Kremlin outlets exploit suspicious user comments on German Navy chief’s resignation

Outlets cited suspicious comments giving the impression they represented broader German public opinion.

by Eto Buziashvili, Max Rizzuto

Business Disinformation
A person wears a yellow arm band with a Star of David during a protest of vaccine mandates at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on January 23, 2022. Anti-vaccine protesters have worn yellow arm bands to compare their current treatment in the United States to the treatment of Jewish people in Germany during the holocaust.

Wed, Feb 2, 2022

DC anti-mandate rally leveraged to broaden audience for anti-vax narratives

January 23 anti-vax rally softened messaging and utilized support from anti-mandate doctors to reach broader audiences.

by Jared Holt, Max Rizzuto

Coronavirus COVID-19
Screencap of video showing Russian armor in a field near Rechitsa.

Thu, Jan 27, 2022

Russian equipment flows into Belarus

Russia continues to move tanks and other materiel into Belarus along Ukraine’s northern border, as far west as Brest.

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Belarus Conflict
A health worker gestures during a day of immunization against Covid-19 with the compound manufactured in China Sinopharm aimed at high school students at a high school in the west of the city, in Caracas, Venezuela, October 29, 2021.

Wed, Jan 26, 2022

Pro-China messaging amplified in Venezuela’s “hashtag of the day”

Hashtag trended on Venezuelan Twitter alongside messages praising China for donating its vaccine and attacking US for sanctions.

by Daniel Suárez Pérez, Kenton Thibaut

China Coronavirus
TikTok footage and geolocation of Russian materiel being transported from the Russian far east through Siberia (left), later arriving in Belarus (right).

Tue, Jan 18, 2022

Russian military equipment spotted in Belarus as tensions heighten with Ukraine

BM-27 220mm multiple rocket launchers spotted on trains in Belarus, some within range of the Ukrainian border.

by Michael J. Sheldon

Belarus Geolocation
Geolocation of military vehicles loading onto trains in Ulan-Ude, near Lake Baikal. The caption in Russian says, “Are we going?”

Fri, Jan 14, 2022

Missile systems and tanks spotted in Russian far east, heading west

Newly geolocated social media footage suggests redeployment began prior to US-Russia negotiations in Geneva.

by Michael J. Sheldon

Geolocation Government
A man holds the Ethiopian national flag in Addis Ababa’s Meskel Square during a pro-government rally to denounce what the organizers say is the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and Western countries’ interference in internal affairs of the country, November 7, 2021.

Thu, Jan 13, 2022

Twitter’s Ethiopian interventions may not have worked

Twitter’s decision to deactivate trending topics in Ethiopia did not reduce the volume or toxicity of tweets about the civil war.

by Tessa Knight

Africa Business
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