Facebook

Fri, Feb 11, 2022

Russian War Report: Belarus threatens to arm firefighters as military exercises kick off

The Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab tracks the latest Russian troop movements and Kremlin-pushed narratives around NATO, Germany, and more.

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

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

Fri, Jan 28, 2022

Russian War Report: Kremlin pushes claims about Ukrainian offensive, ‘junk’ weapons from West

The Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab is tracking the latest from Russian troop movements to social media conspiracy theories to Duma debates.

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

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
An Indian Army convoy moves along a highway leading to Ladakh, at Gagangeer in Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, June 18, 2020.

Thu, Jan 6, 2022

Social media and security dynamics in the ongoing India-China border dispute

False narratives underline dangers posed by disinformation as a means of stoking hostility between nuclear-armed neighbors.

by Ayushman Kaul

China Facebook

Tue, Jan 4, 2022

Experts react to the year since January 6

Domestic extremism experts weigh in on the year since the January 6 attack and their perspectives on continuing threats to US democracy.

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Vigilantes armed with clubs stand guard at a neighborhood in Bole following the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s call for citizens to protect their areas from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), November 19, 2021.

Fri, Dec 17, 2021

Influential Ethiopian social media accounts stoke violence along ethnic lines

Proliferation of hate speech on social media has the capacity to cause real-world harm amidst an increasingly violent civil war.

by Tessa Knight

Conflict East Africa
A passenger is seen showing his vaccination document to a train conductor in Ukraine, October 21, 2021. A vaccination certificate or a negative test is required for inter-city travel by train, bus or planes.

Thu, Dec 16, 2021

Scammers use Telegram and Facebook ads to sell fake COVID certificates in Ukraine

Telegram hosts Ukrainian channels and accounts claiming to sell legitimate vaccine certificates, while FB ads are exploited to promote them.

by Roman Osadchuk

Coronavirus COVID-19
“RENT A FB ACCOUNT AND EARN FROM IT… Make good use of your Facebook account!”

Thu, Dec 16, 2021

Ukrainian Facebook account-renting scheme migrates to TikTok and Telegram

Ukrainian TikTok, Telegram, and Instagram accounts offer easy money to Facebook users willing to rent their accounts for advertising.

by Roman Osadchuk

Advertising BuiltWIth
DFRLab Democracy + Tech Initiative Director Rose Jackson testifies before the US Senate, December 9, 2021.

Thu, Dec 9, 2021

Written testimony of DFRLab’s Rose Jackson at Senate hearing on disrupting dangerous algorithms

Delivered before the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband.

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Business Digital Policy
People queue up outside a mass vaccination centre as Latvia opens walk in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination scheme in Riga, Latvia, April 16, 2021.

Wed, Nov 10, 2021

Anti-government activists in Latvia openly recruit anonymous trolls

Previous activities involved active amplification of COVID-19 disinformation and conspiracies.

by Nika Aleksejeva

Baltics Buzzsumo
(Source: REUTERS/Maynor Valenzuela)

Fri, Nov 5, 2021

Multi-platform troll farm linked to Nicaraguan government

Inauthentic network targeted domestic audiences in the lead-up to Nicaragua’s November 2021 general election

by Daniel Suárez Pérez, Esteban Ponce de León, Luiza Bandeira

CrowdTangle Electorate