Platform

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
A Chilean man places his vote in the ballot box during the second round of the presidential elections in Maipú, Chile on December 19, 2021.

Wed, Jan 12, 2022

Twitter accounts disproportionately amplified Chilean presidential candidate hashtags

Analysis of hashtags supporting both presidential candidates shows activity highly concentrated among a small percentage of accounts.

by Esteban Ponce de León, Luiza Bandeira

API Botnets
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

Illustration from Russian policy document regarding procedures to bury large numbers of bodies.

Thu, Dec 23, 2021

Russia’s not-so-subtle policy update raises specter of mass burials

Russian policy document describes new procedures for the mass burial of corpses amidst rising tensions with Ukraine and NATO.

by Lukas Andriukaitis

Government Government

Wed, Dec 22, 2021

China’s COVID-19 messaging makes its way to South Africa

China leverages its investment in the South African media space to push Beijing-approved narratives and conspiracies.

by Kenton Thibaut

Africa China
Screenshot from a Telegram video showing US M109 Paladin artillery systems on a westward train passing through a train station platform in Legnica, Poland. Text that accompanied the video inaccurately claimed the train was heading east.

Tue, Dec 21, 2021

Pro-Russian outlets promote misleading story about US Army howitzers moving through Poland

Belarusian Telegram channel pushed inaccurate claim, leading to anti-Western coverage by Russian and Belarusian outlets.

by Givi Gigitashvili

Belarus Geolocation
The newly unveiled statue in Bangui, Central African Republic, features two Russian mercenaries up front with CAR soldiers behind them to the left and right.

Mon, Dec 20, 2021

First Russian mercenary statue in Africa identified in the Central African Republic

Newly surfaced photos confirm a new statue commemorating Russian mercenaries in the heart of Bangui, CAR’s capital city.

by Lukas Andriukaitis

Africa Central Africa
The US Capitol, January 6, 2021.

Mon, Dec 20, 2021

2021: DFRLab’s year in review

The DFRLab's 2021 year in review: disinformation campaigns, troll farms, troop buildups, vaccine rumors, a failed insurrection, and more.

by Andy Carvin

Belarus COVID-19
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