Security & Defense

Mon, Mar 11, 2024

Advancing the narrative: analyzing the maturation of Palestinian militant videos

Gaza militants increasingly use collaborative releases, advanced editing, and narrative-driven storytelling when sharing battlefield footage

by Dr. Michael Loadenthal

Conflict Israel

Wed, Feb 21, 2024

Arms sale claim heightened tensions ahead of 2023 Armenia-Azerbaijan peace talks

Online narratives claimed Iran or Russia might exploit French weapons that were allegedly bound for Armenia

by Ani Mejlumyan, Valentin Châtelet

Armenia Azerbaijan
UNRWA headquarters in Gaza City, September 19, 2018. (Source: REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)

Wed, Feb 14, 2024

Suspicious accounts on X amplify allegations against UNRWA

More than 130 X accounts exhibiting hallmarks of inauthentic coordination targeted US politicians with messaging critical of the UN agency in Gaza

by Dina Sadek, Digital Forensic Research Lab

Conflict Gaza
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev sign bilateral documents in Astana, Kazakhstan November 9, 2023. (Source: Sputnik/Konstantin Zavrazhin/Pool via Reuters)

Thu, Feb 8, 2024

Russian milbloggers falsely accuse Kazakhstan of opening a NATO military facility

Russian military bloggers threatened the Central Asian nation after it opened a new conference hall at a training center for UN peacekeepers, falsely labeling it as a "NATO center"

by Eto Buziashvili

Asia Central Asia

Thu, Feb 8, 2024

Pro-Kremlin campaign promotes “anti-Maidan” movement in Georgia

Georgian far-right party Alt-Info conducted a cross-platform social media campaign claiming the West was fomenting a coup against the country

by Sopo Gelava

Conflict Disinformation

Tue, Jan 23, 2024

Wagner communities continue to thrive on VK despite Russian government crackdown

VK pages temporarily removed "Wagner" from their names and used other tactics to avoid the Kremlin's wrath following the failed June 2023 mutiny

by Valentin Châtelet

Conflict Deceptive Content Manipulation

Thu, Dec 21, 2023

DFRLab research highlights from 2023

From the war in Ukraine to the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, the DFRLab's international team of researchers investigated information operations and online harms around the world

by Andy Carvin, Layla Mashkoor

China Conflict
Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Commander of the Sparta Battalion Artyom Zhoga pose for a picture after a ceremony to present Gold Star medals to service members, bearing the title of Hero of Russia and involved in the country's military campaign in Ukraine, on the eve of Heroes of the Fatherland Day in Moscow, Russia, December 8, 2023. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS

Fri, Dec 15, 2023

Russian War Report: Putin to run for re-election in annexed regions of Ukraine

The Central Election Commission confirmed the possibility of holding presidential elections in illegally annexed Ukrainian territories.

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Conflict Digital Policy
TikTok logo displayed on a phone screen and Russian flag displayed on a screen in the background are seen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on March 1, 2022. (Photo Illustration by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto)

Thu, Dec 14, 2023

Massive Russian influence operation targeted former Ukrainian defense minister on TikTok

Joint DFRLab-BBC Verify investigation exposes the largest information operation ever uncovered on the platform

by Roman Osadchuk

Conflict Corruption
An Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades (EQB) propaganda poster featured on Telegram. (Source: EQB)

Tue, Dec 12, 2023

How Palestinian militants use Telegram videos in the Mideast conflict

Palestinian militant factions appear to be operating with a high degree of technical coordination, producing uniformly branded propaganda videos with regularity.

by Dr. Michael Loadenthal

Conflict Extremism

Mon, Dec 4, 2023

Egyptian social media reacts to calls for evacuating Gaza residents into Sinai

Narratives calling for displacement of Gaza Palestinians into the Sinai Peninsula met with rejection in Egyptian social media

by Dina Sadek

Conflict Egypt
People look out of the window of a house on a flooded street following a storm in the village of Pribrezhe, Crimea November 28, 2023. REUTERS/Alexey Pavlishak

Thu, Nov 30, 2023

Russian War Report: Pro-Kremlin surrogates accuse the US of using ‘climate weapons’ in Crimea

Following a severe storm in the Black Sea heavily impacted Crimea, pro-Kremlin sources circulated a conspiracy suggesting the US used a weather weapon.

by Digital Forensic Research Lab