Tactics

Mon, Sep 23, 2024

How the Venezuelan regime weaponized video and messaging apps to persecute dissidents

Maduro promotes app that encourages users to report critics of the regime amid widespread demands for election transparency

by Daniel Suárez Pérez, Iria Puyosa

Elections Online Harassment
Screenshot of a Facebook ad displaying Ilan Shor's allegations that "the collective West aims to seize Moldova" and "the West means war and fear."

Mon, Jul 8, 2024

Inauthentic Facebook ad campaign spreads anti-EU messages

Facebook pages disguised as neutral news sources sponsored ads to promote anti-EU narratives ahead of Moldova's referendum on EU integration

by Victoria Olari

Advertising Deceptive Content Manipulation

Mon, Jul 8, 2024

Spambots continue to suppress speech and enable harassment of the Chinese community on X

Networks of Chinese-language spambots risk the censoring of posts during politically sensitive events, repeating past oversights

Botnets China

Thu, Jul 4, 2024

Operation targets French snap elections using AI-generated content

Operation uses AI to rewrite articles to adopt a more 'conservative stance'

by Valentin Châtelet

Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Content Manipulation
screenshot of Facebook ad featuring Elon Musk, whose voice has been altered to promote a scam.

Thu, Jun 6, 2024

Spanish-language ads amplify scams using audio deepfakes of public figures

Scammers fabricated interviews with politicians and tech moguls to present supposed investments as legitimate government-backed programs

by Daniel Suárez Pérez

Deceptive Content Manipulation Disinformation

Mon, Mar 4, 2024

Online campaign targeted Egyptian economist after his death in custody

Suspicious accounts on Facebook and X amplified state narratives about Ayman Hadhoud as human rights groups raised questions about his death

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Egypt Facebook

Tue, Feb 20, 2024

French prime minister faces onslaught of online attacks

Investment scam promoted via Meta Ads, AI-fueled smear campaigns on X, and a Russian-led disinformation operation, and ignite a social media frenzy around Gabriel Attal

by Valentin Châtelet

Advertising Artificial Intelligence

Thu, Feb 15, 2024

US celebrities unwittingly recruited to undermine Moldova’s president

Pro-Russian propagandists solicited US celebrities on Cameo to record videos calling for the downfall of Moldovan President Maia Sandu

by Victoria Olari

Deceptive Content Manipulation 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
Hatice Cengiz, fiancee of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, testifies before a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee hearing on "The Dangers of Reporting on Human Rights" on Capitol Hill in Washington U.S., May 16, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Fri, Dec 22, 2023

Pro-Saudi X accounts repeatedly harassed activist and fiancée of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi

Turkish activist Hatice Cengiz, fiancée of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, targeted with death threats and insults on the platform formerly known as Twitter

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Human Rights Online Harassment
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
KRAKOW, POLAND - OCTOBER 13: Voting at a polling station during the parliamentary elections on October 15, 2023 in Krakow. Poland. Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on October 15. The elections were accompanied by a highly controversial referendum during which four questions were asked, including about migration policy. (Source: Klaudia Radecka/NurPhoto via Reuters)

Wed, Dec 13, 2023

How foreign actors targeted Polish information environment ahead of parliamentary elections

Foreign - or seemingly foreign - actors implemented different interference actions in order to influence Polish voters or foment societal instability

by Givi Gigitashvili

Central Europe Central Europe