I'm giving a lot of thought to leaving Twitter. I wanted it to succeed as much as anyone but my ability to reach people has been so limited that it may not make sense for me to continue. If that happens--
A friend of mind who was expecting, just died of Covid--her and her newborn baby. I don't even know what to say anymore. They should both be here. Please get vaccinated.
Never forget that a country where people are free can become an extreme authoritarian state. Take nothing for granted. Do not listen to those who say you’re overreacting. Do not accept a world where mothers and grandmothers had more rights their daughters will have.
2022: Russia will nuke us if we don’t give them Ukraine.
2024: We have to let them have Poland and Romania; he’s not bluffing!
2025: If we intervene China will nuke us; we have to let them take Taiwan—oh, I guess Australia too.
2026:Alaska was basically Russia anyway.
@kadubai11
@spideycyp_155
If Russia faces destruction of their army and utter defeat by NATO, they will use nukes, then NATO will respond with nukes and civilization is over
I'm sorry, but does
@TedCruz
's book have a Soviet statue inspired by “socialist realism” on its cover, famous for being the largest non-religious statue (among other things…)? Secondly, can we please unpack that?
Putin's cancelled speech appears to have set Moscow ablaze with anxiety. For a hypothetical family of three (let's say a mom, a dad, and an adult son), a flight from Moscow to Istanbul is now approaching $3200.
BREAKING: According to Russia, it recently downed 14 Ukrainian aircraft, bringing the total Ukr aircraft losses to 347% of Ukr inventory, which is amazing because, according to Russia's count, Ukr has not had any aircraft since March. Usually first rate militaries can do math.
A US soldier (
@SpaghettiKozak
), a volunteer fighter in Ukraine, has helped researchers and media. He is a real person defending freedom in UA. Twitter banned him; SK did nothing wrong.
@TwitterSupport
, does this while RU state accounts manipulate trends and spread lies.
Can someone please explain why testimony from Ginni Thomas has been omitted? Testimony from other organizers and officials was released. Why has she been shielded from public scrutiny when she played a role in an attempt to overturn our government?
@RepRiggleman
@January6thCmte
@MeghanMcCain
I watched the video of your father giving the thumbs down to save the ACA a couple times today. It's something I've thought about a lot since the case is in SC. We owe him for so much but especially his stand against corruption when others would not.
@MeghanMcCain
@cindymccain
🧵 EU should not give Hungary funds to deal with its impending economic crisis so long as it is working as a lobbyist for Russia. If they want Russia, then that is who Hungary should call for aid. Wishy-washy, kid-glove policies in the US, EU, and NATO are why we are here.
found Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations is passing information to the Russian Orthodox clergy and they are aiding with forced relocation of Ukrainians including abducted children. This constitutes genocide by UN definition.
This seems strange. Why would accounts be tweeting about Ukraine with @ mentions to the Ukrainian and Russian presidents, while also promoting the trucking protests? And why US politicians and influencers?
“I am in the Russia-speaking area of Ukraine…these people hate Russia. Russia killed their children, they had their houses bombed… They’ve seen their neighbors dead in the streets.”
—
@MalcolmNance
ALERT: Please be mindful that there is a massive amount of inauthentic activity happening now. It includes inflammatory messaging for the far-right but also far-left and disenfranchised persons. Take a deep breath. Look for another source, look for emotional wording.
1/ UPDATE ON A LIKELY ONGOING DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN
In March, I recorded inauthentic activity coordinated among popular accounts, amplified by fake accounts, low reliability media outlets, and foreign disinformers. It surged again yesterday. Here's what I found.
I’m deeply concerned about the implications for Ukraine if Twitter collapses. Real efforts on Twitter have made a difference, including one of the more effective counter-disinformation efforts in recent memory. Any country that cares who wins the war should call Musk.
Quick question. Why would journalists get suspended, but the Russian and Chinese state accounts participating in information operations targeting the US get to stay?
Journalists who cover Elon Musk have been suspended on Twitter tonight:
@Donie
O'Sullivan from CNN, Aaron Rupar and the Washington Post's
@drewharwell
.
Rupar tells me he has "no idea" why it happened.
"People arriving"--
@Reuters
are you serious? These people were forcibly relocated with no choice. 500,000 children have been abducted and trafficked into Russia. Would you have run a headline during WW2 saying "Germany provides displaced persons secure room and board"?
@cindymccain
You're busy censuring the widow of an American hero while a sitting president incited a violent insurrection that killed Americans, embarrassed our nation, and has left us vulnerable?
@RepMTG
Those soldiers are fighting for their homes. They're fighting for their freedom. What have you fought for other than PPP loans and tax evasion? Not to mention you know very well we aren't helping out of the goodness of our hearts. The funds are already being audited. Use Google.
Pro-Kremlin Twitter is making memes of Zelenskyy, and they're hilarious. This reminds me of when Dark Brandon was born. The memes were intended to be insulting but supporters ended up *loving* them. Can someone add Vlad on the horse with like 5 other guys and some giant NAFO too?
When I see Zelenskyy in interviews or a UA soldier dancing on Tiktok as if everything is fine, I know they're trying to prevent the world from looking away from their deaths. When people frame this as proof they don't need help, those people know what they are doing too.
1/🧵Outbreaks often bring conspiracy thinking because uncertainty can increase our level of paranoia. Just how similar the stories are over time may surprise you.
Let's look at outbreak disinformation from 1980 through today.
Why is no one talking about how the mishandling of classified documents has implications for how likely other countries are to share intelligence with us?
Repeat after me-- biological and nuclear weapons are psychological weapons first and foremost in the modern warfare context. You should treat them like it, write about them like it, and be aware that fear driving you is the point.
There are no words for my shock at these posts from an
@amnesty
employee. Having focused on disasters and disinformation from the public health perspective, I'm appalled at the blatant disinformation and imperialist silencing of victims of a genocide who you then blamed.
@ivanastradner
@DonaldJTrumpJr
Russia uses churches like intelligence apparatuses. If anything he’s protecting real churches by not permitting bad actors to use them as cover.
9/ The article mentions that 169 people who refused vaccines have been dismissed but refusing vaccines is and has been grounds for dismissal/court martial since George Washington led the military, per the Library of Congress:
2/ Despite grave warnings from military officials, clear historical precedent, and reasonable reporting from the same outlet in 2005, Fox News continues to politicize the military, potentially helping our adversaries shatter our lives as we know them. The threat is real.
🧵So far we've seen speculation the shooter was an immigrant, efforts to portray the shooter as transgender, and people outraged Biden said deer don't wear kevlar. There are 18 dead children, and seeping through the cracks in the internet we see the Kremlin's 4D's.
🧵Russian analysts report elites within Russia have grown increasingly panicked at the unified Western response. Russia mistook individual weakness for bribes as weakness overall. It seems Russia believed that corruption meant the West could be brought to heel.
Imagine killing men, women, and children, rewarding soldiers for mass killings, obliterated cities, and having the audacity to expect to be invited. Russia feels entitled to genocide without consequence. It’s shameful more countries don’t have courage of Eastern Europe.
Warsaw has decided to bar the entry of the Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov to
#Poland
for the OSCE ministerial meeting in Lodz on 1-2 Dec.
#Russia
has responded with a furious letter to OSCE.
#Ukraine
Pro-Kremlin accounts lament the fall of Devushka. They speculate that pro-Russian channels have been paid to discredit her. Seemingly blindsided by the internet dogs who "divide and rule," one post ends:
"I have now learnt to never underestimate the power and influence of NAFO."
Mykhailo Dianov, a musician and a Ukrainian soldier recently released in a prisoner exchange.
First photo — Mykhailo during the siege of Azovstal.
Second photo — Mykhailo after Russian captivity.
I have no words. Terrifying.
However, I emphasize once again: if any of the Russian military or security forces are afraid to return to Russia now, we guarantee everyone who will be detained by our soldiers will be treated in accordance with the Geneva Conventions."
--end of day 199 of the war.
Tone policing how Ukrainians talk about the country perpetrating their genocide shows complete ignorance of mental changes we experience in crisis. Help them survive. Expecting them to care about anything other than their survival right now is ivory tower nonsense. Knock it off.
Extremist researchers, law enforcement, community leaders, legal experts, and media, please prepare a worst-case scenario with QAnon being re-platformed. Do not underestimate the potential threat. Some groups consume content straight from foreign states and conspiracy theorists.
Wow. Hearing
@ruthbenghiat
talk about family seeing her work as "fake news." My situation isn't identical but it's close. I struggle to describe the surrealness of people who have known you your entire life mistrusting you bc of lies told by ppl who don't even know they exist.
Russian gestures at Ukrainian drone, asking it not to bomb him. The brigade sends him a message via drone saying to surrender, follow the drone. Other Russians fire on him, but he successfully follows the drone and surrenders.
It's not 1800. A leader who defends with nonviolent means is a much more desirable option. It's also a hard task that requires expertise. You're much more likely to face problematic policies than an armed combatant. Dealing with policy takes a lot more skill than firing a weapon.
⚠️ DISINFO ALERT: Ukraine doesn’t have a list. This person is/was employed by RT, owned by the same country illegally invading Ukraine. Pro-Kremlin media is what’s boosting the claim. See old tweet from
@Cen4infoRes
.
A whistleblower leaked thousands of pages of secret documents from the Moscow IT company NTC Vulkan. For the first time, they offer in-depth insights into the interior of the Russian cyberwar
3/ In December 2021, three retired US generals – Paul Eaton, Antonio Taguba, and Steven Anderson – shared their fears about possible military participation in a 2024 coup, in a recent Op-Ed.
A high volume of content may overwhelm/intimidate witnesses, confuse the public, and/or bury credible reporting. A strategy might include influencers, hyperpartisan media, targeted ads, and platform manipulation (Ex. trending topics).
Something I hope to look into more closely with people like
@ford_nik
and
@ivanastradner
is the effect NAFO has had. I'm struck by how different the trajectories of disinfo claims online are in the post-NAFO era. The recent one spinning genocide as compassion looked like this.
🧵The White House has told the Supreme Court that social media sites should be held responsible for recommendations made by its AI-driven content algorithms. Facebook knew that most people who joined an extremist group on FB did so after a recommendation.
🧵I want to share something about me that you may not know. For most of Obama's presidency, I lived in an information bubble with scary, hateful content. I was miserable. You name it; I worried about it. Death panels (imagine my surprise in 2020), a third presidential term, etc.
These days, the Russian army is showing its best - showing its back. And, after all, it is a good choice for them to run away. There is no place for the occupiers in Ukraine, and there will be no place. ..
14/ The substance of the Fox article is a collection of anonymous opinions. An example: Fox quoted someone who said he or she felt the mandates were unconstitutional -- they're not. Fox says nothing about this, giving the claim credibility.
14/ Just like Rep Beth Van Duyne, Ted Cruz had friends that were something-something-lots of numbers. Both of these are from Mar 2021. I'm curious why twitter has left a bot amplifying content with the potential to incite violence for so long on it's platform.
18/ No interview with this soldier (see link) from Fox in 2005. Back then, Bush handed the reigns to Fauci in crisis and we never saw a single case or death from SARS.
Here's an example of an ad where Russia offers money to Russian nationals to "adopt" children stolen from Ukraine. These children's parents may still be alive; if not, they may have other family missing them.
"The movement of our soldiers in different directions of the front continues. At this time, within the framework of active actions since the beginning of September, about 2 thousand kilometers of our territory have already been freed. ..
16/ Fox’s coverage of a similar story involving President Bush and his attempt to mandate vaccines in 2005, starkly contrasts the portrayal of the present.
If you continue to operate on the assumption that intellect determines susceptibility to mis- and disinformation, you are part of the problem. I know not everyone wants to hear this. Even so, it's the truth, so say it I must.
10/ “…on Feb 5th of 1777, Washington committed to the unpopular policy of mass inoculation by writing to inform Congress...with no precedent for the operation he...covertly communicated...officers orders to oversee mass inoculations of their troops.” End quote.
1/ Alright, I want to speak specifically to my community--the conservative one that I came from-- let me break down the Ukraine situation because I'm seeing some outlets misleading on this. Imagine you own a home. You're a good neighbor. You keep to yourself.
6/ Fox News, the New York Post, and hyperpartisan websites like Legal Insurrection and Zero Hedge, continue to politicize the military with vague but extremely serious accusations that a sitting President is removing political opponents from the military.
12/ “…official Pentagon statements indicated that an estimated 350 service members had refused the vaccine between 1998 to 2000. At least three dozen of them were court-martialed and hundreds left the service to avoid the vaccine...in 2005.
1/ MEDIA MANIPULATION TACTIC: A tactic we've seen repeatedly over the pandemic involves passing off pictures of an event in the past as proof of popular support for a cause or protest. Here we see someone claiming the image shows a protest in Ottawa. It's a 1991 event in Moscow.
Twitter seems to have locked out its policy, disinformation, and curation team. There's a flock of birds in my ear now. This close to an election is reckless not to mention there's already Gab, Gettr, and Parler. Those make *so* much $$$; totes makes sense.
#TwitterLayoffs
If loan forgiveness for middle class Americans is buying votes, what was the tax cuts and jobs act that will cost 6 trillion for no gain, per Penn Wharton? Loan forgiveness benefits the hard work of the backbone of the US. Cuts for megadonors is buying votes, sweetie.
@thedailybeast
@IntelCrab
Please don't call this person the new mayor. This validates and gives credibility to what is not the mayor. The mayor, if he's alive, is still the mayor. If he isn't they don't have one until a free, fair election.
When I charted NAFO tweets on a dual axis with the tweets containing keywords from the disinfo claim, they sure look related. Again, it will take time and many, many studies to know for sure. But Ukraine doesn't have time. I feel comfortable saying NAFO is helping Ukraine.
Implying that elected officials in civil society need firearms and tactical gear to defend democracy at home is the *attack* on democracy, not a defense of it. A leader doing this is signaling violence is acceptable. It is not. Political violence is never acceptable.
Dr. Hotez: *develops low-cost vaccine and doesn't patent it so people can receive vaccines regardless of ability to pay.*
His detractors: "You're a pharma shill!"
Here we see the logic of the do-your-own-research crowd.
1/n Awful to read Mr. Ackman’s account of my activities. I have no pharma conflicts, I co-developed low-cost patent-free Covid vaccines for global health reaching 100 million doses. I never took a cent for any cable news/podcast/radio appearances., spoke tirelessly to low-income
24/ When it comes to sowing discord and disinformation, our adversaries could hardly hope for a better ally than Fox News. It seems Russia, China, and Iran are aware of that fact. Remember this is the network broadcast on military bases.
It's disquieting how the disinformation campaign against Fauci resembles the one against Biden before the election. Tapes of Biden were leaked with nothing damning and yet they were portrayed as a "smoking gun." Same with Fauci. Pic of prominent names in
#FauciEmails
discussion.
20/ Note the difference in coverage and quality of reporting from 2005. From a defense perspective, one should ask: Do you think Russia and China have not noticed American soldiers squabbling about nonexistent fetal cells in vaccines? I assure you they have.
1/ Dear
@Twitter
, The hashtag
#Bidenisafailure
shows several signs of inauthentic activity, specifically hyperactivity designed to give a false impression of popularity. Here are the handles being amplified.
Depending on the destination or carrier that price can go even higher. The average for this particular flight appears to be half of the current going rate.
The charges against Andrew Tate in Romania include human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. He is a sex trafficker.
According to Romanian prosecutors, the victims were forced to tattoo the name or face of the member of Tate's group who …
Here is how it used to look. These are timelines from other campaigns of different sizes related to Ukraine that had significant inauthentic activity. These were before NAFO. NAFO is not trolling. It's a counter information operation, one of the best we've seen in a long time.
Guess who is still spending millions on propaganda in the US. Between April and September, Russian state media group Rossiya Segodnya funneled $3,284,169 to Ghebi, a company that produces articles, newswires, and a number of radio shows.
The drop in revenue might be related to blocking the President and Chief Operating Officer of MMA Global, a marketing trade association to which TWITTER BELONGS, when he expressed concerns. The list of companies that belong is long.