Tessera

Recent public outcry about depiction of Stalin on an icon in Sameba cathedral contributed to the resurgence of the myth that he was secretly religious - a well-known disinformation with the aim to mobilize Orthodox conservative Georgians.

@sopogelava.bsky.social's investigation reveals alarming trends on Georgian TikTok, where videos often portray Joseph Stalin as a heroic and decisive leader, promoting historical revisionism and myths about his personality.

How many antennas is too many antennas before people start asking questions? A proliferation of "spy antennas" on Russia's embassy in Moldova has brought pro-Kremlin voices out in droves to deny accusation of spying, and divert attention away from Russia's own activities in Moldova.

The Kremlin and its proxies attempted to deflect the “spy antennas” scandal in Moldova

Pro-Russian entities attempted to divert attention away from the growing volume of potential intel-gathering equipment on its embassy roof

dfrlab.org

🚨 Elections Everywhere All at Once 🗓️ WEDNESDAY, DEC 6 | 3 PM ET / 12 PM PT 🔍 An expert conversation on the implications of the 83 elections occurring in 78 countries in 2024. 👥 @dfrlab.bsky.social, Duco, Anchor Change (@katieharbath.bsky.social), and more! RSVP here and learn more. See you there!

Elections everywhere all at once

An expert conversation on the implications of the 83 elections occurring in 78 countries in 2024.

atlanticcouncil.org

Since Hamas' October 7 attack, there has been an unending torrent of false and unverified information and graphic material online. @dinamsadek.bsky.social and @laylam.bsky.social analyzed popular social platforms finding many Israel and Hamas'-affiliated accounts saw massive jumps in followers:

In Israel-Hamas conflict, social media become tools of propaganda and disinformation

Endless flood of false, misleading, and unverified information risks inflaming the conflict

dfrlab.org

The Kremlin pushed three main narratives around Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia: - Pashinyan ceded NK to Azerbaijan, and Russia could do nothing. - The West is interested in destabilization and putting Armenia on the same track as Ukraine. - Russia is a peacekeeping force and avoided bloodshed in NK.

Following the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, Kremlin officials and Kremlin-media are spinning three narratives to reinforce Russia's dominance, creating tension with the United States, and destabilize the Armenian government. From @sopogelava.bsky.social and @animejlumyan.bsky.social:

The network used well-known tactics such as deploying networks of inauthentic assets and machine-translation of content. The network spread harmful content on health for financial gain and used disinformation as a marketing strategy to promote company sales.

Tessa Knight @awildknight.bsky.social · 3y ago

A travel website in Georgia used a network of inauthentic Facebook assets to push health-related disinformation and clickbait content. The company, Avia.ge, used well-known tactics like machine-translation of content to promote sales. @sopogelava.bsky.social and @jeanleroux.bsky.social's latest:

In the five months since war broke out in Sudan, @dfrlab.bsky.social has identified three influence campaigns on Twitter/ X attempting to promote Hemedti and the Rapid Support Forces. Brief summary of our findings below 🧵👇 1/9

Check out Monocle's Globalist podcast today to hear from the @dfrlab.bsky.social's Ani Mejlumyan about the latest in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh region (conversation starts at 02:00):

Wednesday 20 September, The Globalist 3162 - Radio

Is the South Caucasus heading for war? Plus: an update on the Sahel region, France and Germany desire a new ‘inner circle’, and we go troll hunting in America…

monocle.com

Main takeaways - The network targeted citizens with pro-Kremlin & anti-Western conspiracies that the west wants to drag the country intro war. - This war-dragging narrative emerged after Russian invasion of Ukraine & Georgia's failed attempt to become a EU candidate country.

This year, Meta removed a Georgia-based network, comprised of 117 assets, for engaging in coordinated inauthentic behavior (CIB). The government-connected network boosted warnings of supporting Ukraine and the West "dragging" Georgia into war. dfrlab.org/2023/09/20/i...

Recap of July events: - Gov't-backed violent groups disrupted the Tbilisi Pride Fest, destroyed and looted the venue. - Police failed to take action. - The violence occurred amid a backdrop of escalating homophobic and anti-Western rhetoric from the Georgian Dream ruling party.

In July, violent protesters stormed Tbilisi Pride Festival's venue hours before the event was scheduled to begin forcing organizers to to evacuate. The attack was openly organized online by far-right groups in and out of government. We ID'ed several accounts organizing over multiple social mediums.

🚨 🇨🇳 NEW @dfrlab.bsky.social REPORT 🚨 🇨🇳 The latest report in Kenton Thibaut's series on Chinese Discourse Power. In this report, she assesses discourse power through a frame of “media convergence" and the mechanisms of oversight on which such communications rely. More in thread ⬇

Chinese discourse power: Capabilities and impact

An examination of China's online and offline channels for the dissemination of "discourse power" and the mechanisms of oversight on which such communications rely.

atlanticcouncil.org

A newly discovered network of 200+ active Twitter accounts used copy-pasta content to reply to tweets by accounts associated with Sudan's Rapid Support Forces. The accounts displayed indicators of potential hijacking similar to those seen in a previously discovered network of 900+ accounts.

Suspicious network’s copypasta replies to Sudanese paramilitary group’s tweets

Network of potentially hijacked Twitter accounts copy and pasted positive replies to accounts associated with Rapid Support Forces in Sudan

dfrlab.org

"Pro-Russia actors regularly share anti-Ukraine narratives in Armenia... As the Armenian government distances itself from Russia, it is increasingly being targeted with narratives that suggest parallels between it and Ukraine." Read @dfrlab.bsky.social's latest Russia coverage:

Pro-Russia actors target Armenia with anti-Ukraine propaganda

Suspicious quotes magnified by pro-Russian sources used to undermine Ukraine's reputation in Armenia

dfrlab.org