10 years of Sheffield DocFest have introduced me to some extraordinary docs. In the first in a new series I showcase some standout films, inc: 🎥 Jim: The James Foley Story 🎥 Cameraperson 🎥 Icarus 🎥 Under the Wire #journalism #conflict #corruption @perspicacity.media substack.com/home/post/p-...

Frontline Journalism, Doping in Russian Sports, Nuclear Arms

10 years of extraordinary documentary films - Part 1 (2016-2018)

substack.com

Some expert reports resonate well beyond a specialist audience. I've written a short post distilling 'Beyond the Axis', an outstanding 60-page report on the evolution of Iran's 'Axis of Resistance', into a 3-minute read. richardnield.substack.com/p/rethinking... #IranWar‌ #MiddleEast

Rethinking Iran's 'Axis of Resistance'

From central hub to networked ecosystem

richardnield.substack.com

1/5 Every so often a piece of research can fundamentally change your way of thinking about something. This outstanding report about #Iran's 'Axis of Resistance' is one of those... tcf.org/content/repo...

Beyond the Axis

Download the Beyond the Axis PDF Overview: Hubs, Spokes, and Worldwide Webs In February 2026, the United States and Israel launched a war on Iran that

tcf.org

1/4 Trump’s $1.7 trillion in projected defence spending in 2027 is double that of previous administrations, according to independent analysis quoted in this article in Popular Information.

I'm now posting my work in the online magazine 'perspicacity' - focused on disinformation, corruption and human rights. You can read it here: richardnield.substack.com And follow on BlueSky here: bsky.app/profile/pers...

perspicacity | Richard Nield | Substack

An insight into global affairs focusing on disinformation, corruption, and human rights. Featuring rigorous investigative journalism and fact-based analysis, helping readers navigate an increasingly d...

richardnield.substack.com

Was Iran "2-4 weeks" from nuclear weapons? Read my latest piece, on disinformation in the Iran conflict. It looks at how official claims, viral content and AI-generated material are shaping what people think is happening. richardnield.substack.com/p/the-fog-of...

The Fog of War

Distortion and deception in the Iran conflict

richardnield.substack.com

My latest article deals with the #humanrights implications of #AI, from image rights & intellectual property to freedoms from surveillance & discrimination and the right to give informed consent for medical procedures. richardnield.substack.com/p/balancing-...

Balancing AI in Government with Citizens’ Human Rights

If we don't decide now what rights we want to preserve in the age of AI, we risk losing them.

richardnield.substack.com

Edition 11 of perspicacity’s Conflict & Human Rights Update is published! 😊💫 🎉 Featuring: ➡️ assassination of Colombian presidential candidate ➡️ renewed evidence of Gaza genocide ➡️ Kenyan protestors killed by police ➡️ famine in South Sudan tinyurl.com/bde3hy3f #humanrights #genocide #famine

Conflict & Human Rights Update #11

Genocide, assassination, famine

tinyurl.com

Members of the US Congress House of Representatives have been banned from using WhatsApp due to lack of transparency in how it protects user data, absence of stored data encryption, & potential security risks. Officials instead recommend Signal, iMessage, Teams. (via Reuters tinyurl.com/4s6dynar)

WhatsApp banned on US House of Representatives devices, memo shows

Meta disagreed with the move "in the strongest possible terms," a company spokesperson said.

reuters.com

Proud to be featured in the second edition of the 3Space zine 'Tall Storeys'! Thanks to Lois Stevenson and all at 3space! 😀😎🎉🥳 www.instagram.com/reel/DNC9rz5...

Published! 🤩💥 Ed9 of my Media & #Disinformation newsletter, featuring: ➡️ Grok 3 'study' claims humans not responsible for #globalwarming ➡️ Meta fails to prevent advertising of health scams to users ➡️ Russia's disinfo campaign against France ➡️ Trump’s muzzling of US press tinyurl.com/3zehfzjp

The US has been by far the largest aid donor to Yemen in the past 5 years. The withdrawal of this aid is having devastating consequences. Featured in Edition 9 of Perspicacity's Conflict & Human Rights newsletter tinyurl.com/2fbtzx9v #malnutrition #GBV #displacement #Trump #USAID

Venezuela has met protests against the dubious results of the 2024 elections with brutal repression - featuring in the latest Conflict & Human Rights newsletter from Perspicacity tinyurl.com/2fbtzx9v #HumanRights #repression #elections #Maduro

The Trump White House is repurposing the concept of #terrorism to go after drug cartels, migrants & domestic political opponents, as well as threatening war with Mexico - featured in the latest Conflict & Human Rights update from Perspicacity tinyurl.com/2fbtzx9v #WarOnTerror #Terrorism #Trump

Myanmar's military carried out dozens of air strikes despite announcing a ceasefire in the aftermath of the country's worst earthquake in decades - read more in the latest Conflict & Human Rights update from perspicacity tinyurl.com/2fbtzx9v

Israeli leaders are seeking to take away the Islamist group’s capacity to govern #Gaza by targeting its top civilian administrators and blowing up what remains of the enclave’s public infrastructure - more in the latest Conflict & #HumanRights update from Perspicacity tinyurl.com/2fbtzx9v

France has accused Russia over cyberattacks against the country spanning more than a decade. Featured in Ed9 of Perspicacity's Conflict & Human Rights update tinyurl.com/2fbtzx9v #cybercrime #cyberwarfare

The Sudanese military recaptured Khartoum, but war rages on with foreign support, and there's a risk of conflict spreading to #Chad and #SouthSudan - featured in the latest Conflict & Human Rights newsletter from Perspicacity tinyurl.com/2fbtzx9v #HumanRights #Sudan #Conflict #RSF

Arbitrary detention has become a cornerstone of Tunisia's repressive policies, aimed at depriving citizens of their rights - featuring in Edition 9 of Perspicacity's Conflict & Human Rights update tinyurl.com/2fbtzx9v #Tunisia #repression #humanrights

#China is exporting its #repression playbook to its overseas operations - featuring in Ed9 of Perspicacity's Conflict & Human Rights update tinyurl.com/2fbtzx9v

Witchcraft accusations in Ghana are driving elderly and disadvantaged women from their homes - featuring in the latest Conflict & Human Rights newsletter from Perspicacity tinyurl.com/2fbtzx9v #humanrights #witchcraft

Published! 🎉🎉 #Conflict & #HumanRights Update 9, featuring: the tools of China’s overseas repression, Russian cyberattacks in France, the plight of those accused of witchcraft in Ghana, & the US gov’s reframing of #terrorism to include domestic opponents tinyurl.com/2fbtzx9v #elections #displacement

Conflict and Human Rights Update #9

Aid cuts, witchcraft, and the new war on 'terror'

tinyurl.com

Generative AI search tools returned incorrect information 60% of the time in this test of their ability to retrieve and cite specific content by @columjournreview.bsky.social and the @towcenter.bsky.social. Grok was wrong an astonishing 94% of the time. #AI #media #misinformation

The war in Gaza has had a catastrophic impact on food production, with three quarters of its cropland damaged or destroyed, according to the @cen4infores.bsky.social #humanrights #warcrimes #malnutrition For this & more on conflict & human rights issues: richardnield.substack.com/p/conflict-a...

Published! Ed7 of my newsletter on international Crime & Corruption. This edition features industrial-scale scam centres in N Korea & Myanmar; trafficking of cocaine & fentanyl in Latam and synthetic drug Captagon in Syria; the resilience of the Sicilian mafia... (1/2) tinyurl.com/yuv4cmnd

Crime & Corruption Update #7

Scam centres, fentanyl and the Sicilian mafia

open.substack.com

In Egypt, public prosecutors neglect to investigate torture of police detainees via @arijnetwork.bsky.social #humanrights #torture #Egypt

Coming soon! #moneylaundering #drugtrafficking #corruption #fraud #mafia #sanctions

Governments may suck, but people are kind. An antidote to the current global moment. My latest Substack post on perspicacity - On the Kindness of Strangers tinyurl.com/rx4vfuh9

On the kindness of strangers

Governments may suck, but people are kind

tinyurl.com

#Meta stops fact-checking, China launches #DeepSeek, China & Russia interfere in elections in Spain, Germany & Croatia, EU investigates X support for German far right. Read more in latest edition of perspicacity @ tinyurl.com/y9ajdj24 😊 #disinformation #influenceoperations #electioninterference

My latest international Crime & Corruption update! - how Iran moves sanctioned oil - Chinese suppliers behind ads for deadly opioids targeting Europe - evolution of migrant smuggling on French coast - organised crime fueling M23 crisis in eastern DRC richardnield.substack.com/p/crime-and-...