Indictment: Social media firms got played by Russian agents

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Updated 17 February 2018
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Indictment: Social media firms got played by Russian agents

WASHINGTON: Friday’s election-interference indictment brought by Robert Mueller, the US special counsel, underscores how thoroughly social-media companies like Facebook and Twitter were played by Russian propagandists.
And it’s not clear if the companies have taken sufficient action to prevent something similar from happening again.
Thirteen Russians, including a businessman close to Vladimir Putin, were charged Friday in a plot to interfere in the 2016 US presidential election through social media propaganda. The indictment said the Russians’ conspiracy aimed, in part, to help Republican Donald Trump and harm the prospects of his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.
The alleged scheme was run by the Internet Research Agency, a troll farm based in St. Petersburg, Russia, which used bogus social media postings and advertisements fraudulently purchased in the name of Americans to try to influence the White House race.
“I created all these pictures and posts, and the Americans believed that it was written by their people,” wrote one of the defendants, Irina Kaverzina, in an email to a family member obtained by investigators.
Tech companies have spent months pledging to fix their platforms ahead of the upcoming midterm elections this year, and reiterated those promises Friday. Twitter said in a Friday night statement it “committed to addressing, mitigating, and ultimately preventing any future attempts to interfere in elections and the democratic process, and to doing so in the most transparent way possible.” Facebook thanked US investigators for taking “aggressive action” and pointed out its own role in helping the investigation.
Researchers, however, noted that the companies’ business incentives don’t necessarily align with improved security and anti-hoaxing measures that might have frustrated Russian agents.
“I’ve never been convinced that these sites are motivated to fix a problem like this,” said Notre Dame business professor Timothy Carone, who added that security controls make it harder for sites like Facebook to offer users new features and keep advertisers happy. “It’s a really, really, really difficult problem.”
The indictment confirms earlier findings from congressional investigations that Russian agents manipulated social media to promote social division by mimicking grassroots political activity. It also underscores that the problem wasn’t just “bots” — i.e., automated social-media accounts — but human conspirators who fine-tuned propaganda and built online relationships with American activists.
“The idea wasn’t necessarily to help one political party over another, but to sow as much discord as possible,” said Melissa Ryan, a Democratic social media marketing expert who now keeps track of right-wing online activity. “This was America that was attacked.”
Social-media companies weren’t the only ones subverted in the influence campaign. Federal prosecutors allege that Russian criminals used PayPal as a primary conduit to transfer money for general expenses and to buy Facebook ads aimed at influencing voters. Prosecutors say the accounts were opened using fake identities to help bypass PayPal’s security measures.
PayPal spokesman Justin Higgs said the San Jose, California, company has been cooperating with the Justice Department and is “intensely focused on combatting and preventing the illicit use” of its services.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Facebook Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer outlined the complexity of preventing abuse.
“Election integrity is challenging because again, you’re dealing with adversaries,” Schroepfer said during a conference in Half Moon Bay, California. “They are trying to accomplish a goal and they have smart people who are trying to figure out their way into the system to accomplish that.”
For instance, infiltrators often react immediately to countermeasures. If they figure out Facebook is checking the Internet addresses of computers to identify visitors from particular countries, Schroepfer said, “they’ll take over a machine with malware in the US and post from there instead. People say, ‘Why don’t you just check the currency or the IP address?’ And as soon as you do that, literally that afternoon, they will change tactics.”
Schroepfer said the company is making “good headway” on the problem, although he declined to give specifics. “By kind of doing a lot better job of trying to figure out the authenticity of these different actors, we can certainly stop that sort of behavior,” he said. “There’s a big focus on that.”
On the other hand, now that the Russians have shown how this sort of campaign is done, the door is open for others — including American special interest groups — to use the same tactics to target disaffected voters in the right places, said David Gerzof Richard, a communications professor at Emerson College.
“This is the new norm,” he said. “It’s not going away. It’s not going to be magically fixed by a Silicon Valley CEO or a group of executives saying they’re going to do better.”


Rights group condemns Sudan’s RSF for journalist’s ‘heinous’ killing

Updated 24 December 2024
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Rights group condemns Sudan’s RSF for journalist’s ‘heinous’ killing

  • Hanan Adam and her brother died during an attack on their home in Wad Al-Asha

The International Federation of Journalists has condemned the killing of Sudanese journalist Hanan Adam by the Rapid Support Forces, describing it as a “heinous” crime.

The media rights group called for urgent action to address the escalating climate of fear and violence against journalists in Sudan.

Adam, who worked for the Ministry of Culture and Information in Gezira state and was a correspondent for Al-Maidan, the newspaper of the Sudanese Communist Party, was killed alongside her brother, Youssef Adam, during an RSF attack on their home in Wad Al-Asha on Dec. 8.

“We mourn the loss of our colleague, Hanan Adam, and her brother Youssef, and extend our deepest condolences to the family,” IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said in a statement on Tuesday.

“The IFJ calls on the Sudanese government to launch an investigation and take concrete action to end the climate of fear and violence that journalists endure in the country.”

Her employer, Al-Maidan newspaper, released a statement on Facebook mourning Adam’s death, highlighting her dedication to journalism armed with “only paper and pen.”

Adam is the sixth journalist killed in Sudan this year, making it the deadliest country for media professionals in Africa in 2024.

The RSF has been directly implicated in the deaths of at least five journalists since the conflict erupted in April 2023, cementing its reputation for targeting members of the press and media workers.

The IFJ’s call for justice comes amid growing international scrutiny of the RSF and the deteriorating safety of journalists in Sudan with the country mired in a conflict fueled by a power struggle between rival generals.

 


Iran lifts ban on WhatsApp and Google Play, state media says

Updated 24 December 2024
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Iran lifts ban on WhatsApp and Google Play, state media says

  • Most of US-based social media remain blocked

DUBAI: Iranian authorities have lifted a ban on Meta’s instant messaging platform WhatsApp and Google Play as a first step to scale back Internet restrictions, Iranian state media reported on Tuesday.
The Islamic Republic has some of the strictest controls on Internet access in the world, but its blocks on US-based social media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are routinely bypassed by tech-savvy Iranians using virtual private networks.
“A positive majority vote has been reached to lift limitations on access to some popular foreign platforms such as WhatsApp and Google Play,” Iran’s official IRNA news agency said on Tuesday, referring to a meeting on the matter headed by President Masoud Pezeshkian.
“Today the first step in removing Internet limitations... has been taken,” IRNA cited Iran’s Minister of Information and Communications Technology Sattar Hashemi as saying.
Social media platforms were widely used in anti-government protests in Iran.
In September the United States called on Big Tech to help evade online censorship in countries that heavily sensor the Internet, including Iran.


Slovenia calls for Israel’s exclusion from Eurovision 2025

Updated 24 December 2024
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Slovenia calls for Israel’s exclusion from Eurovision 2025

  • Slovenia threatened to withdraw from Eurovision if its demand to exclude Israel over Gaza attacks is rejected by the European Broadcasting Union
  • Organizers cautioned that Israel’s plan to privatize its Kan broadcaster could lead to the country’s removal from the competition

LONDON: Slovenia has called on the European Broadcasting Union to disqualify Israel from the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest over its ongoing military actions in Gaza, Israeli media reported.

Slovenia’s public broadcaster, RTV SLO, formally submitted a letter to the EBU urging Israel’s exclusion, citing its attacks on the Gaza Strip as grounds for disqualification.

The broadcaster warned that Slovenia might withdraw from the contest entirely if its request is denied.

The controversy follows Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar’s recent comments condemning Israel and Russia for violating the UN Charter with their respective wars in Gaza and Ukraine. She emphasized that Israel’s actions were on a “much larger scale.”
Eurovision, which celebrates its 69th edition next year, has faced repeated criticism over Israel’s participation.

In the most recent competition, several artists called for Israel’s boycott, arguing that its military operations in Gaza conflicted with the contest’s values.

Protests also erupted earlier this year in Malmo, Sweden, during Israel’s qualification for the finals.

Organizers resisted calls to disqualify Israel maintaining that Eurovision is a “non-political event” and noting that Russia’s exclusion in 2022 was due to the suspension of Russian broadcasters from the EBU for “persistent breaches of membership obligations and violations of public service values.”

Israel’s place in Eurovision faces further uncertainty amid domestic moves to privatize Kan, the country’s public broadcaster.

While Israel qualifies for Eurovision as a member of the EBU, the union warned this week that Kan’s privatization would result in Israel’s removal from the organization.

“Privatising Kan would lead to its removal from our union, limit Israel’s role in international events like Eurovision and prevent Israeli viewers from accessing content such as the 2026 World Cup” the letter from EBU read.

Alon Gellert, Kan’s representative in the Knesset, described attempts to exclude Israel from Eurovision as part of efforts by “antisemitic organizations and Palestinian activists.”

He warned, however, that dismantling Kan could inadvertently achieve those objectives.

“The state of Israel fights tirelessly to prevent such exclusion. Now, through our own actions, we risk achieving their goals,” Gellert said.

The Eurovision Song Contest is scheduled to take place in May 2025 in Basel, Switzerland, following the country’s victory in 2024 with Nemo’s song “The Code.”


US NGO believes missing journalist Austin Tice ‘alive’ in Syria

Updated 24 December 2024
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US NGO believes missing journalist Austin Tice ‘alive’ in Syria

  • Zakka showed an image he said indicated the locations where Tice had been held from November 2017 to February 2024.

DAMASCUS: US group Hostage Aid Worldwide said Tuesday that it believes journalist Austin Tice, who went missing in Syria in 2012, is still alive, though it did not offer concrete information on his whereabouts.
“We have data that Austin is alive till January 2024, but the president of the US said in August that he is alive, and we are sure that he is alive today,” Hostage Aid Worldwide’s Nizar Zakka said.
“We are trying to be as transparent as possible and to share as much information as possible.”
At a press conference in Damascus, Zakka showed an image he said indicated the locations where Tice had been held from November 2017 to February 2024.
Hostage Aid Worldwide says it is working with Tice’s family and the US authorities.
Tice, 43, was working for Agence France-Presse, McClatchy News, The Washington Post, CBS and other media outlets in Syria.
He went missing near Damascus in August 2012.
The authorities under ousted president Bashar Assad never said they had him in custody.
Tice’s mother Debra said earlier this month that she had information that her son was alive, while Syria’s new leadership said it was searching for him.
Hostage Aid Worldwide also said it believed senior cleric Yohanna Ibrahim, a Syrian-American dual citizen, had been held by Assad’s government.
The group did not elaborate on whether it believed Ibrahim was still alive.
“He is a US citizen,” Zakka said, adding that Ibrahim “was seen in 2018 in Branch 291” of the security forces.
The senior Aleppo cleric of the Syriac Orthodox Church was kidnapped in April 2013.
Assad’s government had claimed that Ibrahim was kidnapped by jihadists.


MIT Technology Review Arabia unveils 2024 ‘Innovators Under 35 MENA’ award winners

Updated 23 December 2024
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MIT Technology Review Arabia unveils 2024 ‘Innovators Under 35 MENA’ award winners

  • Saudi Arabia saw significant recognition this year, with five of its innovators earning awards
  • Innovators’ work range from groundbreaking genetic research to eco-friendly technologies and advanced health diagnostics

LONDON: MIT Technology Review Arabia has announced the 20 winners of its 2024 Innovators Under 35 MENA award, honoring young visionaries whose work spans fields such as biotechnology, artificial intelligence, energy and medicine.

This year’s honorees hail from across the region and beyond, including Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar, Bangladesh and Russia, and whose ideas have introduced innovations addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

Their achievements range from groundbreaking genetic research to eco-friendly technologies and advanced health diagnostics.

Among this year’s winners is Saudi Arabia’s Asrar Damdam, whose UV-based device extends the shelf life of fresh food in only 30 seconds without chemicals, tackling global food waste.

Egypt’s Bassem Al-Shaib was recognized for his work with CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) technology, offering new possibilities for genetic therapies and climate change mitigation.

Qatar’s Dhabia Al-Mohannadi has developed a process to convert oil wastewater into hydrogen, contributing to decarbonization efforts.

Saudi Arabia saw significant recognition this year, with five of its innovators earning awards.

These include Mohammed Alamer, whose sustainable graphene production methods are gaining attention, and Lamyaa Almemadi, whose research at MIT focuses on monitoring mRNA degradation in vaccines.

Taghreed Sindi was recognized for developing AI tools to improve children’s hospital care, while Maha AlJuhani introduced methods for designing catalysts that recycle nitrogen, supporting sustainability in industry.

The honorees were selected by a panel of 19 judges, including academics and entrepreneurs from leading institutions worldwide.

The award, which was launched in the MENA in 2018, is the regional version of a global awards scheme launched by MIT Technology Review in 1999.

Part of Arabic digital content provider Majarra, Innovators Under 35 awards have previously honored figures such as Google co-founder Larry Page, and Mark Zuckerberg, founder, chairman and CEO of Meta, formerly known as Facebook.