Fediverse vs Disinformation

As Musk and Trump continue to behave like kings, it’s incumbent upon news media to not just report on their actions, but put them in the proper context for the public to understand the threat level they represent; otherwise, we can’t respond appropriately.

That kind of reporting takes real bravery in the kind of moment we are in: Musk has already (falsely) called it a crime to reveal the names of those working for him at the agencies DOGE is targeting, which Wired and others have done. The Trump-installed DC attorney general has obsequiously promised Musk to go after those who identify his underlings—and to prosecute “anyone who impedes your work or threatens your people”.

While that might sound laughable, media outlets have already paid Trump handsome settlements to settle lawsuits that should have been seen as similarly laughable. When prominent news outlets won’t summon the courage to vigorously oppose this descent into autocracy, they are accessories to the coup. We must demand better from them, and support the outlets and journalists doing the critical work we as citizens require to defend our democracy.

As Musk and Trump continue to behave like kings, it’s incumbent upon news media to not just report on their actions, but put them in the proper context for the public to understand the threat level they represent; otherwise, we can’t respond appropriately.

That kind of reporting takes real bravery in the kind of moment we are in: Musk has already (falsely) called it a crime to reveal the names of those working for him at the agencies DOGE is targeting, which Wired and others have done. The Trump-installed DC attorney general has obsequiously promised Musk to go after those who identify his underlings—and to prosecute “anyone who impedes your work or threatens your people”.

While that might sound laughable, media outlets have already paid Trump handsome settlements to settle lawsuits that should have been seen as similarly laughable. When prominent news outlets won’t summon the courage to vigorously oppose this descent into autocracy, they are accessories to the coup. We must demand better from them, and support the outlets and journalists doing the critical work we as citizens require to defend our democracy.

Visit us @ [email protected] for all the latest news on the topics of astroturfing, propaganda and disinformation.

President Donald Trump is wasting no time in carrying out his goal of throttling the free press. Over the first two weeks of Trump’s presidency, his appointees have wielded federal regulatory authority to punish outlets the president dislikes — and American media moguls are responding with submission.

Trump has turned standard conservative attacks on journalists into one of the hallmarks of his political agenda.

He takes as his model Hungary’s autocrat Viktor Orban, who has “effectively dismantled the news media in his country” as “a central pillar of Orban’s broader project to remake his country as an ‘illiberal democracy,’” as New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger noted in an extraordinary warning last year.

During his first term in office, Trump repeatedly tried to leverage state power against his despised “fake news,” and together with his Project 2025 allies has developed a playbook to attack, defund, and delegitimize news outlets in his second.

Major media companies began signaling before Trump took office that they were willing to play ball with his administration in order to preserve their business interests. But since Inauguration Day, as Trump’s appointees have begun showing their intentions, executives at several news outlets have gone into full retreat.

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Ahead of the German federal elections later this month, pro-Kremlin outlets employ the usual manipulative narratives including tropes like ‘Germany is facing economic and social ruin’, ‘Germans are desperate for change’ and ‘only parties that promise such change will do well’.

The messaging is, as always, simple. Built around elements which would resonate with some people, but embellished with falsities and based on the same few key narratives the Kremlin has peddled for years: Elites vs People, Lost Sovereignty, Threatened Values, Imminent Collapse.

Incidentally, the Kremlin’s information manipulation operation sought to employ much of the same playbook ahead of the European elections in June 2024.

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As undersea infrastructure in the Baltic gets cut, the Kremlin’s disinformation machine churns out cut-and-paste denials and deflections.

Several incidents over the last few years have highlighted the EU’s exposure to hybrid attacks against its critical infrastructure. What often looks like sabotage and disruption has sparked growing concern for the EU. And to muddy the waters even further, the Kremlin’s disinformation quickly follows hot on the heels of these incidents.

From the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 by Russian forces in July 2014 to the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in September 2022 the Kremlin’s disinformation playbook relies on a mix of denial, deflection, and fabrication to obscure the truth.

Moscow most recently exhibited its manipulation playbook when two critical fibre-optic cables in the Baltic Sea were cut last November. A similar incident occurred late in December 2024, when a submarine power cable connecting Estonia and Finland suffered a failure.

As investigations into the two episodes proceed, Russian disinformation actors have seized the opportunity to spin the incidents to suit their broader external and internal agenda.

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Visit us @ [email protected] for all the latest news on the topics of astroturfing, propaganda and disinformation.

@[email protected] is spreading a disinfo campaign trying to rebrand horrible ideas as "not nazi." I don't know where else to warn people about this. We are pushing for an instance ban, but the admin at SDF tends to be slow to reach.

Edit: Look at the modlog. I beg of any instance admin that sees the ban and removal reasons alone, including a ban reason of "tranny" , I hope to hell they break your instance rules. You should instance ban this moron to keep the spread down.

Edit 2: It has been more than a day now with not even a "We will look into it." kind of reply from the admin. It may be time to look into defederation. We are effectively abandoned.

Edit for an update:

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Visit us @ [email protected] for all the latest news on the topics of astroturfing, propaganda and disinformation.

Visit us @ [email protected] for all the latest news on the topics of astroturfing, propaganda and disinformation.

Visit us @ [email protected] for all the latest news on the topics of astroturfing, propaganda and disinformation.

If Your Time is short

• President Barack Obama in 2010 ordered federal agencies to prioritize hiring more people with disabilities. The Federal Aviation Administration incorporated such efforts into its diversity hiring program.

• These efforts remained in place throughout President Donald Trump’s first administration. The FAA under Trump expanded its effort to hire people with disabilities, announcing in 2019 a program to hire 20 people with disabilities to be air traffic controllers.

• Trump in 2018 eliminated an Obama-era assessment used in hiring air traffic controllers that scored applicants based on their work and education history and personality traits. Biden did not revive it.

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Visit us @ [email protected] for all the latest news on the topics of astroturfing, propaganda and disinformation.

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Quick Take

President Donald Trump said his administration blocked $50 million for condoms to be sent to Gaza through its pause on foreign aid. But it has provided no evidence that $50 million was ever directed toward condoms for Gaza. The contractor identified by the State Department said it has not used U.S. aid “to procure or distribute condoms.”

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Visit us @ [email protected] for all the latest news on the topics of astroturfing, propaganda and disinformation.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/1839567

Here is the link to the report: https://graphika.com/reports/chinese-state-influence

A Chinese social media operation that aims to whip up political anger in the West has called for the overthrow of a foreign government when impersonating protesters criticising flood relief efforts in Spain, online analysis outfit Graphika said.

Graphika said an operation dubbed Spamouflage, which it believed was linked to the Chinese state, posed this month as human rights group Safeguard Defenders to spread online calls for the government to be toppled in response to the catastrophic floods in October that killed 224 people.

"This is the first time we have seen Spamouflage directly calling to overthrow a foreign government," Graphika said in its latest report.

...

The report also finds:

• Chinese covert influence operations have impersonated human rights organizations critical of Beijing, almost certainly in an effort to discredit their activities and disrupt domestic political conversations in Western countries. The state-linked Spamouflage operation, for instance, has repeatedly targeted the Spain-based non-profit Safeguard Defenders and in January posed as the organization to spread online calls for the Spanish government to be overthrown in response to deadly floods in Valencia. This is the first time we have seen Spamouflage directly calling for the overthrow of a foreign government.
• Chinese state influence actors and pro-China communities continue to leverage international trade issues in their efforts to advance Beijing’s strategic interests. In recent weeks, this has included attempts to orchestrate a boycott of Japanese retail brand Uniqlo due to the company’s reported refusal to use cotton from China’s Xinjiang region, and efforts to exacerbate tensions between the U.S. and Japan over a blocked steel company merger.
• Chinese officials and state media have used social media and other online platforms to dismiss and deflect allegations of Chinese state hacking activity. After Japan accused China in January of orchestrating a years-long hacking campaign against Japanese government agencies and companies, for example, Chinese state actors spread statements dismissing the allegations as groundless and disseminated cartoons casting Tokyo as an agent of U.S. “disinformation.”
• Overt and covert Chinese state influence actors have engaged in a sustained effort to advance narratives that reinforce Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China Sea and attempt to legitimize its activities in the region. In November, these actors amplified comments by an international law scholar that appeared to support China’s position.

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A constant narrative evolution

The Kremlin’s take on peace has evolved over the last three years. During the early days of Russia’s full-scale war, there was no space for narratives about peace, only for an ill-advised tone of triumphalism. Then, realising the Ukrainian resolve to defend their homes would not be easily broken, the Kremlin started talking about peace while its bombs rained down on Ukrainian civilians. Moscow quickly devised ‘peace proposals’ that were merely empty PR stunts, deploying the narrative of peace to support Russia’s war, masking Moscow’s true imperial ambitions.

As the war raged on, the Kremlin’s disinformation peddlers continued to spin their twisted tale of peace, increasingly reaching out to more global audiences and depicting Russia’s war against Ukraine as a noble fight to dismantle the ‘Western hegemony’ and establish a ‘truly multipolar’ world order.

But, there was a complication in maintaining this knight-in-shining-armour image. Ukraine and its supporters interested in just and lasting peace were already working toward their goal, including building a global community to support real peace. The Kremlin then pivoted from polishing its own image to disparaging the West or any proposals for peace that were not rooted in Russian imperialist ultimatums. This dichotomy – disguising Russia’s aggression as attempts for peace and accusing the West of not being serious about peace – has now become the Kremlin’s go-to tactic to manipulate the public perception of achievable peace in Ukraine. [...]

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As Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faces a Senate vote to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, right-wing media are split on whether to support his nomination.

Some claim the nominee — who has a long history of undermining scientific research and promoting health misinformation — is a “bipartisan” solution for “Making America Healthy Again,” while others have highlighted his past extremism, Democratic affiliations, and pro-abortion beliefs. Some right-wing media have also covered for Kennedy’s extremism in the past, largely ignoring his vaccination views.

Kennedy has a history of pushing harmful policies and embracing extremism — and right-wing media have played cover for him [...]

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