Influence campaigns
Iran’s top leader praises pro-Palestine student protesters in the US
Writing from a country where protest is violently suppressed, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said they were standing on the right side of history.
- by Chris Zappone
Latest
This ‘Russian’ woman loves China. Too bad she’s a deepfake of an unrelated Australian
The videos are often labelled with hashtags such as “Russian beauty” and the women describe how accomplished Chinese men are.
- by Vivian Wang and Siyi Zhao
Poland to clamp down on Russian diplomats’ movement
Relations between Poland and Russia have deteriorated sharply since Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022.
- by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk
French officials see Azerbaijan’s foreign interference behind deadly riots in New Caledonia
Azerbaijan had invited separatists from the French territories last year, resulting in a group whose stated aim is to support “French liberation and anti-colonialist movements”.
- by Chris Zappone
Online dump of Chinese hacking documents offers rare window into pervasive state surveillance
The trove catalogues apparent hacking activity and tools to spy on both Chinese and foreigners.
- by Frank Bajak and Dake Kang
Nancy Pelosi suggests Russia links to some Gaza ceasefire protests in US
The influential Democrat said the financing for some of the protests could be linked to Russia and she wanted to ask the FBI to investigate the matter.
- by Kanishka Singh
How AI is leading the fight against disinformation in Ukraine, Gaza
Feared for deepfakes and disinformation, artificial intelligence tools can sift through vast volumes of data to discover the tainted narratives before they go viral.
- by Chris Zappone
Crisis over Indian assassination plots against Sikh separatists escalates
US prosecutors have laid charges on a man who they say worked with an Indian government employee on a plot to assassinate a New York City resident.
- by Luc Cohen
China paid this Australian influencer. He was told to pick a fight with Mack Horton
Chinese state-backed social media influencing operations manage teams of foreign nations to do its bidding online.
- by Eryk Bagshaw
‘Certain malice’: Finland to shut border crossings, as Russia sends migrants towards EU nation
Dozens of migrants, mostly from the Middle East and Africa, have arrived in the Nordic nation over recent days helped by Russian authorities.
- by Jari Tanner
Bedbug panic in France fanned by Russia, intel services believe
“It’s as if someone was seeking to damage the reputation of the country before the Olympics,” said one French pest control company worker.
- by Henry Samuel