Geoshawk, a disinfo dispatch: No.46

34 headlines: Russian disinfo continues targetting EU, Italian Kremlin propagandist uncovered, Kenyan politicians question X, CISA says no chance foreign adversary can change election results & more!

Hey, I’m Alan, & welcome to Geoshawk. Geoshawk curates news & research on influence operations, with sections on tech, election integrity, miscellaneous news/research, & regional focuses on the USA, MENA, Russia, the Caucasus, & Central Asia. Other regions are also featured.

I hope you enjoy Geoshawk!

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Tech Watch:

• X agrees to pay Brazil fines, court orders finances unblocked (France 24, 2 October)

• Climate Disinformation Worth Millions (Codastory, 27 September)

• AI Against Terror: Harnessing Technology to Combat Terrorism in the Horn of Africa (Global Network on Extremism & Technology, 27 September)

Election Integrity:

• Moldova Uncovers ’Unprecedented’ Pro-Russia Vote Rigging (The Moscow Times, 3 October)

• Why Britain’s ‘deepfake election’ never happened (Politico, 27 September)

Global Miscellaneous News & Research:

• News & Research:

  • Unable to Penetrate Systems, Hackers Spread Lies About Vulnerabilities (NYT, 3 October)

  • Differences in misinformation sharing can lead to politically asymmetric sanctions (Nature, 2 October)

  • What Public Discourse Gets Wrong About Social Media Misinformation (Fair Observer, 2 October)

  • Study: Conservative users' misinformation sharing drives higher suspension rates, not platform bias (Phys, 2 October)

  • Impact of Disinformation and of Misinformation on the Work of Parliamentarians (Carnegie Endowment, 1 October)

  • How Journalism Groups in Africa Are Building AI Tools to Aid Investigations and Fact-Checking (Global Investigative Journalism Network, 1 October)

  • Online misinformation most likely to be believed by ideological extremists, study shows (Phys, 30 September)

  • To combat misinformation, start with connection, not correction (NPR, 30 September)

  • Scientists Around the World Call to Protect Research on One of Humanity's Greatest Short-Term Threats: Disinformation (Tech Policy Press, 28 September)

  • Misinformation Is Exhausting. Listening Helps (Time Magazine, 28 September)

• Other regions:

  • Social media fuel pro-Okinawa independence disinformation blitz (Nikkei Asia, 3 October)

  • What AfD’s Dark Campaign in Germany Tells Us About Disinformation (Tech Policy Press, 3 October)

  • Senator Gloria Orwoba Questions Elon Musk's X Operations In Kenya (Citizen Digital, 3 October)

  • Bulgaria sees 30% increase in HPV vaccination after fight against anti-vax propaganda (EurActiv, 1 October)

  • Germany will work with Trump even after he spread ‘fake news’ about us, minister says (Politico, 29 September)

  • In Finland, classes in recognizing fake news, disinformation (CBS News, 29 September)

  • Young Kenyans use technology to mobilize against Finance Bill amid disinformation surge (Global Voices, 27 September)

Regions:

• USA

  • In the United States, more than 100 domains used by hackers from the ColdRiver group for cyber espionage were blocked. This group is associated with the FSB (Meduza, 3 October)

  • Politically charged rumors and conspiracy theories about Helene flourish on X (NPR, 3 October)

  • Cybersecurity head says there’s no chance a foreign adversary can change US election results (AP News, 2 October)

  • A Faux 'October Surprise'—How Misinformation Could Upend The Election (Forbes, 1 October)

  • Russia-paid influencers, trolls step up efforts to influence U.S. election (Washington Post, 1 October)

  • Top Democrat urges Biden admin to do more to help local election officials fight a flood of disinformation (NBC News, 27 September)

• Middle East

• Caucasus

  • Warns of Russian Influence, Reaffirms Georgia's Commitment to Europe at Warsaw Forum (Caucasus Watch, 2 October)

  • Who’s faking who? Armenia asserts Russia was behind coup attempt; Moscow cries “fake” news (Eurasianet, 1 October)

• Russia

  • TikTok more dangerous to Ukraine than Telegram, say local disinformation experts (The Record by Recorded Future, 3 October)

  • Russian Disinformation Targets the European Union (Jamestown Foundation, 2 October)

  • From Ukraine to Burkina Faso: on the trail of an Italian propagandist working for the Kremlin (Reporters Without Borders, 30 September)

  • Why Is My Video Game Full of Russian Propaganda? (Foreign Policy, 27 September)

• Central Asia