Geoshawk Issue No.12

US leads to counter foreign info ops, Meta sets up EI team, Arafat proposes an anti-Israel platform and global investigation further unravels Russia's info warfare ops

Welcome to the 12th release of Geoshawk!

Geoshawk is a newsletter on Information Operations and Election Integrity.

Feel free to drop me recommendations for improvement or any feedback at all!

P.S. Check out the company highlight below; I will write a brief highlight 1x a month.

Global:

• Meta to set up team to counter disinformation, AI abuse in EU elections (Reuters)

US:

• US leading global alliance to counter foreign government disinformation (theguardian)

• AI 'deepfake' bill passes amid spirited House debate as primary election looms (savannahnow)

Russia:

• Newly leaked documents from the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin reveal in detail how the Kremlin is working to ensure Putin’s election victory, building a pan-Russian propaganda network and internet censorship machinery for the purposes of information warfare, and integrating the occupied territories in Ukraine. (vsquare)

• Russia's tactics: Blockchain advocacy or AI disinformation in Kenya's elections? (Nation)

• Pro-Russia network spreads propaganda and disinfo in Latin America (dfrlab)

MENA:

• Arafat seeks to combat pro-Israeli disinformation campaign with digital platform (bssnews)

• Israeli deepfake detection start-up fighting disinformation during Gaza war (foxnews)

• From Russia with hate: Online campaign working to foment Israeli division (ynetnews)

Caucasus:

• Parliament Speaker claims “disinformation” has become “main tool for deepening polarisation, weakening institutions” in country (agenda.ge)

• Arms sale claim heightened tensions ahead of 2023 Armenia-Azerbaijan peace talks (dfrlab)

• Armenia Says 'Froze' Participation in Russia-Led Security Bloc (themoscowtimes)

• Azerbaijani Defense Ministry spreads disinformation (armenpress)

• Armenia trying to cover up its armed provocations with disinformation - Azerbaijani MoD (trend.az)

Central Asia:

• Kyrgyzstan: Lawmakers push ahead with contentious foreign agents bill (eurasianet)

Election Integrity:

• Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Election Commission of India steps in to thwart 'viral' poll schedule (winnows)

• Election Integrity: 54% Say Not Enough Done to Prevent Cheating (rasmussenreports)

Company Highlight:

Clarity

Clarity is at the forefront of combating digital deception, pioneering real-time deepfake detection technology. Clarity uses AI and cybersecurity techniques to offer enterprise-grade deepfake security, ensuring digital media integrity through a proprietary AI Collective Intelligence. This technology detects deepfakes with high certainty and integrates into various workflows, providing fast, reliable media security at scale. It's part of Clarity's mission to build the world's largest and most diverse dataset of deepfakes and generative AI media, setting a new standard for digital authenticity. An emblem of ingenuity, Clarity is reshaping how we defend against digital threats, ensuring authenticity remains at the heart of our digital interactions.