Geoshawk Issue No.17

Mar 15, 2024

Happy Friday!

FYI, starting next week, this newsletter will drop to 1 day for the short/medium term.

(I am starting a new job and need to gauge how much time I will have)

Lastly, articles in this newsletter do not = an endorsement of them.

GLOBAL HIGHLIGHTS:

Mapping a Surge of Disinformation in Africa (Africacenter, 13 March)
The Future of the Internet Depends on Trust and Safety Investment (Duco, 13 March)
Exclusive: Trump launched CIA covert influence operation against China (Reuters, 14 March)
EU calls on tech firms to outline plans to tackle deepfakes amid election fears (Guardian, 14 March)
A window into Facebook closes as Meta sets a date to shut down CrowdTangle (Niemanlab, 14 March)

ELECTION WATCH:

AI Isn’t Our Election Safety Problem, Disinformation Is (TIME, 14 March)
What the Princess Kate photo reveals about misinformation threats during elections (Poynter, 14 March)

USA:

Trump calls Facebook the enemy of the people. Meta’s stock sinks (CNN, 11 March)
Former Secretary of State Pompeo: Ukraine Will Get U.S. Aid (Cipher Brief, 11 March)
Website warning of cyberattack in Georgia’s largest county removed after it confused some voters (ABCNews, 12 March)

RUSSIA:

How the Belarusian Cyber Partisans are fighting a digital war against two dictators (The Record by Recorded Future, 11 March)
How Meduza is preparing for full Internet censorship in Russia (Meduza, 12 March)
Bulgarian far-right visit Moscow at invitation of Putin’s party (Euractiv, 12 March)
Disarming Disinformation (with Andrea Michalcová) (AEI, 12 March)
Europe’s farmer protests have been fertile ground for Russian propaganda (Politico, 13 March)
How conspiracy theories help to maintain Vladimir Putin’s grip on power in Russia (The Conversation, 14 March)

MENA:

Türkiye has countered nearly 200 disinformation attempts by Israel — Altun (Trtworld, March 11)
Higgins condemns 'propaganda' against UN over Gaza (BBC, 11 March)
Israel ‘losing the propaganda war’ as pressure mounts to resume UNRWA funds (SkyNews, 12 March)

CAUCASUS:

Russian influence in Georgia ahead of critical elections (Jamestown, 14 March)
Moscow Fears Armenia Now Following Same Path as Georgia and Ukraine (Jamestown, 14 March)
MDF Report: Georgia's Anti-Western Propaganda Primarily Stem from Pro-Kremlin Parties (Misbar, 14 March)

CENTRAL ASIA:

Over 100 Cases of Terrorism and Extremism Addressed by Kazakh Courts (Timesca, 14 March)

Geoshawk