Big tech funds COVID-19 misinformation, Taliban disinformation we may have missed, and vaccine disinformation networks seize on new requirements

Before taking Kabul, the Taliban had disseminated a steady stream of propaganda that reframed the relationship between the Afghan Special Forces, the Taliban, and outsiders.
Accounts tweeting pro-Taliban content referred to the Afghan military's actions as needlessly "slaughtering their neighbors."
- The Twitter accounts urged the Afghan Special Forces not to be America's "trained dirty creature."
- Twitter has banned some Taliban accounts in the past but ban-evasion accounts can allow bad actors to re-appear.

Hoaxlines found references to what happened in Vietnam to suggest that they too would be abandoned or sacrificed. (In a similar vein, both Russia and China have recently claimed the US would likewise desert Ukraine and Taiwan, respectively.)

Social media campaigns targeting the Afghan government and military reframed relationships as us-versus-them between Muslims native to the region and meddling outsiders who were nearly defeated.
One noteworthy campaign came in early June 2021.
- Tweets discussed "deceived soldiers" with an associated hashtag.
- The message was "dissident soldiers welcome."
- Paired with over a year's worth of propaganda showing the training of Taliban forces, and the Afghan forces may have wanted to avoid a "pointless death."

Posts consistently discussed the relationships between the US and Afghan forces as a false narrative — but the bonds and the shared purpose had been real.

Much of the content seemed designed to demonize Western troops, especially Americans. One video circulating among pro-Taliban accounts claims to show US soldiers pushing a woman in a "dirty canal."
- It's unclear what the video shows.
Stories of atrocities carried out by American and other Western soldiers have long been a staple in the Taliban's propaganda. Any future narratives can build upon this foundation.

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Disinformation Narratives

Networks boosting coronavirus disinformation seize on new vaccine requirements (Hoaxlines)

One response to the new vaccine requirements has been the belief that it is a shift toward authoritarianism despite the lengthy precedent in US history.
Elected officials also released some alarming statements, including Rep Dan Crenshaw, Sen. Ted Cruz, and a range of state-level officials.

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Research

Hashtags that have shown signs of inauthentic activity, specifically the kind that creates a false impression that an idea or hashtag is more popular than it is, have a near-constant presence on Twitter. #DictatorBiden began trending shortly after announcing new vaccine requirements. The hashtag almost certainly benefited from inauthentic activity boosting its apparent popularity.

Note: The appearance of a user in the data set does not necessarily indicate nefarious actions and may not even reflect someone participating but rather being discussed by others.

Another hashtag, #FauciLied began trending on Sept 7, 2021. The most popular tweet belonged to Sen Rand Paul. Multiple accounts within that cluster behaved in ways inconsistent with what we expect from authentic accounts. The trend took off based on a story from the Intercept that provided no new information.

Much like the burst of activity that surrounded a FOIA request and Dr. Fauci’s emails, behaving as if a scandal had occurred appeared sufficient to give the public the impression that one existed.

Russian-State Controlled Disinformation

An article from Wayne Dupree, “Biden is not fit for office, but he’ll never resign because his handlers won’t allow it,” appeared in Russia Today.

Amplifying Western voices has become the bread-and-butter of RT’s coverage of US politics. The voices it chooses are divisive and frequently misleading.

One paragraph reads:
“One hundred years from now, historians will debate how Joe Biden was ever elected president when it was more than evident that he wasn’t up to the job. The Democrats pulled a fast one in getting Biden elected. He has become their Trojan horse as his unelected handlers make decisions that affect the course of this nation. It’s nothing less than a tragedy.”

The Strategic Culture Foundation referred to Biden’s invocation of a vaccine mandate as a “maniacal move of wild desperation.”

The Strategic Culture Foundation is a think-tank that was outed by the State Department, one year ago in August, as an integral part of the Russian propaganda and disinformation ecosystem
The article discusses the Great Barrington Declaration, a political statement mistaken for a study and funded by the fossil fuel industry:
“One year ago, humanity had the opportunity to embrace the wisdom of the Great Barrington Declaration to protect the vulnerable while letting society otherwise function. Governments instead chose the path of ignorance and violence.”

Ruptly favorably covered Bolsonaro supporters on the verge of insurrection in Brazil.

Note: Ruptly, a state-controlled outlet filmed live at the US Capitol on Jan 6 and was on-site reporting as Brazil braced for an attempted insurrection.

E. Rosalie @NovelSci

State-controlled outlet Ruptly was present on Jan 6th at the US Capitol. Ruptly is also in Brazil, as the country braces for possible insurrection.

Ruptly also recorded/reported on women marching in support of the Taliban.

Previously Hoaxlines wrote about the Taliban appearing friendly with Russian Journalists.
This framing is typical in Taliban propaganda, which often claims that women prefer them and that the women are truly respected, not oppressed.

Hoaxlines found revisionist content denying Russia’s role in the MH17 crash.

While the international community investigated and found a Russian-style missile downed MH17, killing 298 passengers in 2014, Russia denies this.
The article states, “Russia conducted its own investigation and said it had provided the JIT with evidence, including radar data, showing that the plane had been shot down by a Ukrainian Buk missile.” The missile was a Russian Buk.

A lesser-known, Kremlin-proxy site targeting both far-right and far-left audiences, Veteran’s today endorsed Ivermectin, a wormer frequently used on livestock.

The drug has not been shown to help treat or prevent Covid.

Russia denied interfering in Ukraine’s internal affairs, though its interference there and in the US have been well-documented.

We also saw portrayals of Russia as a victim, specifically RT. Russian interference in the upcoming German election has already made headlines.

Sputnik and TV Zvezda have been hopefully covering a potential 2024 run for Presidency by former President Trump.

State-controlled outlet TV Zvezda claims that US interference in elections of the Russian Federation was documented.

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova stated:

“From the United States, with the use of Internet platforms that are owned and moderated by American Internet monopolies, there are explicit acts, documented, interference in our internal processes - political processes, electoral processes, elections,” the diplomat said on the YouTube channel Solovyov Live.”

Earlier in the week, another article claimed that Russian officials have “irrefutable evidence” of the US election interference in Russia.
Thus far, it appears that a US-based tech company allowing an app that supported Alexei Navalny is what the Kremlin is characterizing as meddling in domestic politics. The White House has yet to comment.

Fact-checking works: results from a new international study [Full Fact]

Researchers evaluated 22 fact-checks, including two that were tested in all four countries. Fact-checking reduced belief in misinformation, with most effects still apparent more than 2 wk later. This study was larger scale and more robust than past efforts. That the results are so clear across cultures and locations is welcome news.