Revealed: the hacking and disinformation team meddling in elections

In his initial pitch to the potential clients, Hanan claimed: “We are now involved in one election in Africa … We have a team in Greece and a team in [the] Emirates … You follow the leads. [We have completed] 33 presidential-level campaigns, 27 of which were successful.” Later, he said he was involved in two “major projects” in the US but claimed not to engage directly in US politics.

Team Jorge’s bot-management software appears to have grown significantly by 2022, according to what Hanan told the undercover reporters. He said it controlled a multinational army of more than 30,000 avatars, complete with digital backstories that stretch back years.

#Guardian #Cybercrime #BlackOps #Disinformation #Manipulation #Democracy

Running Covert Propaganda Against Americans Is Illegal. Trump Tried It Anyway. - The whistleblower stopped a covert psychological operation against the American public dead in its tracks

written in 2019, but with more revelations coming to light (e.g. Giuliani's shakedown phone call, etc.), still relevant

Asha Rangappa
Oct 7, 2019
5 min read

Each new revelation in the money-for-dirt scandal involving the White House and Ukraine appears to add another nail in the impeachment coffin. So far, however, the list of impeachable offenses has focused on whether President Donald Trump’s actions amounted to an illegal solicitation of foreign election interference, or more simply, a broader abuse of his power to secure a personal benefit.

While both of these are important (and impeachable), it’s critical that we not overlook the bigger purpose behind the president’s actions: The White House was attempting to employ an illegal, covert propaganda operation against the American public.

#politics #AshaRangappa #propaganda #Ukraine #trump #impeachment #whistleblower #Zelenski #BlackOps