Richard Sambrook

The national security assessment on biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse - finally released via FOI. Trump isn’t all we need to worry about.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/696e0e...

I had a great chat last week with @cward1e.bsky.social, looking back at the growth of open source investigation from when it was just a small bunch of people trying to figure stuff out, how the counter-disinformation community formed out of that, and why it's causing us all so many headaches now.

Centrism's Anger Problem It's Hard To Be Reasonable When People Are Furious

open.substack.com/pub/ianlesli...

Person: say, i am alive. Computer: I am alive. Person: oh my god.

Ossoff: "This is a seismic event. This should have people across the country absolutely shook. This is a huge deal. This is an FBI raid on the Fulton County Elections office ... This is a shot across the bow at the midterm elections. He tried to steal power when he lost it in 2020."

In the last days, there has been an unprecedented attack targeting investigative journalists trying to seize their Signal accounts. This has gone largely unreported. I have been repeatedly targeted by phishing, and I learned that also colleagues from other outlets were targeted, with the attackers unfortunately managing to compromise at least one colleague’s account. What’s worrying: this doesn’t seem like an isolated case. A broader wave is apparently hitting journalists (and some civil society actors) via Signal. How it works: Attackers message you on Signal pretending to be “Signal Support,” warning about “suspicious activity,” and urging you to “re-verify” your account. Once you accept the chat, you receive a real Signal SMS verification code, because the attacker is actively trying to register your number on a new device. If you share that code, you’re handing them the keys. Signal’s extra protection is the Signal PIN. If an attacker also tricks you into giving up your PIN (or you don’t have strong protections enabled), they can see your contacts and networks, potentially join chats going forward, and lock you out by changing settings. Quick protections worth doing today: - Signal will never contact you via a two-way in-app support chat. Treat those messages as hostile. - Never share SMS codes, Signal PIN, or anything called “registration lock.” - Turn on Registration Lock (Settings → Account → Registration Lock). - If you see a “safety number changed” alert: verify the person via a different channel (call/video), not just Signal text. - Report + block suspicious requests, and review linked devices. If you work with sensitive sources: this isn’t just about losing an account, it’s about exposing networks. Please share this with colleagues who rely on Signal day-to-day.

WARNING, fellow journalists: As @nicoschmidt.io explains, attackers are trying to hijack reporters' Signal accounts by tricking people into handing over their 2FA codes. www.linkedin.com/posts/nicosc...

@jagolinzer.bsky.social

Agree Annette - so good !

Selling Europe out to Trump and attending Davos in the pay of an Iranian billionaire – who does Nigel Farage work for exactly? Is it the people of Clacton?

A video of Alex Pretti reading out the final salute of an unnamed veteran he cared for until the end of his life in the ICU, posted to Facebook by his son.

This isn't a crisis we fact-check our way out of, we need to build something bigger and more radical to resist the tide of authoritarianism engulfing our democracies. We can't wait for institutions to act, it's up to us to organise.

We need to get out good, verified information to the public as rapidly as possible, so counteract populist, conspiratorial, and authoritarian narratives that are produced by systems that work well in our modern information environment.

The events of the last 24 hours show why it's important to build functional verification structures in public and counterpublic spaces to resist the authoritarian erosion of our democratic systems, as described in this thread.

As we return to a pre-WW2 order, the middle powers face a challenge With economic stagnation and extremes of inequality comes corrosion of trust in democratic institutions. So Trump may be a symptom, not a cause, of what Carney called a "rupture" with the post-WW2 ord...

Really great piece from Allan Little - a long read. We need more of this kind of perspective www.bbc.com/news/article...

YouTube video by RHINO Buffalo Springfield - For What It's Worth (Official Audio)

youtu.be/80_39eAx3z8?...

YouTube video by neilyoungchannel Neil Young - Ohio (Live) [Official Audio]

youtu.be/Vh1E951XaRA?...

They know what they say is untrue, they do not care it is untrue.

The media know that what they repeat is untrue, they do not care it is untrue.

Their supporters know what they are told is untrue, they do not care it is untrue.

Telling the truth is not enough, unless people care about the truth.

🤔😉

www.instagram.com/reel/DTsz8JB...

I’ve always thought @lewisgoodall.com is too good a reporter to be wasted sitting in the studio. Good to read he’s back on the ground again.

Who's secretly filming fake TikToks inside Londoners' homes? We tracked down the viral video account invading people's houses to spread false claims about immigrants.

This is one of the strangest and most screwed-up stories I’ve worked on. www.londoncentric.media/p/tiktok-lon...

Thrilled to have worked on this methodology and with Sander to produce these results.

I’m not convinced the current media climate of endless “news chat” and speculation rather than actual reporting really helps anything (except podcast profits maybe)

For the avoidance of doubt: Democracy for Sale has not joined the Board of Peace.

*Message ends*

💯

Mark Carney has delivered one of the most important speeches of our era. There is a better future waiting for Britain if we dare to follow his example.

inews.co.uk/opinion/trum...

Trump is what happens when democracy is bought Davos is a warning Britain can’t afford to ignore - Starmer must act now

open.substack.com/pub/democrac...

America vs. the World President Trump wants to return to the 19th century’s international order. He will leave America less prosperous—and the whole world less secure.

“Trump’s megalomania is transforming the United States from inter­national leader into international pariah, and the American people will suffer the consequences for years to come.”

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...

Last time I went to Davos - decades ago - I witnessed Peter Mandelson doing a vaguely raunchy disco dance with Christine LaGarde. Some things can’t be unseen ….😳

Stops us talking about Ukraine or Epstein tho!