Guillaume Kuster

Cover of our research "Decoding Secrets With Medals: How Military Insignia Revealed Russia’s Hidden SIGINT Network"

Today, we are proud to publish our latest investigation into the FSB’s 16th Center, publicly accused of operating some of Russia's most sophisticated cyber-espionage groups.
🔗 checkfirst.network/decoding-se...

📊 Operation Overload on Telegram:
• 673 channels analysed
• 7M+ messages
• 2M+ media collisions (39% of 5.5M total)
• 550+ channels share admins
• 70% of Overload-linked emails point to Telegram
• 10 verified channels drive core narratives

RADAR - Regulatory Assessment for Digital Service Act Risks RADAR is a framework for assessing and mitigating Digital Service Act (DSA) regulatory risks. Developed by CheckFirst, it guides digital service providers through compliance checkpoints and best practices.

Today, we're proud to launch RADAR (Regulatory Assessment for Digital Service Act Risks), an open framework that introduces standardised tags for Digital Service Act (DSA) infringements: radar.checkfirst.network/

Pravda in numbers - Content and Network analysis Interactive dashboard visualizing patterns, language distribution, domain connections and more across the Pravda Russian network.

Today, in collaboration with @dfrlab.bsky.social, we pull back the curtain with the #Pravda Dashboard, a live, hour‑by‑hour tracker of #Russia’s Portal Kombat network. Follow each article’s journey, trace domain footprints, spot language‑shifts and watch targeting patterns unfold!

portal-kombat.com

Russia-linked Pravda network cited on Wikipedia, LLMs, and X Pro-Kremlin content pollutes sources on multiple platforms, sparking worries of false claims and sanctioned content reaching global audiences

NEW 🚨 The #Pravdanetwork—a Russia-linked disinformation operation—has infiltrated #Wikipedia, AI chatbots, and #X, spreading pro-Kremlin narratives globally.

@vchatelet.bsky.social & @checkfirst.network
reveal the scale of this content pollution: bit.ly/3R6XW9l

“Pravda” Network: Worldwide Expansion and LLM, Wikipedia Pollution - CheckFirst CheckFirst, in partnership with DFRLab, shows how the Russian propaganda and disinformation “Pravda” network extended its coverage and aims (and succeeds) at polluting large language models (LLMs) and...

🚨 NEW REPORT

🔎 The Russian propaganda and disinformation “Pravda” network extended its coverage and aims (and succeeds) at polluting large language models (LLMs) and Wikipedia. 

🗒️ X’s Community notes are unable to aptly address the spread of “Pravda” content on the platform.

Russia’s so-called “Pravda” network expands worldwide The network formerly known as Portal Kombat added new domains and expanded its geographic reach over the last year

🚨 New report! In collaboration with @dfrlab.bsky.social , we reveal the global expansion of #Russia’s so-called "Portal Kombat" network—an influence operation laundering pro-Kremlin content across Europe, Africa, and Asia. First exposed by @viginum.bsky.social a year ago.

À troll, troll et demi.

We're pleased to announce the launch of our new Community Notes Dashboard – a state-of-the-art, interactive platform that delivers deep insights into the evolution and distribution of Community Notes on #X

New: We've uncovered over 100 websites set up by a group known as Storm-1516. After the US elections the Russian influence operation has set its sights on Germany's federal elections. Some of these sites have already been used to attack German politicians. correctiv.org/faktencheck/...

Joint Statement by the G7 Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) on a Russian Influence Campaign - United States Department of State The text of the following statement was released by the G7 Rapid Response Mechanism, which includes Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, the United Kingd...

This Friday seems to be an SDA day. The G7 Rapid Response Mechanism just posted a statement about the Kremlin funded Social Design Agency we just released a report about. Have a good week end. www.state.gov/office-of-th...

Influence by Design: How Meta Accepted Russian Propaganda Payments Despite Sanctions - CheckFirst Check First, in partnership with Reset.tech and AI Forensics, unveils the extent to which Kremlin-linked entity SDA have exploited Meta platforms to disseminate propaganda.

Despite international sanctions, #Meta is accepting payments from Russian propagandists. Our latest report with @aiforensics.org & Reset underscore how Meta has failed to moderate over 8,000 political ads from the Kremlin-linked Social Design Agency (SDA). #SDALeak

Kudos to @safety.bsky.app for moderating Operation Overload posts even before they can be shared. The latest email targeting fact-checkers associated with #Overload contained only Bluesky links, none of which linked to content at the time the email was received. Different story on X…

542K views · 7K comments | It's time to get back to our roots around free expression. We're replacing fact checkers with Community Notes, simplifying our policies and focusing on... | By Mark Zuckerbe... It's time to get back to our roots around free expression. We're replacing fact checkers with Community Notes, simplifying our policies and focusing on...

Deepfakes are crazy good these days.

I just saw a video of Zuckerberg claiming:
- he's "getting rid of fact-checkers" because they "censor" debate
- he's "restoring free speech" on Facebook/Instagram
- that "Europe is institutionalising censorship"

Oh, wait...

Comment réguler les plateformes en période électorale ? — ODIL Le Podcast Une décision historique. La cour constitutionnelle roumaine a annulé l’élection présidentielle, dont le second tour était prévu le 8 décembre. En cause, l’arrivée en tête du premier tour de Călin Geor...

Great comments on platform regulation during electoral periods by @vincentcouronne.bsky.social reflecting on the unprecedented Romanian case and the situation outside of the EU, especially in #Africa overcast.fm/+AAycBXDNAFQ (in French)

Romania’s cancelled election is a lesson in social media manipulation Investigations should finally shed light on how algorithms win votes and influence people

Excellent opinion piece by @marietjeschaake.bsky.social in the @financialtimes.com about the role of platforms in election manipulation. She captures the hopes and fears surrounding the #DSA 's enforcement amid what may be its most significant raison d'être yet. #Romania www.ft.com/content/2855...

Covert Facebook Network Found to Be Targeting Romanian Voters Meta Platforms Inc. allowed a network of Facebook pages to post more than 4,100 political ads attacking Romania’s pro-EU presidential candidate Elena Lasconi and promoting far-right figures, including...

If you're short on time to read @checkfirst.network 's research note on Meta's failures to moderate political ads during the Romanian Presidential campaign, here's an excellent wrap-up by @dzuidijk.bsky.social on @bloomberg.com www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Moderation? What moderation?

Researcher access to platform data: Experts weigh in on the Delegated Act - DSA Observatory by John Albert, DSA Observatory This post shares insights from a DSA Observatory workshop held on 18 November 2024, where researchers and legal experts met to discuss what’s new in the draft delegated...

Data access for researchers (DSA art 40): It’s coming, probably next spring (and also for NGOs). In the meantime here’s a very helpful paper by @jaalbrt.bsky.social to ease your impatience. dsa-observatory.eu/2024/11/29/r...

Operation Overload: A Growing Disinformation Threat Now Targeting the U.S. Presidential Election - CheckFirst Continuing the collaboration between Check First and Reset Tech, our latest findings confirm that the operation is based in Russia. We also describe how Operation Overload has now shifted its focus to...

Typical Operation Overload checkfirst.network/operation-ov...

Operation Overload: A Growing Disinformation Threat Now Targeting the U.S. Presidential Election - CheckFirst Continuing the collaboration between Check First and Reset.tech, our latest findings confirm that the operation is based in Russia. We also describe how Operation Overload has now shifted its focus to...

Operation #Overload update: Evidence of link to Russia, new targets identified, increased email activity and a shift of narratives towards the U.S. election. Read the latest in our new activity update report: checkfirst.network/operation-ov...

Enhance Speech from Adobe | Free AI filter for cleaning up spoken audio This AI audio filter improves spoken audio to make it sound like it was recorded in a soundproofed studio.

@alexjubelin.bsky.social Épisode s’annonçant comme passionnant sur l’incursion ukrainienne à Koursk mais la piètre qualité audio de Vincent Tourret m’a découragé d’aller au bout. Life hack: podcast.adobe.com/enhance

Video. TikTok ‘promoted misogyny’ in run-up to European elections Video. A new study has found that TikTok’s search suggestions contained toxic language towards women and minorities in Finland.

A great piece by Euronews's The Cube on our and @faktabaari.bsky.social latest report: www.euronews.com/video/2024/0...

La campagne éclair du premier tour des législatives a officiellement débuté Jusqu'à quel point le feuilleton des trahisons et des alliances, à droite comme à gauche est-il de nature à troubler la lisibilité du scrutin ? Et quelles conséquences pourraient avoir le niveau de pa...

Talking more about pro-Russian misinformation operations (Overloads, ads on Meta) in yesterday's @franceculture.bsky.social lunch newscast (in French): www.radiofrance.fr/francecultur...

Join our next Thursday as we plunge into #OperationOverload, a campaign targeting fact-checkers and researchers worldwide, urging them to verify dubious claims, depleting their resources.

🗓️ 20 June
🕝 14:30 CEST
🦸 @g.checkfirst.network, @checkfirst.network
🔗 us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Matriochka : une campagne prorusse ciblant les médias et la communauté des fact-checkers | SGDSN VIGINUM publie un rapport technique sur « Matriochka », une campagne de manipulation de l’information prorusse ciblant les médias et la communauté des fact-checkers.

Depuis la fin 2023, VIGINUM observe et documente une campagne malveillante susceptible d’affecter le débat public numérique francophone. Ce mode opératoire, connu en sources ouvertes sous le nom de Matriochka, est actif depuis au moins sept 2023.

www.sgdsn.gouv.fr/publications...

#Dinsinformation

A man with a toddler at the voting booth in the Netherlands

A man giving his ID card to a woman at the voting booths in the Netherlands

A woman giving the voting card to a young woman during the early voting in Portugal

A woman voting in Ireland

Our Union should never be taken for granted.  
Defend it, shape it.  
 
🗳️ Voting booths across the European Union are ready: it is time to #UseYourVote.

European elections: EU institutions prepared to counter disinformation | News | European Parliament The EU institutions are playing their part in defending the European elections on 6-9 June against disinformation and information manipulation targeting European democracy.

The European Parliament takes a firm stance against disinformation ahead of the elections, expressing significant concerns about many past and ongoing manipulation attempts, including #OperationOverload, which we reported on. Collaboration is key. Our report: checkfirst.network/operation-ov...