Sr. Researcher @citizenlab.ca, Disinformation & Harassment. Fmr. Meta. Trainer: find & expose covert influence. I like doers. Opinions my own.https://bsky.app/profile/fittarelli.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/fittarelli.com/post/3mlaukgaxi22y🧵Remember PAPERWALL, the sprawling disinfo network we @citizenlab.ca exposed in 2024 as run by a Chinese firm, Haimai? 2 full years later, it's still very active and expanding. In its quest to cover the whole globe, it is now focusing also on Australia, New Zealand, and India. Readers? Still zero. https://citizenlab.ca/research/paperwall-chinese-websites-posing-as-local-news-outlets-with-pro-beijing-content/07 May 2026 09:08 +0000at://did:plc:srseo365q27jn374aibaqyfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlaukgaxi22yhttps://bsky.app/profile/fittarelli.com/post/3mkaslehhms2bLet’s hope Apple’s Next CEO doesn’t take @wired.com literally https://www.wired.com/story/apples-next-ceo-needs-to-launch-a-killer-ai-product/24 Apr 2026 15:08 +0000at://did:plc:srseo365q27jn374aibaqyfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkaslehhms2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/fittarelli.com/post/3mjqx6uhoms26“TikTok said in a statement that it conducted a careful review of the 304 accounts and found “zero indication of covert influence operations.” […] the accounts were spammers attempting to mine engagement.” And in terms of their generated damage, the difference is? [contains quote post or other embedded content]18 Apr 2026 07:48 +0000at://did:plc:srseo365q27jn374aibaqyfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjqx6uhoms26https://bsky.app/profile/fittarelli.com/post/3mji7hs62yk2uInfluence ops aren’t only done to win elections - or wars. [Whispers] Maybe not even mainly for that. And social media… have almost nothing “social”, or real, left. [contains quote post or other embedded content]14 Apr 2026 20:22 +0000at://did:plc:srseo365q27jn374aibaqyfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mji7hs62yk2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/fittarelli.com/post/3mj2ogdu3ws22“Mossad’s intel indicated that […] with the impetus of the spy agency helping to foment riots and rebellion an intense bombing campaign could foster the conditions for the IR opposition to overthrow the regime.” Who was the intended audience of PRISONBREAK and other ops? Iranians, or Americans? https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/us/politics/trump-iran-war.html09 Apr 2026 11:12 +0000at://did:plc:srseo365q27jn374aibaqyfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj2ogdu3ws22https://bsky.app/profile/fittarelli.com/post/3mhbpmeymhc2h1/ I spoke with The New York Times for their new story on the “liar’s dividend” in times of war — the ability not to trick audiences with AI-generated content, but to dismiss real one as AI-generated. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/17/technology/netanyahu-ai-video-iran-israel.html17 Mar 2026 19:32 +0000at://did:plc:srseo365q27jn374aibaqyfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhbpmeymhc2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/fittarelli.com/post/3mguajejw6k231/ I have a huge amount of respect for my former colleagues investigators at Meta who did the hard and smart work behind this new Adversarial Threat Report. And I find what’s in it really important and interesting. But I have questions for the company. https://transparency.meta.com/sr/first-half-2026-Adversarial-threat-report/12 Mar 2026 10:57 +0000at://did:plc:srseo365q27jn374aibaqyfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mguajejw6k23https://bsky.app/profile/fittarelli.com/post/3mgovcqtxic2z“Look what we found after having wiped out our Trust & Safety guardrails, the teams deploying them, and all connections with civil society!” Note: all accounts we reported on (#JUICYJAM, #PRISONBREAK, even older #HKLEAKS stuff) are still visible on the platform — some also very active to this day. [contains quote post or other embedded content]10 Mar 2026 07:53 +0000at://did:plc:srseo365q27jn374aibaqyfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgovcqtxic2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/fittarelli.com/post/3mgcrdrlshc23If only regular people would read this and realize “Well, maybe he’s not really in it for my best interest.” https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/nigel-farages-reform-uk-party-lands-second-big-donation-crypto-investor-2026-03-05/05 Mar 2026 12:10 +0000at://did:plc:srseo365q27jn374aibaqyfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgcrdrlshc23https://bsky.app/profile/fittarelli.com/post/3mg2ys7f2p22d1/ NEW: There’s currently a heavy push over X in support of (1) the ongoing attacks on Iran (2) Reza Pahlavi. It’s hard to quickly quantify this wave, but anecdotal evidence shows that the main support hashtags - as well as by the *real* people promoting them - are also pushed inorganically.02 Mar 2026 10:02 +0000at://did:plc:srseo365q27jn374aibaqyfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mg2ys7f2p22dhttps://bsky.app/profile/fittarelli.com/post/3merk6eamik2u“We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns”. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/technology/meta-facial-recognition-smart-glasses.html?unlocked_article_code=1.L1A.otsF.txFJRlQ8Gs4g13 Feb 2026 22:21 +0000at://did:plc:srseo365q27jn374aibaqyfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3merk6eamik2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/fittarelli.com/post/3mdlnuybefs22Every now and then we should pause and wonder: was the internet supposed to be this? Do I really need *this* internet in my life? [contains quote post or other embedded content]29 Jan 2026 20:47 +0000at://did:plc:srseo365q27jn374aibaqyfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdlnuybefs22https://bsky.app/profile/fittarelli.com/post/3mddoluzvuk2pWe also happen to know this about Homan: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/doj-ended-probe-border-czar-tom-homan-allegedly/story?id=12578138626 Jan 2026 16:38 +0000at://did:plc:srseo365q27jn374aibaqyfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mddoluzvuk2phttps://bsky.app/profile/fittarelli.com/post/3md4hylsjhc2jI truly wonder if the many decent, honest people serving in any capacity under this draft-dodging coward realize how his vileness reflects on them in the eyes of the many countries who gave lives, limbs, blood, and suffering fighting along and for them. And when they’ll make their voice be heard.23 Jan 2026 19:51 +0000at://did:plc:srseo365q27jn374aibaqyfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3md4hylsjhc2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/fittarelli.com/post/3mcpnrofdpk2wI struggled for a while with the meaning of “less-lethal”, then realized it’s the same hypocrisy as “alt right”. [contains quote post or other embedded content]18 Jan 2026 17:30 +0000at://did:plc:srseo365q27jn374aibaqyfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcpnrofdpk2w