Any technology is also abused by malicious actors

International Search Network forbidden stories He investigated several service providers in the field of disinformation and exposed their machinations. The research was conducted with several media partners In current posts under “Storykillers”. In German-speaking countries, ZDF, Die Zeit, Der Spiegel, Papertrail Media and Der Standard participated.

The scale of the revelations is shocking, but unfortunately not surprising. Ten years ago, the Snowden revelations began, exposing intelligence agencies with unimaginable resources and as little democratic oversight as they could. Especially if spying is easy for them. Five years ago, Cambridge Analytica research showed how actors unscrupulously use every opportunity to assert their interests — and how democratic values ​​and laws are not a sufficient shield against them.

Organizing is just the beginning

current search Draw fonts Even the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The Israeli “disinformation mercenaries” of “Team Jorge” announce that they, along with the British scandal company, have rigged, among other things, the elections in Nigeria.

They provide sophisticated disinformation campaigns. Among other things, they use thousands of fake accounts to create an atmosphere that they control via the dashboard. I was aware that with current technological capabilities, troll factories could be built and controlled relatively easily. I just haven’t seen it live yet. 30 minutes The ZDF front magazine documentation impressively shows how they do it.

Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation mercenaries showed to reporters They have access to the SS7 global communication system. Using account impersonation, they can hack into the communication channels of political opponents and monitor them in real time (unless they use two-factor authentication). This is tantamount to storming the opposition campaign headquarters, except that it can be done from the comfort of your couch from any country. In this way, it is not only possible to monitor the opposing communication channels and thus determine in real time what the other side is planning. But their plans can also be manipulated.

Other #Storykillers research looked at how companies operate Professional trackers Running so-called reputation management and cleaning up the internet, sometimes on behalf of criminal actors.

There are probably many competitors offering similar offers – simply because there is a demand for them. And above all, after five years of Cambridge Analytica, unfortunately not enough has happened. Through the Digital Services Act, the European Union has created rules aimed at enabling more democratic control over platforms. However, only the next few years will show whether these rules are sufficient and whether they can be enforced. Legislation to regulate online political advertising is currently being negotiated. The outcome of the negotiations remains open at the moment.

The crux of the problem is the business model of the big platforms

A core part of the problem remains: the business model for personalized advertising on major platforms. This sets incentives for as much engagement as possible so companies can collect more and more data points. This makes the system widely operable for actors with the right tools. Until now, unfortunately, there has not been a political majority at the European level to address this problem at its root. We are only talking about the European Union here. Disinformation mercenaries like Team Jorge operate all over the world.

However, it is critical that journalists collaborate internationally and take a hard look at who is manipulating the public, for what interest and by what means. The current research proves once again the importance and relevance of investigative journalism and free journalism.

Scientists and civil society actors also need secure financial resources and better access to data. Only then can they investigate such machinations and get to the bottom of disinformation campaigns for the greater good. So more light comes in the dark.

Because one thing is certain: so far we only see the tip of a huge iceberg. But at least we see it.