Shayan Sardarizadeh

@shayan86.bsky.social

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BBC Verify journalist | disinformation, conspiracy theories, extremism, verification, open source investigations | [email protected]

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A viral story that alleges Ukraine's Olena Zelenska recently bought a rare Bugatti car in Paris is the work of an AI-powered disinformation operation, run by an ex-Florida cop now based in Moscow, that pumps out a network of fake news websites aimed at Americans. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A Bugatti, a first lady and the fake stories aimed at Americanswww.bbc.co.uk A former US police officer runs an AI-powered network of misleading news sites turning its sights towards November.

With tens of millions of shares via Instagram stories in less than 48 hours, this AI-generated image of tents reading "All Eyes on Rafah", likely created by a Malaysian photographer, has now become the most viral AI-generated image I've ever seen, and one of the most shared images ever on Instagram.

Online AI detectors are extremely inconsistent and constantly produce false results. They are particularly bad with image, video and audio, and should not be relied upon for any serious examination of AI-generated content.

The Burkina Faso army summarily executed at least 223 civilians, including at least 56 children, in two villages in February, Human Rights Watch reports. If you have any information about this incident, please contact me via DM or email. Your idenity will be protected. www.hrw.org/news/2024/04...

Burkina Faso: Army Massacres 223 Villagerswww.hrw.org The Burkina Faso military summarily executed at least 223 civilians, including 56 children, in two villages on February 25, 2024.

A colleague of mine just told me that while trying to tag me in an Instagram story she was about to share regarding a BBC article we'd written together, she was given a warning that "I repeatedly post false information", despite the fact my work is the exact opposite of that.

A story in two parts

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On Twitter, @shayan86.bsky.social wrote "Pro-Kremlin influencers claim the captain of the Dali ship is a Ukrainian", & that "The ship that hit the bridge reportedly had an all-Indian crew". twitter.com/Shayan86/sta...

Shayan Sardarizadeh on X: "Thread: Baltimore Bridge collapse misinformation Pro-Kremlin influencers claim the captain of the Dali ship is a Ukrainian. But online records show a Ukrainian man was the Dali's captain from March to July 2016. The ship that hit the bridge reportedly had an all-Indian crew. https://t.co/CpDRYrc6ym" / Xtwitter.com Thread: Baltimore Bridge collapse misinformation Pro-Kremlin influencers claim the captain of the Dali ship is a Ukrainian. But online records show a Ukrainian man was the Dali's captain from March to July 2016. The ship that hit the bridge reportedly had an all-Indian crew. https://t.co/CpDRYrc6ym

THREAD: How to verify online images Social media is awash with false or misleading images, some of which get millions of engagements. So here's a simple guide on ways you can quickly check the veracity of images you see on your social media feeds with major elections coming up this year.

Viral posts are falsely attributing this Reddit post to Aaron Bushnell, a US Air Force serviceman who died after setting himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC. The screenshot is fake and was not posted by Bushnell.

The 4chanification of Twitter is in full swing.

Pro-Kremlin conspiracy theories about Alexei Navalny's death are in full circle: - CIA/MI6 killed Navalny to blame Putin - Yulia Navalnaya and "her boyfriend" killed Navalny - Ukraine killed Navalny to get the $60bn US aid package - Navalny was killed by the Covid vaccine

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Here's what Verify does really well: Confirm locations and times, quickly and accurately. Here's what @herdjemimah.bsky.social does really well: Put it all together into an understandable package for your eyes. twitter.com/HerdJemimah/...

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The official state of Israel account has posted this video, saying it is facilitating aid into Gaza. A short clip at the end of the video, claiming to show tents and shelter for Gazans, was actually filmed in March 2022, showing tents in Moldova for Ukrainian refugees. from @shayan86.bsky.social

Videos of Gazan detainees stripped, bound and blindfolded that were filmed and uploaded to social media by Israeli soldiers could breach international law, legal experts have told BBC Verify.

Israeli soldier videos from Gaza could breach international law, experts saywww.bbc.co.uk Experts say videos posted by IDF soldiers showing Gaza detainees bound and blindfolded could breach international law.

A fake Euronews video spreading in pro-Kremlin circles claims the Ukrainian embassy has had a row with protesting French farmers. Euronews has never published this video. It's the latest in a series of fake videos using major news brands to spread disinformation about Ukraine.

This post and this X user with 1.5 million followers are great examples of engagement farming at any cost.

Meta has removed the official accounts of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei from Facebook and Instagram. A Meta spokesperson told the Middle East Eye that Khamenei's accounts were removed for "violating our dangerous organisations and individuals policy".

This image, purporting to show President Biden holding a meeting with military leaders tonight to decide how to respond to a deadly drone attack on a US base in Jordan, is AI-generated and fake.

Online disinformation about the Israel-Gaza war has led to an unprecedented surge in denial of atrocities and human suffering, including a notable rise in false claims of staged deaths, crisis actors and fake victims. Report by @olgar.bsky.social and me.

False claims of staged deaths surge in Israel-Gaza warwww.bbc.co.uk People on both sides have wrongly claimed deaths were faked, as experts warn it harms hopes for peace.

DC Weekly, a website founded by a former US Marine now living in Russia, has fuelled disinformation stories about Zelensky and Ukraine, including a fake story that he bought two luxury yachts with US aid money, later repeated by Senator JD Vance and Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene.

How pro-Russian 'yacht' propaganda influenced US debate over Ukraine aidwww.bbc.co.uk A false rumour spread by a dubious AI-powered website caught the attention of leading politicians.

A vast, covert Russian influence operation on TikTok involving 12,800 fake accounts spreading disinformation about the war in Ukraine to millions of users in Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Israel and Ukraine, has been uncovered by BBC Verify and @dfrlab.bsky.social.

Ukraine war: How TikTok fakes pushed Russian lies to millionswww.bbc.co.uk The BBC uncovers a vast Russia-based network of fake TikTok accounts pushing disinformation about Ukraine.

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“A vast Russian influence operation on TikTok involving 12,800 fake accounts spreading disinformation about the war in Ukraine to millions of users in Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Israel and Ukraine, has been uncovered by BBC Verify and @dfrlab.bsky.social.“ Via @shayan86.bsky.social.

Ukraine war: How TikTok fakes pushed Russian lies to millionswww.bbc.co.uk The BBC uncovers a vast Russia-based network of fake TikTok accounts pushing disinformation about Ukraine.

Two viral videos of detained and stripped Palestinians surrendering weapons to Israeli forces in Gaza have prompted speculation about the circumstances of the events and the filming. @benedictgarman.bsky.social and @paulybrown.bsky.social have examined the footage in detail.

Israel-Gaza war: Video shows Gaza detainees allegedly 'surrendering guns' - what we knowwww.bbc.co.uk A man in his underwear is filmed laying down weapons - but there are questions about what happened.

The Jerusalem Post has removed and now retracted an article on its website and also two tweets which falsely claimed Muhammad Hani Al-Zahar, a 5-month-old Palestinian baby who died in Gaza yesterday, was "a doll" and not real.

I've done fact-checking during several conflicts. Never have I seen one where so much disinformation is posted with the direct intent of dehumanising real victims of war on both sides. Dead or injured women and children, civilians, hostages, prisoners; no-one is being spared.

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Multiple armed Palestinian factions united for the Hamas-led attack on Israel, training for years in plain sight. Joint BBC Arabic and BBC Verify reporting with @richib.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-m...

How Hamas built a force to attack Israel on 7 Octoberwww.bbc.co.uk BBC Arabic and BBC Verify have pieced together how armed groups came together to train for the assault.

BBC Verify and BBC Arabic have examined social media videos showing how from 2020 onwards several armed Palestinian groups practised hostage-taking, raiding compounds and breaching Israel's defences in plain sight to prepare for the 7 October attack. @richib.bsky.social @benedictgarman.bsky.social

How Hamas built a force to attack Israel on 7 Octoberwww.bbc.co.uk BBC Arabic and BBC Verify have pieced together how armed groups came together to train for the assault.

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How to verify images online. By @shayan86.bsky.social threadreaderapp.com/thread/16339...

Thread by @Shayan86 on Thread Reader Appthreadreaderapp.com @Shayan86: THREAD: How to verify images online? Social media is awash with false or misleading images, some of which get millions of engagements. So, here's a simple guide on ways you can quickly chec...

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Shayan Sardarizadeh

@shayan86.bsky.social does a lot more posting on x but if you don't follow here, may I suggest you do? "Shayan Sardarizadeh is a senior journalist covering disinformation, extremism and conspiracy theories for BBC Monitoring's disinformation team as part of BBC Verify" www.bbc.co.uk/news/reality...

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