Thread by @Suzi3D

THREAD: Now complete, w/ new images, evidence & quotes:

#WLDragnet Part 1. Social Media Mercenaries: CIA & DoD-connected Organizations Mapping WikiLeaks Supporters
talkliberation.substack.com/p/wikileaksjul…

Part 2: Social Media Mass Surveillance COMING SOON!

Key Pt 1 findings in the below thread

How vast is the US-led intelligence operation targeting WikiLeaks? To whom was ex-CIA Director Mike Pompeo referring when he coined the phrase ‘Assange and his ilk’?

These are the initial questions addressed in this groundbreaking series from @tl_eng by myself & @seanodiggity

The #WLDragnet investigation is based on multi-source primary documents, including from US defense contractors, government agencies & House Intelligence Committee testimony. None of the documents were obtained from hacking or leaking. We have published a repository of the files

The #WLDragnet release has 1,365 PDF documents and many thousands more supplementary files (images, text files etc)

The documents contain evidence of the social media monitoring of tens of thousands of activists & politically-engaged citizens, worldwide from 2018-2021

Part 1 in the #WLDragnet series opens with Julian's current situation, then steps through the seemingly endless scandals of the CIA targeting WikiLeaks. We then revisit the HBGary revelations of 2011 - the first time social network mapping was used to target WikiLeaks supporters

The HBGary revelations took the scalp of CEO Aaron Barr. But Talk Liberation (@tl_eng) has unearthed a whole new era of social network mapping being used to track WikiLeaks and its supporters around the globe. Targets include journalists, media outlets, & normal everyday citizens

"What we see here is a chilling example of mass surveillance of Assange's activist support network on social media. Activists are identified and clustered into groups to profile them.." said my #WLDragnet co-author @seanodiggity

This should be the stuff of class action lawsuits

The first #WLDragnet file we study, we call the Embassy Expulsion graph. It lists the 200 most effective Assange supporters from a 5 day period before Assange was expelled from the Ecuadorean Embassy. It includes @ruptly @Snowden @jaraparilla @DefenseAssange @GordonDimmack + more

Some of the #WLDragnet accounts deemed most effective don't have many followers, compared to major influencer accounts. Here, a founder of the software that generated the maps explains why. Accounts that "bridge" multiple groups, even if they have few followers, are significant

Because technology like this can be used for legitimate/benign purposes, we considered many options for who was behind this tracking of WL supporters

But a number of clues in its construction proved the author was highly sophisticated & possessed VERY rare, complex knowledge

So who is behind the #WLDragnet monitoring of journalists, activists, and supporters?

We start by looking at the very tip of the iceberg, studying their entities and organisations.

On the face of it, they are academic and simply provide quite mainstream OSINT services.

Behind the public face of NodeXL, are colleagues, co-founders, co-authors and connected organisations with long CIA & US defence contractor careers. Their staff and professional network are steeped in deep Clinton ties, militarism and neoliberal ideology

And big money. Millions.

We analysed the Embassy Expulsion graph, which filters data from 11,847 Twitter accounts into a series of 'Top 10' lists of ppl talking about Assange. We tabled the names & sorted by number of times mentioned & by effectiveness ranking.

I was mentioned 6 times in the document

There are more files in #WLDragnet than we could ever publish on. So we released them all so you can look for yourself

We started to research the ideology of those behind it. Its frankly frightening. They've appointed themselves the "social accountants" of us all. The "auditors"

They say they want to "Detect, Deflect and Deter" social media users whose content they find objectionable. With a picture of a sword representing 'Deter'.

Their rhetoric spans from admissions that this is 'ethically dubious' to outright advocating for weaponising social media.

We began interviewing the WikiLeaks supporters named in the #WLDragnet documents. We asked if they had had any adverse experiences that they believe are tied to their activism

Almost all of them described being targeted by online & real world surveillance & harassment operations

In some cases the targeting methods were deeply personal & severe. Others discussed impacts on their livelihoods & personal relationships. This has been going on for years under the radar. It's not OK. It needs to be exposed in order to be stopped

Please help us spread awareness

I would like to add that although it is a matter of public record that I too have experienced state-level targeting, including by many of the methods that the WikiLeaks supporters named in #WLDragnet describe, as researcher, I did not include my own experiences in our study.

I'd like to address criticism I've heard swirling.

Someone(s) claim #WLDragnet is a distraction from Julian's case. This is ludicrous. It is obviously highly relevant, pertinent information.

Our team amplified 1000s of messages of support for Julian this week. We stand with him

People are being harmed by the same entities that are behind the slow motion assassination of Julian Assange.

Remaining silent about it, or covering it up, or turning a blind eye, only empowers them to continue the abuse.

We must collectively face the truth & demand justice.

An incredible team of people helped make this reporting happen. It took 2 months of research & we barely slept all week piecing it together. Please join me in thanking @seanodiggity @MeanPanduh & @kittyhundal for their work.

Follow: @tl_eng
Subscribe: talkliberation.substack.com

I'd also like to thank the devs who are currently building a searchable database of the #WLDragnet files which will enable anyone in the WL support community to enter their user handle & find out if they've been tracked & if so, when & in what context (the files are event-driven)

For those of you who have tech chops or want a more intensive technical perspective on #WLDragnet, in our repository talkliberation.com/wldragnet-repo you will find a technical report by @seanodiggity that deserves an explanatory Twitter thread all of its own, which I'll nag him to do!

Our team is currently building a social media platform that provides advertising-free, secure, encrypted messaging w/ blockchain verification, hosted in Iceland, out of US hands

It will stop a lot of the tracking #WLDragnet reveals

Support @pan_quake at panquake.com

Talk Liberation - Your Worldwide Internet Report aggregates the most important & overlooked stories about Big Tech, social media, internet freedom, privacy, law & security into written & video formats & delivers them to your inbox weekly. Subscribe: talkliberation.substack.com

Talk Liberation Investigates is a project by @seanodiggity and me that publishes exclusive deep-dive investigations on never-before-reported topics

Subscribing to talkliberation.substack.com (free or paid) gets you Talk Liberation Investigates for free as well

Follow: @tl_eng

There are many more revelations to come in our #WLDragnet reporting. Part 2, which is nearly complete, is absolutely mind-blowing.

We will be heavily promoting the series in the coming days, including a number of media appearances. You are our PR team so pls watch read & share!

My final request for this thread is that you please follow & support @wikileaks @DefendAssange @JA_Defence @Fight4Assange @DEAcampaign @StellaMoris1

They are fighting the fight of a generation under the most difficult of circumstances

It is David vs Goliath. Pls help David win!

[END OF THREAD]