Shayan Sardarizadeh Profile picture
Jun 1, 2020 14 tweets 8 min read Read on X
#dcblackout is trending in the US. 447,000 tweets with the hashtag sent in just several hours. They claim communications in or out of DC were shut down to control the protests. But there doesn't seem to be any evidence suggesting a blackout occured. So what actually happened? Image
Here's the tweet from the internet monitoring service Net Blocks confirming there was no indication of a mass-scale shutdown in Washington DC last night. So are the viral claims on social media completely made up? Let's take a closer look Image
This seems to be first account that tweeted the hashtag, at around 23:00 DC time. He/she then asked @Cernovich about it and did not make any other references to the alleged blackout. If anyone has any other evidence of the first use of the phrase or hashtag, please DM me ImageImage
This is the second tweet, which doesn't particularly do well. But then it wass shortly followed up by another one. That tweet seems to have started to catch people's attention. Over the next hour, several other accounts tweeted the hashtag but it did not really pick up ImageImageImage
This is the first moderately big tweet of the night. The user says she's based in Pennsylvania so unless she was travelling, she probably just saw the rumours on social media and tweeted about it Image
By early morning DC time, it's pandemonium. The rumour's spreading like wildfire. Here's the biggest tweet of the night. 26k RTs, 65k likes. Many people saw the tweet, but didn't see the follow up where she says she in "not even from America". She now acknowledges it was "a lie" ImageImage
Here are a selection of a few more big tweets from last night. I've looked into all of these accounts. There is no evidence suggesting any of them is based in DC. Again, seems to be a case of people seeing the rumour in their feeds and tweeting about it ImageImageImage
CORRECTION: That first tweet was actually posted around 02:00 DC time. So much later. Folks based in the states, do the protests continue until that late? I'm eager to know. DM me please!
My wonderful colleague (who everyone interested in disinfo should follow) @O_Rob1nson found this post on a Facebook group with 46,000 followers. Earliest mention on Facebook. In fact, about 30 mins before the first tweet. It's now either been deleted or removed by Facebook Image
Here's a look at the geographical spread of the hashtag in the US. As expected, most of the tweets came from Washington DC and the states surrounding it. I see no evidence of suspicious activity at all. Just a rumour that seems to have gone viral Image
Also confirmed here when you zoom into states/regions with the highest share of tweets and also the key phrases used in the them. People in DC see the hashtag going viral, get curious and tweet to find out what's going on. Again, if you're in DC, please DM me to confirm ImageImage
And here's a brief post summing up the story behind the rumour and the hashtag on the @BBCNews live page about #GeorgeFloyd protests, written by @O_Rob1nson and me Image
Interesting statement from Twitter. They've suspended some spam accounts amplifying #DCBlockout
Read our piece and analysis of the hashtag please. A classic case of an emotional rumour going viral during a major developing event
bbc.co.uk/news/technolog…

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More from @Shayan86

Oct 9
While Elon Musk recommends sending around X posts so people can "learn the truth", here's a thread of viral misinformation on X about Hurricane Milton.

Alex Jones baselessly claims hurricanes Milton and Helene were deliberately started by the US government as "weather weapons". Image
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This post by one of X's most prominent conspiracy theorists, viewed 4.8 million times, suggests without any evidence that Hurricane Milton is a result of geo-engineering. Image
Conspiracy theorist Stew Peters claims Hurricane Milton was pre-planned to directly hit Tampa Bay, in a post viewed 4 million times.

Obviously, Hurricane Milton is not pre-planned. No-one can plan to create hurricanes. Image
Read 7 tweets
Oct 8
A Russia-based disinformation network run by a former Florida cop has published a new fabricated story on a fake news website called "Seattle Tribune".

It baselessly claims Ukrainain President Zelensky has secretly purchased a Mercedes 770 used by Hitler. It's nonsense. Image
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The story refers to this doctored picture of a Mercedes 770 near the presidential office in Kyiv, posted on Telegram.

But that Telegram channel has never posted the pic, and the Mercedes in it has been lifted from the image on the right. Note the same reflections on both cars. Image
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/773422935993386135/
As is often the case with the network of fake news websites posing as local news outlets run by Moscow-based John Mark Dougan, the "Seattle Tribune" website was set up only five days ago, specifically to post this fake story.

There's no record of such a news outlet in Seattle. https://whois.domaintools.com/seattle-tribune.com
Read 5 tweets
Sep 3
Thread: A viral story claims Kamala Harris was involved in a 2011 hit-and-run that left a 13-year-old named Alicia Brown paralyzed.

But the story is fake, and is most likely part of a pro-Kremlin disinformation operation run by an ex-Florida cop we've previously reported on.



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The source of the story is an obscure website called KBSF-San Francisco News. The domain was set up on 20 August.

The website has all the hallmarks of a network of AI-powered fake news websites set up by Moscow-based former Florida cop John Mark Dougan.
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The top image of the massive story, which is supposed to show the crash caused by Harris in San Francisco in 2011, was actually taken in Guam.

A simple reverse search shows the image was originally posted in a news story about a January 2018 crash in Mangilao, Guam.
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https://eu.freep.com/picture-gallery/news/2018/01/17/auto-pedestrian-crash-sends-man-81-to-hospital/109533530/
Read 7 tweets
Jul 30
Immediately after the Southport attack, baseless rumours began spreading online.

The main source of rumours has been a report by an obscure US "news" website that falsely claims the suspect is an "asylum seeker" named "Ali Al-Shakati", who "arrived in the UK by boat last year". Image
Merseyside Police has confirmed that the suspect was born in Cardiff, and has yet to identify the 17-year-old.

The report also adds that the suspect was "on MI6 watch list", despite the fact that it is MI5, not MI6, that deals with domestic counter-terrorism cases.
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https://www.merseyside.police.uk/news/merseyside/news/2024/july/statement-from-chief-constable-serena-kennedy-following-major-incident-in-southport/
The name "Ali Al-Shakati" has since been widely shared online in misleading posts viewed by millions.

Some other outlets, including Russia's RT news channel, have also reported this name, citing the US-based website.
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Read 4 tweets
Jun 28
THREAD: Fact-checking the Trump-Biden CNN debate

Trump said that Biden "inherited no inflation" when he came into office.

Inflation stood at 1.4% in January 2021. It rose significantly during Biden's presidency, hitting a peak of 9.1% in 2022. It was 3.3% in May. Image
Biden claimed he's the only president in the last decade who doesn’t have "any troops dying anywhere in the world".

Three US troops were killed in a drone attack in Jordan in January.

During the Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021, 13 US troops were killed in a suicide attack.
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On abortion, Trump claimed that Biden wants to kill babies "in the ninth month and even after birth".

Killing a newborn is illegal in every US state.

Less than 1% of US abortions happen after 28 weeks, according to @CDCgov data. 93.5% of abortions happen before 13 weeks. https://www.cdc.gov/reproductive-health/data-statistics/abortion-surveillance-findings-reports.html#:~:text=Nearly%20all%20abortions%20in%202021,at%20%E2%89%A521%20weeks'%20gestation.
Read 5 tweets
Mar 26
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.


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https://www.balticshipping.com/vessel/imo/9697428/seafarers
https://www.balticshipping.com/vessel/imo/9697428/seafarers
https://www.balticshipping.com/vessel/imo/9697428/seafarers
Claims by influencers such as Alex Jones and Andrew Tate that the Baltimore Bridge collapsed due to a "cyber-attack" have been viewed millions of times.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore has said the early investigation points to an accident, with "no evidence of a terrorist attack".

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https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/1772645740835131473?t=KyGydetZ7nFm_g9xFbly1w&s=19
This video, viewed 1.4 million times, claims to show evidence of pre-installed explosives causing the Baltimore Bridge collapse.

What the video shows is not explosives, but most likely electrical wires catching sparks. Image
Read 4 tweets

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