Whether these manuscripts are real or fake, they can still fund illicit networks. In some cases, like the forged Dead Sea Scrolls at the Bible museum, real ancient & looted material can be used to make forgeries.
The September date in the user's photos suggests they are not new.
Regardless of the authenticity, the items generate significant interest among other users in the group
Over a dozen users reply to inquire if the materials are available in Marrakech, Tunisia, Algeria, or Libya
The group admin replies to inquiries to confirm items are in Libya
Other users in the group pick up on the significant interest and conversation around the material and user the opportunity to offer their own similar material for sale.
A user replies with a book that appears to have Hebrew text. Another user replies with artifacts in Cairo.
In one month this Facebook group, whose name explicitly says it is for the sale of historical artifacts—in violation of regional laws and Facebook policy—has generated nearly 3k members
The group is facilitating trafficking from conflict zones & buyers from across North Africa
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
THREAD: Facebook relies on the public, researchers, & journalists to moderate their platform. But even blatantly violating content does not get removed.
On Sat. we reported weapons for sale in an antiquities trafficking group—it went as expected.
On Saturday, November 28, ATHAR found and reported an advertisement post in a Facebook antiquities trafficking group that was offering weapons for sale to anyone in Egypt.
The user, listed in Cairo, was offering delivery to any governorate.
Facebook's Community Standards explicitly ban content that "Attempts to buy, sell, trade, donate, gift or solicit firearms...between private individuals, unless posted by a real brick and mortar store, legitimate website, brand or government agency"
Facebook's public and private groups for trafficking illicit antiquities continue to grow
We're going to take you through antiquities trafficking posts from this month to examine how group members communicate, field offers, and even mock those attempting to offer fakes.
THREAD
Facebook's black market antiquities groups allow anyone to become an amateur trafficker, democratizing the illicit trade
As such, many users don't know the value of what they find, and take to Facebook for info and buyers. Such is the case of this sword from a user in Morocco
The user is based in Ouarzazate, Morocco, and he tells the over 110,000 members in his trafficking Facebook group that he "found this sword old that has writing" but he's unable to translate it.
He needs to know what is says and how old it is to determine its value.