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4 Oct, 11 tweets, 5 min read
(THREAD) YouTube has removed multiple verified channels named “Fox News” and “Fox News Alert” following an Oct. 1 Snopes investigation that found they were pumping out disinformation to millions of subscribers. These channels were not managed by Fox News. snopes.com/news/2021/10/0…
1/ All of the YouTube channels posted long video clips from Fox News Channel. However, the thumbnails were altered to make it look like U.S. President Joe Biden was either dying or going to jail and that former U.S. President Donald Trump was coming back. snopes.com/news/2021/10/0…
2/ This was similar to a debunked QAnon conspiracy theory that led to federal authorities worrying of potential violence from Trump supporters when such disinformation inevitably failed to come true.

Here’s what some of the altered thumbnails looked like. snopes.com/news/2021/10/0…
3/ The thumbnails on these YouTube videos were the same design as seen in our previous investigation about a foreign disinformation network we uncovered on Facebook. That network remains available despite the fact that we published this story in August. snopes.com/news/2021/08/2…
4/ The disinformation network of YouTube channels appeared to be managed from one or more foreign countries. When combined, they totaled millions of subscribers and what appeared to be at least tens of millions of video views. snopes.com/news/2021/10/0…
5/ One of the YouTube channels offered channel memberships for a price, which included custom emojis of Pepe the Frog, a character that The Guardian reported as “referring to the cartoon adopted by white supremacists as a mascot.” snopes.com/news/2021/10/0…
6/ The YouTube channels that were verified appeared to have been verified based on previous nonpolitical content. It’s possible that the accounts were purchased after building a large subscriber count. However, there was no proof of this. snopes.com/news/2021/10/0…
7/ It’s possible that this data on the disinformation network might only be the tip of the iceberg. Again, the channels we uncovered totaled at least millions of subscribers and what appeared to be tens of millions of video views. snopes.com/news/2021/10/0…
8/ A spokesperson for YouTube confirmed that they were investigating the matter and that we would receive answers to our questions after they finished looking over the YouTube channels in question.

Here’s our original story from Friday. snopes.com/news/2021/10/0…
9/ And here is today’s story confirming that the majority of the channels have been removed following our reporting. snopes.com/news/2021/10/0…
10/ Here's another thread on a different subject. Click below to open it up.

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More from @jordanliles

Jordan Liles Profile picture
3 Oct
(THREAD) Ahead of the #60Minutes interview with the Facebook whistleblower, know this:

We contacted Facebook multiple times ahead of Jan. 6 to warn about violent rhetoric in a group with members that planned on taking matters into their own hands. snopes.com/news/2021/02/1…
1/ Facebook did not respond to us, despite multiple attempts to reach the company for comment.

We contacted the company warning them of the violent rhetoric and organizing that we saw, and we sent our emails in the days both before and after Nov. 3, which was Election Day.
2/ The New York Times later reported that a man named Keith Lee “spent the morning of Jan. 6 casing the entrances to the Capitol.” During the riots, he carried a bullhorn. “Mr. Lee called out for the mob to rush in, until his voice echoed from the dome of the Rotunda.”
Read 22 tweets
Jordan Liles Profile picture
3 Oct
(THREAD) These private Facebook groups that concentrate on anti-mask discussion about schools really are something else. They all appear to ignore the fact that both adults and children are being hospitalized and are suffering. Facebook employees make these groups possible.
1/ Group member claiming to be a parent says they moved from New York to Tennessee to escape "tyranny." Once they arrived, Tennessee had implemented measures to keep people safe, which apparently clashed with this person's views.
2/ A group member asks "when is your 'enough is enough'"?
Read 6 tweets
Jordan Liles Profile picture
27 Oct 20
One mistake by a likely Russian FB account lit a match that illuminated a mountain of evidence.

The account was an admin in a PA for Trump group from 2016 thru this month.

This swing state story from @snopes comes just days from #ElectionDay.

Thread 👇 bit.ly/31Kegna
The mistake made by the likely Russian account, an admin in a Pennsylvania for Trump Facebook Group, was that it appeared to have accidentally liked the page Молекулярная диагностика 2020. This was the only Russian page out of hundreds of page likes.

Forgot to switch accounts?
Молекулярная диагностика 2020 (Molecular Diagnostics) is a Moscow conference: "The leading event in the field of molecular diagnostics and related science and medicine trends in Russia."

It is supported by The Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. bit.ly/31Kegna
Read 10 tweets
Jordan Liles Profile picture
26 Oct 20
(THREAD)

1/ NEW from me via @snopes. A likely Russian admin was active in a Pennsylvania for Trump Facebook Group since before the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and just disappeared this month after we contacted FB with questions. bit.ly/31Kegna #Election2020
2/ The Facebook admin account's activity paralleled descriptions of fake personas mentioned in the Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee's report on Russia's efforts.

Following Trump's 2016 victory, the account defended Russia from accusations of foreign interference.
3/ The admin account was named "Gina Grin." The account (and what appeared to be a backup account) had around 2,000 total profile followers, while the Facebook Group now has 115,000 members.

Here's what we know about the inauthenticity of these accounts.
Read 35 tweets
Jordan Liles Profile picture
26 Sep 20
1/ NEW from me tonight via @snopes. Facebook appears to have quietly removed at least three pro-Trump FB groups. #Election2020

1. Trump Train 2020, Red Wave: 1.1 million members
2. Candace Owens: 523,000 members
3. Ivanka Trump (Official): 14,000 members

bit.ly/33YrFbH
2/ All 3 Facebook groups appeared to engage in coordinated inauthentic behavior, whether with fake accounts in admin slots, or with duplicate accounts with the same person having several accounts that were all admins.

Story: bit.ly/33YrFbH

More below in this thread 👇
3/ The largest of the three Facebook groups that Snopes reporters noticed had been removed was Trump Train 2020, Red Wave, which amassed nearly 1.1 million members in just over three months. It was created in June.

That means an average growth of 366,000 members per month.
Read 16 tweets
Jordan Liles Profile picture
17 Sep 20
(THREAD)

1/ NEW from me via @snopes: The Macedonian-run Facebook group Kayleigh McEnany OFFICIAL had 456,000+ members.

FB told us it "used compromised accounts to mislead people about its origin."

More uncovered pages appear in tweet 3 in this thread.

snopes.com/news/2020/09/1…
2/ Right now, 3 of the accounts that managed the group are still available on Facebook. One of them is named Elisabeth Kim, but features a profile photo of a woman with a name tag that says "Marti Jordan."

Kayleigh McEnany OFFICIAL was removed just weeks ahead of the election.
3/ Snopes also found these pages that were managed from Macedonia:

- Police and LEOs (192k likes): archive.vn/HTD2J#selectio…
- First Lady of the United States (2k likes): archive.vn/8edU2
- MAGA (30k members): archive.vn/ALgeB

The "First Lady" page is still active.
Read 6 tweets

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