Marc Owen Jones Profile picture
Jan 14, 2022 8 tweets 6 min read Read on X
Thread 1/ For Sudan and Gulf watchers. Below is a brief analysis of a 'Sudanese' sockpuppet network that includes at least 26 accounts. It seems to exist mostly to promote the UAE's role in #Sudan, and occasionally have swipes at the Muslim Brotherhood. #disinformation
2/ The accounts are old Twitter accounts have been bought or hacked. Many are as old as 2009, but only have around 50 tweets or so. They were repurposed in around December 2021, a few weeks prior to the resignation of Sudanese PM Abdalla Handok
3/ Some still have their old names, such as Will Reed 73 (aka Halla Mashael) or Sexy Thickums (aka Manasik Omer).Again, most are pictures of attractive women with good quality banner photos depicting Sudan. This 'influencer' aesthetic is likely to drive engagement #disinformation
4/ The accounts occasionally criticise the Muslim Brotherhood, with the now familiar tropes saying they are the source of terror in the region.
5/ However, their most commonly used words are 'Sudan' and 'the Emirates' (as in the UAE). ِAnd you can see why below, the accounts spend a lot of time re-affirming the good relationship between the UAE, and more importantly, UAE's assistance to Sudan #disinformation #propaganda
6/ Each account has probably tweeted around 50 times since they were repurposed in December. The network was perhaps at least double in size (at least 50). Another tweep @elsadig_atif spotted some of the fake in December and presumably reported them.
7/ The network looks similar to others I have tweeted about in the past few days. Similar modus operandi (attractive profile pics, all use web app, hacked accounts), UAE/Egypt/Saudi leaning stance. Anyway, that's it for now, hope you enjoyed! #Sudan #disinformation
8/ Addendum - the accounts involved >

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More from @marcowenjones

Jul 8
1/ Another key aspect of this campaign was the part targeting #Lebanon. The accounts below are all linked to the campaign. All of them attempt to interfere in Lebanese politics by riling up sectarian sentiment, diverting blame away from Israel and focusing on Iran and Hezbollah
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2/ These groups, with names like "No to the Iranian Occupation", "Shia Against War", and "the war of 2006 is remembered and will not be repeated" position themselves as groups representing real people. They all use similar TTPs & identical branding strategies. All have been
3/ suspended from Facebook but not Twitter, and many have run ads. Shia Against War, for example, paid to advertise content from the Tahoror movement (see right). However Tahoror denied any involvement with the group.
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Read 14 tweets
Jul 8
1/ 📝Excited to announce the release of "The Qatar Plot," authored by myself & @SohanDsouza. This investigation (covered in @afp today) reveals a massive influence op targeting Qatar & Muslims, including in the US, UK and EU - ahead of European Elections
sites.google.com/view/theqatarp…
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2/ 🚨 Our findings uncover a vast network spreading xenophobic, anti-Muslim, anti-immigration, and anti-Qatar disinformation. The operation spanned platforms like Facebook, Twitter/X, YouTube, and TikTok. To a lesser extent, the op also target Iran🌐 #Disinfo #Islamophobia Image
3/ 🇫🇷🇬🇧🇺🇸 Targeted countries include France, the UK, the USA, Germany, Spain, Sweden Saudi,and more. This network reached millions, manipulating ,public sentiment with at least 41 million reached on Facebook alone (and this is a conservative estimate). 📈 #QatarPlotReport Image
Read 15 tweets
May 27
🧵1/ There is some confusion going on around the strike in Rafah. This is largely due to awful IDF instructions. In a video on 22nd May IDF spokesman @AvichayAdraee told people that Zones 2371, 2373, 2360 were safe. I have highlighted this below.
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2/ The source of the confusion lies in the fact that the image of the highlighted map in @AvichayAdraee's video DOES NOT match the text. The image initially does not include zones 2371, 2373, 2360 yet the text explicitly states they are safe. Image
3/ However the location of the strike has been reported to be both 2371 and 2372. Existing geolocation by @m_osint and Al Jazeera suggests it was in 2372, not 2371. Zone 2372 was not explicitly mentioned by the IDF. However...

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Read 10 tweets
May 20
1) Telegraph subtly trying to align pro-Palestinian voices with Chinese and Russian disinformation. No actual evidence is provided here of Chinese and Russian interference, simply a note that some pro-Palestinian accounts have fake followers. Image
2) (It should be noted that you can't control who follows you). From my point of view there are a LOT of fake accounts on X promoting various points of view. However, there is more evidence for Israel using fake accounts on FB, Insta and X to smear UNRWA aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/19…
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3) Interestingly, the network that was focusing on attacking UNRWA, is also focusing on blaming the Chinese/Russian/Iranian 'axis of evil'. While it's plausible China and Russia are trying to influence narratives, the narrative that China and Russia are the only ones operating
Read 11 tweets
May 15
🧵1/ Israel are attempting to muddy the waters around the killing of an international UN worker in a clearly marked vehicle. They have released a video claiming that "terrorists" are roaming and shooting at a UNRWA compound. There's no evidence that indicates they are Image
2/ terrorists. The video shows armed men mingling with what are probably UN workers. There is no sense of coercion or animosity in those shots. Crucially, there is no caveat that these people might not be factions or Hamas police protecting aid convoys.
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3/ The US has even asked Israel to stop targeting Hamas police officers trying to protect aid. Naturally the video provides no context, and remember the IDF are an organisation that recently murdered multiple aid workers in clearly marked vehicles. Image
Read 6 tweets
May 13
🧵1/ I am somewhat dismayed (though sadly unsurprised) by this extremely disingenuous and callous reporting about Palestinian death figures. Claims that the UN have revised down its death toll are absolutely untrue but have been repeated by right wing outlets but also the CFR 🤔

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2/ These media are focusing on these two infographics by the @ochaopt . The one on the left, published 6th May, the one on the right published 8th May. As you can see, total fatalities INCREASE, as opposed to decrease. What the propaganda is seaking to do is barely sophistry
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3/All that's happening is the OCHA has added figures for the dead that have been identified. It quite clearly says that the breakdown DOES NOT include 10000 missing or buried under rubble. Image
Read 15 tweets

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