THREAD: Today we publish a report, "Killing The Truth" that details the Russian-backed disinformation campaign against Syria's heroic rescue workers the @SyriaCivilDef known as the White Helmets. /1 
Research from @Graphika_inc shows that bots and trolls linked to Russia have reached an estimated 56 million people with tweets attacking the @syriacivildef during 10 key moments in 2016 and 2017. /2
Many of these smears are linked to efforts to promote false information about the sarin chemical attack of April 2017 in Khan Sheikhoun, which UN investigators concluded were carried out by Russia’s ally, the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad. /3
Disinformation was able to dominate the reporting of this attack on Twitter. Russia’s far-fetched claims were shared so widely, a hashtag linking the conspiracy became the number one trending topic in the US. /4
This disinformation is aimed at undermining the evidence of war crimes the White Helmets collect. It is also aimed at legitimising their killing. 210 volunteers have been killed since 2013. /5
Their centres and teams of volunteers have been hit by missiles, barrel bombs and artillery bombardment 238 times in just over 18 months between June 2016 and December 2017. /6
As frontline humanitarians, the White Helmets are protected by International Humanitarian Law. Although they work exclusively in areas outside of government control, they have saved lives from all sides of the conflict, including that of government soldiers. /7
Blogger @vanessabeeley, at the heart of this Russian-backed disinformation campaign, has stated repeatedly in public that these humanitarians can be legitimately killed. /8
But Beeley is far from the 'independent journalist' she claims to be. She said meeting Bashar al-Assad was her "proudest moment" during her first trip to Syria in 2016. She also met Maria Zakharova, Putin’s Director of Information and Press in Moscow. /9
In private conversations Beeley has downplayed the use of torture by the Assad regime, which she accepts takes place. "[I]t is largely irrelevant to the bigger picture which is protesting illegal intervention and supporting the Syrian Gov[ernment]” /10
The disinformation starts with a few fringe bloggers and conspiracy theorists like @vanessabeeley, @evakbartlett & @maxblumenthal but they are being amplified wholesale by Russian state channels and troll networks. /11
Research for this report filtered 2.65m accounts down to 29,000 by looking at those which “participated in the White Helmets hashtag discussion at least 50 times” and then mapped the 12,352 “best connected or most influential”. /12
Of the 12,352 accounts mapped, more than 6,000 – or close to 50% – appear in at least one other Russian disinformation campaign, while 11 are on a public list of accounts known to be controlled by the most famous of Russian troll farms, the Internet Research Agency /13
While troll accounts are difficult to definitively identify, we stumbled on 21 that were all tweeting the same Russian-state content at the same moment with the same accompanying text. Although some are now suspended, some are still active. /14
Other accounts like Sarah Abdallah - @sahouraxo - are incredibly influential and are followed by hundreds of verified political and media accounts, yet their true motivations are unclear and invite deeper inspection. /15
The anatomy of this disinformation campaign is complex. We've investigated elements such as a think tank @eurocse, a previously unknown Swedish medical NGO @swedhr and even a former Baywatch/CSI Miami star @carlaortizo. /16
But these conspiracies are dancing on the edge of the mainstream. Most recently, the Swiss Press Club's director @guymettan invited @vanessabeeley and @swedhr to propagate these myths. He opened the conference by screening a report from RT on the White Helmets. /17
That report, like much of RT's coverage of the White Helmets, is presented by @muradgazdiev, the channel's correspondent of choice on Syria, whose journalistic credentials are hard to ascertain. /18
Russian state backing for these smears goes beyond media and troll farms. Embassy accounts have been spreading the claims, accusing the White Helmets of faking their rescue work. /19
Russian diplomats are spreading Beeley's disinformation at the highest level. A document from @vanessabeeley was submitted as official evidence at the UN Security Council by Russia. /20
This disinformation is deadly. It aims to cover up war crimes and legitimise the targeting of humanitarian workers. There is much that we can all do to challenge it. These are our recommendations. /21
You can download the full 46-page PDF of the Killing The Truth report here >> diary.thesyriacampaign.org/killing-the-tr… /22 [end]
Have you had a chance to read the report yet, @sahouraxo? Grateful for your thoughts..
