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F FOR EFFORT
An exclusively obtained record shows that the Ryanair ‘Hamas bomb' email—which the Belarus president said prompted the jet landing—was sent after the crew was told of a ‘threat.'
Michael Weiss is a contributing editor at The Daily Beast, and the coauthor of The New York Times bestseller ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror and of The Menace of Unreality: How Russia Weaponizes Information, Culture and Money. He lives in New York.
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WRONG SIDE OF HISTORY
A British academic obsessed with pushing Assad propaganda detailed his organization’s links to Russian officials while he was being taken in by a humiliating sting operation.
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INFILTRATION
An Estonian military defense scientist, who held a senior role at NATO, was convicted of spying for China last week.
hook, line, and sinker
Instead of simply dispatching St. Petersburg-based trolls, Russian spies duped major players in the U.S. political and media establishments to “launder” disinformation.
BIZZARE
The next generation of ISIS supporters is turning to Facebook and American pop culture memes to entice new recruits as attacks around the world surge.
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GROWING THREAT
The influence operation run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was just added to the FBI Most Wanted list, has new targets right in the heart of Europe.
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LIES FOR THEE, JABS FOR ME
Yuri Gribkov cut to the front of the vaccine line in Estonia to ensure he got the Western version, which is derided back home, rather than wait for his dose of Russia’s vaccine.
Ich Bin Ein Red Flag
A German cybersecurity expert caused a scandal at home for taking part in a Russian influence operation. So what’s he doing meeting with security officials in the Trump admin?
WHITE POWDER RUSSIANS
After a massive embassy drug bust, a trial is being held in secret, the Kremlin seems to be lying, and sources believe Russian agents are covering up the involvement of officials.
NO SHAME
One of Putin’s closest allies is running an influence campaign in Russia to stir up anti-colonial outrage—for some reason he’s using neo-Nazis and racists to do it.