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We are in the middle of the most dangerous information war in the history of mankind, and the survival of democracy depends on what we do next.

My DeepSec 2024 presentation on mass information warfare is now online. Here I reveal how Russia wages an international war on truth, and I show how we can all be part of the resistance.

I hope you will help me spread this message:
youtube.com/watch?v=wnLviKf13l…

Thank you to the DeepSec team for making this freely available. ♥️

The Mind Bomb

We are in the middle of the most dangerous information war in the history of mankind, and the survival of democracy depends on what we do next.In this presen...
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RaymondPierreL3
RaymondPierreL3
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A bit long, but all of it good info. While you did not add to what I already know, it is good to be reminded. And, of course, because it is all good info, it is very informative for peeps who haven’t given much thought to the social media means of manipulation we are all subjected to. I am sure that, in some cases, your presentation will make a real difference. For what it’s worth I also believe that the #Fediverse (as implemented with Mastodon instances) is a capable antidote.

Thanks for the link and the time you put into this. Keep up the good fight.
#informationWarfare #Putin #X #Trump #SocialMedia #Mastodon

#fediverse #socialmedia #mastodon #Trump #Putin #x #informationwarfare
Tato položka byla upravena (3 days ago)
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Joseph Meyer
Joseph Meyer
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It's unusual for me to watch a video this long on social media. But I did watch yours and love this advice you gave toward the end: "If your social medium has been bought by an American billionaire, who fired 80% of the workforce because he thought content moderation was not necessary, choose a better platform." - Randahl Fink

You did a nice job with this educational video. Thank you.

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Randahl Fink
Randahl Fink
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@JosephMeyer Thank you Joseph. I am really glad you liked it.

It was certainly a pleasure researching for this one, because of the undeniable importance of the topic.

I hope you are subscribed on YouTube, because more videos will be coming soon. 🤗

@Joseph Meyer
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Djembro
Djembro
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It’s been demonstrated that misinformation/disinformation spreads like a virus. Over a million Americans died during the COVID-19 pandemic, largely due to bad information. American women are already dying due to inadequate reproductive healthcare as a result of manipulative campaigns that undermine women’s autonomy. The next administration will cause many more deaths in myriad ways, from impeding our response to climate change; to dismantling systems for the protection of air, water and food; to outright pushing of non-scientific narratives related to disease prevention; to the mistreatment of migrants; to disruption of American alliances around the world. Disinformation kills as effectively as any lethal biological virus. Vaccination is necessary in the form of education, so thanks for sharing your presentation. But how to get it in front of the folks who really need to see it?
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Brokar
Brokar
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I watched the video and i think one of the intersting sections was right at the beginning when you talked about people just wanting to see the world burn.
That stuck in my mind and that this is some wicked fantasy and the USA under Trump will heavily steer that way, as long as they're the ones holding the match and control the fire.
The criminal Trump has nominated the possibly most criminal squad to incompetently lead the country and simply wants to destroy. Problem is: he's no bot.
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Toni Aittoniemi
Toni Aittoniemi
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Great lecture!
You taking it back to basic principles is a great example to all of us.
The building of truth must start again at any time.
We cannot make the mistake of any of our assumptions being shared.
Not only will it make our actions misguided, but the disinformation makers will also use that against us.

The Mind Bomb is far more destructive than the nuclear bomb.
#disinformation

#disinformation
Tato položka byla upravena (3 days ago)

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Andrzej Stamburski
Andrzej Stamburski
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Only for the choice of scientist to depict science in your presentation, I love it 😉. But seriously, this is a well thought, well prepared and well presented lecture about disinformation.

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Kid Mania
Kid Mania
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"...We are in the middle of the most dangerous information war in the history of mankind, and the survival of democracy depends on what we do next..."

Then we're fucked.
🙈 🙉 🙊
#doomed

#doomed
in reply to Randahl Fink

Caryn 💙🌻🖖 🐶🐱
Caryn 💙🌻🖖 🐶🐱
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Thanks Randahl - great presentation! I wish there were some effective way to get this out to all the folks on the other platforms, but most of them probably suppress it with their algorithms as you suggested in your later posts.
in reply to Caryn 💙🌻🖖 🐶🐱

Randahl Fink
Randahl Fink
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@caryn every time my presentation is boosted here on Mastodon, it gets more views and more likes on YouTube, and that makes the YouTube algorithm show the video to more people.

I am right now waiting to see what happens, when the YouTube algorithm has run its initial test phase. Usually the first 48 hours are used to figure out which audience to push a video to. Then the push comes, and that is where you see how far the video will get.

Hopefully tomorrow.

@Caryn 💙🌻🖖 🐶🐱
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lin11c
lin11c
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This is fantastic. I will have to watch it in installments. This would be an excellent teaching tool for students as an easy to understand explainer informing them how be alert to disinformation and propaganda. Now we see why Putin is freaking out. NATO has real influence and countries WANT TO join! His lies about NATO are being parroted here in the US by idiots like Joe Rogan, who is probably a paid Putin shill. Many other paid "influencers" were just exposed recently.
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Nicolas Fressengeas
Nicolas Fressengeas
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Awesome ! Thanks a lot ! These are the basics everyone should know. I particularly loved the last words : the parallel is striking.

One question and one remark, though, in the following thread.

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Nicolas Fressengeas
Nicolas Fressengeas
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The remark first. I tend to think that Mastodon better ability to handle content moderation is due to its decentralised nature : moderators are as numerous as instances. They number grows as the network grows. They cannot be fired in a row. The mere number makes the moderation process robust. However, I feel that, even on Mastodon, there are people boosting things they do not check… enforcing the need for moderation.
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Nicolas Fressengeas
Nicolas Fressengeas
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The question now. Don't you think that the 4th generation information warfare is already here, and not somewhere in the future ? I agree things will probably get worse, but I think AI is already in the place. In other words : the mind bomb is already ticking.
Tato položka byla upravena (3 days ago)
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Randahl Fink
Randahl Fink
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@fresseng I have not yet seen any evidence, that 4th generation mass information warfare is afoot.

On the contrary, I have seen many reports that show how 3rd generation MIW is the state of the art. And I do not think I would encounter that, if Russia had already moved on to 4th gen.

But obviously, we need to stay on the lookout. The real danger is, if the attack is in progress, and we simply cannot see it.

@Nicolas Fressengeas
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Nicolas Fressengeas
Nicolas Fressengeas
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Thank you for the answer !

One more question if I may : what was the conference at which you gave that talk ?

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Dom Arbuthnott
Dom Arbuthnott
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fascinating talk, very insightful on the #cyberwar v #democracy and a nice plug for #mastodon at the end. I am off to hunt for Russian #bots now..
#mastodon #Democracy #Cyberwar #bots

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Michael Potter
Michael Potter
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THIS is what I've been trying to noodle over the last year or two. I've heard about a lot of the content, but never expressed so succinctly.

I also like that you rather 'took back' the Matrix film, since young right-wing people sometimes imply that their twisted world view is the red pill.

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seismo!allegra!utzoo
seismo!allegra!utzoo
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freaking brilliant. Thank you. I'm going to share this on the 'sky as well.
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LaemenPang
LaemenPang
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Hey man, this shit is so spot on, I'm 75% through it, but hey man look at #Fox this shit is has been bought hook, line and sinker in the #UnitedStates. I would love to chat it up with you, been working in tech since before #DarpaNet in #Security. Also, kind of #Ironic that we are on #SocialMedia still.... #Cheers
#security #socialmedia #fox #UnitedStates #cheers #darpanet #ironic
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Randahl Fink
Randahl Fink
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@focusedontheberry Thank you. When you get to the end, there is actually a point about Mastodon.
@LaemenPang
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LaemenPang
LaemenPang
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Are you from #Austria? Because if you are, have you ever been to #Villach, I used go chill there. 😀
#Austria #villach
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Carlitos!
Carlitos!
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what a delight of a content this is. Yet scary at the same time… because many people might not even understand it watching your video once. Also great incentive to you put examples on “how to take actions”

My inner thoughts of online insecurity got better while acknowledging that many people understand the threat as much as i do. Plus you’re able to articulate it even further.
I am sharing this with my peers.

Your success is well deserved. Keep it up!

P.S.: Cool shirt!

in reply to Carlitos!

Randahl Fink
Randahl Fink
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@kikeriffs Thank you Carlitos! I am very glad you found the presentation useful.
@Carlitos!
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