Tootfinder

The Pentagon Disinformation That Fueled America's UFO Mythology (Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/ufo-us-disinformation-45376f7e?st=kEAaJz&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
http://www.memeorandum.com/250606/p160#a250606p160

This https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.03988 has been replaced.
initial toot: https://mastoxiv.page/@arXiv_csCV_…

RAID: A Dataset for Testing the Adversarial Robustness of AI-Generated Image Detectors
AI-generated images have reached a quality level at which humans are incapable of reliably distinguishing them from real images. To counteract the inherent risk of fraud and disinformation, the detection of AI-generated images is a pressing challenge and an active research topic. While many of the presented methods claim to achieve high detection accuracy, they are usually evaluated under idealized conditions. In particular, the adversarial robustness is often neglected, potentially due to a la…

Weaponized Storytelling: How AI Is Helping Researchers Sniff Out Disinformation Campaigns (The Conversation, 28 May 2025)
https://theconversation.com/weaponized-storytelling-how-ai-is-helping-researchers-sniff-out-disinf…

Weaponized storytelling: How AI is helping researchers sniff out disinformation campaigns
Disinformation campaigns are using AI to tell false but compelling stories. AI tools are also helping counter the campaigns by detecting incongruities in usernames, cultural references and timelines.

As things stand now, the only way to be (almost) certain something is legitimate is if you find it in the site and/or official account of the alledged maker of it. Otherwise, it's safer to assume it's fake.
https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/06

Euronews targeted by anti-Moldova disinformation campaign
Pro-Russian actors have repeatedly used Euronews' likeness and visual identity in recent weeks to spread propaganda against various European countries. #EuroVerify

OpenAI takes down ChatGPT accounts linked to state-backed hacking, disinformation https://therecord.media/openai-takes-down-chatgpt-accounts-hacking

Wow, this is a first. A site I actually want to see (archive.ph) is using an IP address on the @… DROP list.
(no, I do NOT think that’s a Spamhaus problem. They are doing their job.) https://

I nearly gave my credit card to a legit-looking Maine business, until I noticed their “privacy policy” linked to Wikipedia. That’s not laziness but AI-generated HTML vibecoded into place without review. And a lot more can go wrong than a missing legal page.
https://www.

A look at Russian GRU Unit 29155's hacking department, which started out in 2012, and its involvement in cyber warfare and disinformation campaigns (The Insider)
https://theins.press/en/inv/281731

Hidden Bear: The GRU hackers of Russia’s most notorious kill squad
Russian GRU Unit 29155 is best known for its long list of murder and sabotage ops, which include the Salisbury poisonings in England, arms depot explosions in Czechia, and an attempted coup d’etat in Montenegro. But its activities in cyberspace remained in the shadows — until now. After reviewing a trove of hidden data, The Insider can report that the Kremlin’s most notorious black ops squad also fielded a team of hackers — one that attempted to destabilize Ukraine in the months before …

Two US disinformation experts have launched a DIY news outlet.
Not on Mastodon yet though. Missing a trick methinks.
https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2025/indicator-alexios-mantzarlis-craig-silverman/

Two disinformation experts have launched a DIY news outlet - Poynter
With Indicator, Alexios Mantzarlis and Craig Silverman bring a deep well of experience fighting falsehoods into a chaotic and cynical online world

How fake news can turn against its spreader
Dorje C. Brody, Tomooki Yuasa
https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.17820 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2504…

“We’re in a moment when the moral forces of the world and religious forces of the world have a deep responsibility to say it doesn’t have to be this way.”
—The Divinity School's William Barber in today's NY Times speaking about the wars, polarization, inequality, disinformation, and other challenges #PopeLeo must contend with as he begins his papacy

For Catholics, the Pope Is a Holy Father. For the World, He Is a Powerful Voice
The papacy is a global platform, so the issues Pope Leo chooses to focus on can resonate far beyond the church.

Computer scientist Greg Nelson and I presented "Following AI's Footsteps from School to Society" at the 2025 UMaine Faculty Institute https://mycampus.maine.edu/web/uc-faculty-portal/faculty-institute-2025 including the IMPACT RISK framew…

Ukraine tallies up Russian cyberattacks on local media since start of war https://therecord.media/ukraine-media-cyberattacks-russia-ssscip-report