Jordan's Government Used Secretly Recorded Clubhouse Audio To Spread Disinformation (restofworld.org) 13
In a new report released last week by The Stanford Internet Observatory, researchers analyzed a Jordanian disinformation network that pushed pro-monarchy and pro-military narratives on Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok. The campaign, which Facebook said in a separate report had links to the Jordanian military, also republished audio that had been secretly recorded on Clubhouse. Rest of World reports: Researchers said this is the first time they have identified a disinformation operation that relied on Clubhouse and TikTok, indicating that some states are taking advantage of newer platforms to spread propaganda. The Jordanian campaign cobbled together audio and screen recordings from Clubhouse into at least one video that was then shared on Facebook. According to the report, the audio was taken from a conversation in which Jordanians outside the country and other Arab voices discussed Prince Hamzah, the half-brother of Jordan's leader, King Abdullah II, who was taken into custody in early April, along with over a dozen other prominent figures. Jordanian authorities accused Hamzah of plotting to destabilize the government, and while the prince later publicly pledged his loyalty to the king, he currently remains on house arrest.
People who saw the video "didn't know that it was linked to individuals in the Jordanian military," said Shelby Grossman, a research scholar at the Internet Observatory and a co-author of the report. "But at the same time, you could imagine that if someone watched this video, they might think to themselves, "Oh, people are listening when you have these Clubhouse conversations.'" While Clubhouse has not been officially banned by the Jordanian government, the nonprofit Jordan Open Source Association found that the app can currently only be accessed using a VPN. Recording is against Clubhouse's Terms of Service, which prohibits users from capturing "any portion of a conversation without the expressed consent of all of the speakers involved."
The most extensive portion of the Jordanian disinformation network was on Facebook. The social network said in its report that it had removed over 100 Facebook and Instagram accounts, three groups, and 35 pages connected to the campaign, four of which had more than 80,000 followers. The effort also included around $26,000 worth of Facebook ads, but it's unclear exactly whom they may have targeted. A spokesperson for Facebook said that the company's Ad Library transparency tool doesn't currently include data on ads that were run previously in Jordan. The reports says that the researchers "also identified a handful of sock puppet accounts on TikTok that appeared to have ties to the same network." They didn't put a lot of effort into it though. "[T]he fake personalities didn't post original content, instead sharing videos from established accounts associated with the Jordanian military."
People who saw the video "didn't know that it was linked to individuals in the Jordanian military," said Shelby Grossman, a research scholar at the Internet Observatory and a co-author of the report. "But at the same time, you could imagine that if someone watched this video, they might think to themselves, "Oh, people are listening when you have these Clubhouse conversations.'" While Clubhouse has not been officially banned by the Jordanian government, the nonprofit Jordan Open Source Association found that the app can currently only be accessed using a VPN. Recording is against Clubhouse's Terms of Service, which prohibits users from capturing "any portion of a conversation without the expressed consent of all of the speakers involved."
The most extensive portion of the Jordanian disinformation network was on Facebook. The social network said in its report that it had removed over 100 Facebook and Instagram accounts, three groups, and 35 pages connected to the campaign, four of which had more than 80,000 followers. The effort also included around $26,000 worth of Facebook ads, but it's unclear exactly whom they may have targeted. A spokesperson for Facebook said that the company's Ad Library transparency tool doesn't currently include data on ads that were run previously in Jordan. The reports says that the researchers "also identified a handful of sock puppet accounts on TikTok that appeared to have ties to the same network." They didn't put a lot of effort into it though. "[T]he fake personalities didn't post original content, instead sharing videos from established accounts associated with the Jordanian military."
Clubhouse? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Clubhouse? (Score:4, Informative)
It's social media with audio instead of text [wikipedia.org]. Great for attention whores who are too lazy to type.
Re: (Score:2)
So... Twitter for illiterates.
Or rather, illiterates that want to hide that they can't even type 120 characters without informing the world about their orthography shortcomings.
I am so relieved (Score:2)
that Slashdot and the Tech Industry is raising the alarm about some weenies in the Kingdom of Jordan spreading disinformation.
I am so relieved-Netcraft confirms OPEC is dying. (Score:1)
Oh no reason to panic. Isn't OPEC on it's deathbed?
Re: (Score:3)
Jordan is not a member of OPEC
Re: I am so relieved (Score:2)
You mean of spreading anti-extremist messaging to support the nation's freedom and stability, and to counter any potential foreign destabilization efforts?
Because that's what it would be branded as if it was done in the UK or US...
And cue... (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Are they secretly recording misinformation?
It makes no sense. Its just a bunch of villainism with seemingly no substance.
Releasing your secretly recorded candid conversations is not misinformation, as its the opposite of that, its information. We used to even call it journalism.
Re: (Score:2)
I don't need to know the situation in Jordan to know that getting entangled in the politics of a foreign country is generally a Bad Thing. The US, for one, still hasn't recovered from its involvement in Iran's regime change, for which it gained another enemy without any real benefit to Americans.
What bothers me a bit more is why social media companies seem to deliberately enable the worst of actors, while suppressing those with the best of intentions.
Oh stop complaining (Score:2)
They are just broadcasting their truth
Wasn't there some recent concern about fake audio? (Score:1)
Wasn't there some concern that it was easy to make audio clips of various people by just having the software run thru about 30 minutes of speech?
With that being the case, can you actually believe any audio even with an easily recognisable voice? As it is its already possible to create videos of random people saying anything you want, audio will be even easier.
Especially if a government or the military with the high amount of resources they have want to do something funny.