SCOOP PART 2: After discovering #TeamJorge, we (@GurMegiddo @FredMetzo) went undercover AGAIN and had a series of meetings with a firm that likes to pretend that its the quote/unquote ""legitimate"" side of the disinformation-for-hire market
Meet Percepto
haaretz.com
Meet Percepto
haaretz.com
Percepto is just a rebranded PsyGroup, the disinformation group of Mueller probe infamy.
Over a number of calls, founder Royi Burstien (ex-Israeli intel), told undercover reporter @FredMetzo about how they set up a fake news agency using an avatar
haaretz.com
Over a number of calls, founder Royi Burstien (ex-Israeli intel), told undercover reporter @FredMetzo about how they set up a fake news agency using an avatar
haaretz.com
Percepto is much less technology focused than #TeamJorge, who have an advanced system for creating fake accounts and deploying them en masse with without detection by social media (see thread 👇)
@GurMegiddo @FredMetzo
@GurMegiddo @FredMetzo
Burstien, we learn over a number of calls, is a real philosopher of disinformation.
He doesn't offer "avatars" like #TeamJorge
Percepto, he told the undercover me, offers "deep avatars" working on "deep platforms"
@GurMegiddo @FredMetzo
He doesn't offer "avatars" like #TeamJorge
Percepto, he told the undercover me, offers "deep avatars" working on "deep platforms"
@GurMegiddo @FredMetzo
Outlining how such campaign works, Burstien explains "the potential of the unattributed" in campaigns
This involves using both "deep avatars" and "deep platforms". Percepto, he explains, creates "assets" in much the same way an intel agency has assets
@GurMegiddo @FredMetzo
This involves using both "deep avatars" and "deep platforms". Percepto, he explains, creates "assets" in much the same way an intel agency has assets
@GurMegiddo @FredMetzo
"A deep platform is a concept that we materialize in the online realm" he explains.
To quote Bob Dylan, this man is philosophising disgrace
For example, their "deep avatars" create REAL new sites that employ REAL journalists working for a fake editor and fake publisher
To quote Bob Dylan, this man is philosophising disgrace
For example, their "deep avatars" create REAL new sites that employ REAL journalists working for a fake editor and fake publisher
The screenshot of a "case study" into a pesky "NGO", we found, was really a disinfo camping against the International Red Cross on behalf of the leader of Burkina Faso
Their avatars caused a storm, linking the ICRC to terrorists for criticising the gov't
Their avatars caused a storm, linking the ICRC to terrorists for criticising the gov't
The ICRC were cast as "sponsor of terrorism in Burkina Faso" in an article the led to “violent comments online and [led to] fears for the safety of our teams in Burkina Faso," according the ICRC's Africa director
@FredMetzo @GurMegiddo
forbiddenstories.org
@FredMetzo @GurMegiddo
forbiddenstories.org
In another case study, they explained about another such deep platform - an investigative journalist (in reality a deep avatar) that could be reused for a number of ops. A journalist, they said, can have many interests
Their avatar was even "the victim" of a faux "cyber attack"
Their avatar was even "the victim" of a faux "cyber attack"
The journalist, we discovered, is actually Anita Pettit
She's fake, but her website "Pour La Verite" (For the Truth) is real. A deep platform, its now down but Burkina Faso was only ONE country it focused on
@GurMegiddo @FredMetzo
haaretz.com
She's fake, but her website "Pour La Verite" (For the Truth) is real. A deep platform, its now down but Burkina Faso was only ONE country it focused on
@GurMegiddo @FredMetzo
haaretz.com
There's nothing that can't be used - even real people, even rabid antisemites like KĂ©mi SĂ©ba, one of French-speaking Africa's leading antisemitic propagandists, accused of having ties to Wagner group and advancing pro-Putin disinfo in Africa
haaretz.com
haaretz.com
SĂ©ba, Burstien explains, is operated through an avatar - actually fake front man for an oligarch that like KĂ©mi wants to "fuck France"
This oligarch even set up an NGO for SĂ©ba to use to push out anti-French rhetoric and exploit the anticolonial discourse for disinfo-for-hire
This oligarch even set up an NGO for SĂ©ba to use to push out anti-French rhetoric and exploit the anticolonial discourse for disinfo-for-hire
Séba is an ardent supporter of Iran, had ties with Ahmadinejad, and has said in the past that “we need more Hamas and Hezbollah”
Undercover @FredMetzo, who was actually shocked at the proposal, said:
Undercover @FredMetzo, who was actually shocked at the proposal, said:
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