The goal of the GRU operation was to reach an audience, and media manipulation - of both mainstream as well as niche media - was instrumental to achieving that reach. Referencing the GRU operation I alluded to in the first question: journalists need to recognise that they are a target. What is the biggest threat journalists in your part of the world are facing in 2020 in terms of information disorder? There’s a lot of nuance in these topics, and the public is far better informed about them now than they were even just a year ago. There were significant platform policy shifts related to health misinformation as someone who’s worked in that space since 2015, I found the pronounced steps to reduce the spread of anti-vaccine and health quackery a bright spot (with the caveat that there’s more implementation refinement needed).īut there was also a much broader shift towards actually having critically important public conversations about the balance between privacy and security, the costs and benefits of the integration of AI into our daily lives, the distinction between free speech and mass dissemination when content is mediated and ranked by algorithmic curators. There were numerous disinformation-related findings. I think, actually, that the aggregate amount of coverage of tech and society topics was remarkable in itself. ![]() There was remarkable breadth of issues related to technology and society, it’s kind of impossible to pick just one. What was the biggest story of the year when it comes to these issues of technology and society? It looks at how we’re still mistakenly treating global influence operations as disparate attacks, and how this may be pushing us toward digital security theater as we fumble for a solution My new essay on information war – “The Digital Maginot Line” – is up. Having it confirmed reinforces the challenge of dealing with evolving adversaries and the importance of platforms having multi-faceted, behaviour-based platform for addressing coordinated inauthentic activity. Researchers had expected to see this kind of activity happening, because detection is significantly more difficult when local administrators are running the Facebook Pages. This took the form of entities linked to Evgeniy Prigozhin hiring locals in several countries in Africa to run their influence operations. Social platforms have recognised that they are a target it’s important that the media does so as well, and plans in advance for how it will cover and contextualise a significant hack-and-leak in the 2020 election.Īnother significant thing we saw was the franchising of influence operations to locals. Media manipulation, of both mainstream as well as independent media, was instrumental to achieving their operational goals. “ Social platforms have recognised that they are a target: it’s important that the media does so as well.” – Renee DiResta It was a very distinct strategy, markedly different from the Internet Research Agency’s simultaneous effort (which was strongly social-first, memetic propaganda). ![]() Our perception of the operations in aggregate is that social media success was actually not the point. What gave them lift was reaching out to Wikileaks and DMing journalists to entice them to cover the dumps. Although they tried to create Facebook pages to dump the documents, ultimately they gained no traction via that channel. One key finding that stood out is the extent to which their social media operation failed, even for the dissemination of sensational hacked materials like the DNC emails. Renée DiResta: A few of us at the Stanford Internet Observatory spent a large part of 2019 investigating GRU influence operations worldwide, from 2014 to 2019, based on a data set that Facebook provided to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. She investigates malign narratives across social networks and helps policymakers understand and respond to the problem.įirst Draft: What was the biggest development for you in terms of disinformation and media manipulation this year? Renée DiResta is the technical research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory and a 2019 Mozilla Fellow in Media, Misinformation and Trust. ![]() Information Disorder: Year in Review hears from experts around the world on what to expect and how to be more resilient in 2020. Mis- and disinformation moved up the news agenda over the last 12 months as researchers, journalists and the public faced unprecedented problems navigating the online news ecosystem.
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![]() There are 3 bedrooms on the first floor each super roomy and 2 can serve as primary bedrooms as they have ensuite baths. There are also cascading sliders that open the entire gathering area to the covered lanai and pool allowing for guests to seamlessly spill over to the outside entertaining rooms! The pool bath is perfectly placed as well, to keep wet guests from walking through the home. ![]() This home was also designed with entertaining in mind as the kitchen opens to the gathering room, dining room and large eat in kitchen area. This custom home was truly built with light in mind as natural light pours in from perfectly placed 2nd story windows to the main living areas. Boom Beach is a strategy game that combines attacks on and from other players with attacks against computer-generated (NPC) bases.This remarkable estate home, in the coveted Hunter's Ridge Neighborhood, sits on a half acre, corner lot, on a Cu-de-sac! Being on the corner, this home features a side entry FOUR car garage, here there is plenty of room for all of your toys! In addition to the spacious, four car wide and 2 car deep driveway there is an additional circular drive which gives access to the front door and offers ample additional parking! The striking tile roof and roof lines truly sets this home apart from others and gives way to the great curb appeal! The covered entry way with double, etched glass doors opens to soaring ceilings and views beyond the family room to the sparkling pool! The front door was designed to give privacy while allowing natural light to pour in keeping the main living areas soaked in light. ![]() The game's storyline is set in a tropical archipelago with the player on an island with defenses and troops (similar to Supercell's Clash of Clans game). īoom Beach combines single-player campaign play as well as the ability to attack other players in multiplayer mode on the same world map. Featuring an expansive world map that expands as the player progresses, the game pits the player against an enemy known as "The Blackguard", a military force who is invading the archipelago and enslaving the locals for the valuable Power Stones found throughout the archipelago (which can also be used by the player to build buff-providing statues). Computer-generated Blackguard bases often appear on the map, and the player can destroy them for resources. Other notable features on the map include resource bases, which improve resource generation when seized and can be contested by multiple players, as well as dive spots where the player can send a submarine to search for treasure provided they have built it. ![]() The Blackguard is often represented by Lt. Hammerman, a commander who runs several highly fortified headquarters which serve as primary objectives, in addition to occasionally launching attacks on the player's base once they pass a certain level. He also attacks after unlocking the level 15 headquarters and the prototype lab. T and Colonel Gearheart, Blackguard members who run specialized bases that occasionally appear as events. Other players appear on the world map as Blackguard mercenaries, allowing players to attack their bases and vice versa. Player bases often offer more rewards for defeating them than CPU bases. In combat against an enemy base, the player commands a gunboat that starts off with a starting amount of "energy" (which can be improved through upgrades), along with landing crafts which house their troops. Troops can only be deployed on the island's beaches, where they will automatically seek out and attack nearby targets. ![]() However, at Freeport, SMS Friedrich and SMS Hammerhead battled two Valmar Poseidons, destroying them with no losses and ultimately securing victory for the German Coalition. The fighting would be brutal, as both sides fought dearly at Blackwind Cove and Whitecrest. Originally called the Battle of the Central Tradelands, this intense campaign saw fighting at every island in the region. ![]() Technically occurring before the declaration of war, this border conflict between the GCTS and Valmar Confederacy would spark into the Great War. Both sides massed their forces, and the pressure finally culminated on January 21st, when both German and Valmarian ships battled, sparking the Chancellor of the BDS Naval Fleet, GoGoX1DaSilva, to declare war. During all of this, the Valmar Confederacy was involved in a war with the Kingdom of Livland, the 2nd Livland-Valmar War. The old alliance between the GCTS and BDS Naval Fleet had ended, and alliances began to form against one another. All 5 remaining men escaped, and the pirate force failed to launch an assault on Whitecrest.An intense diplomatic standoff between the German Central Tradelands Squadron and Valmar Confederacy had been occurring since the RNGN Crisis. Dozens more pirates were cut down in the fighting, and eventually a well-timed squadron Cutlass arrived to relieve the strike team. Preparing a secondary assault, the remainder of the force swam around the perimeter of the cove, landing at the western beach and trade docks. Losing one man in the fighting, the squadron regrouped on the cliffs. Blackwind forces quickly orchestrated a counterattack, however they sustained many casualties. Group B forced the pirates to abandon their ship in the docks. The ship attempted evasive maneuvers, but sank just outside of Blackwind Cove. Group A, dropping directly on top of the blockading Stiletto, quickly wiped out its crew. Group B dropped and attacked another ship still docked. Splitting into two groups, Group A dropped from the cliffs onto a pirate ship blockading the Cove's eastern entrance. With the goal of intercepting a pirate battlegroup before it leaves port, a large squadron force in a large Raider landing craft scaled the Cove's cliffs from the exterior. The operation successfully interrupted pirate logistics for long enough to allow for the full repair of damaged capital ships waiting for redeployment. Holding out for a long while, dozens of pirates died in an attempt to kill just 4 invaders. Linking up with their operative, the jaegers proceeded to engage Blackwind forces on the eastern side of the cove. Despite this, the force managed to complete their landing and scale the rocky cliffs without casualty. The strike team arrived at the western side of the cove, to which coastal batteries across the channel began firing on their positions. Their goal was to link up with an operative at the Cove, who had been feeding information on pirate movements but was now at risk of being caught and executed. Jaegers, while having served in limited exclusive operations, have executed their missions with extreme efficiency and effectiveness.Ĭonsisting of a 4-man strike team, squadron jaegers sneaked into Blackwind Cove at evening using a single Koi rowboat. Jaeger Adjutant Overseer (Vizekommodore).From highest to lowest (Riflemen, despite being higher, have no jurisdiction over Lancers): Jaegers are split up into several classes and officer ranks. Jaegers are the best equipped forces in the squadron. |