2020年10月28日星期三

Yahoo! News: Terrorism

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yahoo! News: Terrorism


Protests in Illinois city over police killing of Black teenager

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 01:41 PM PDT

Protests in Illinois city over police killing of Black teenagerLess than 20 miles south of Kenosha, Wis., where police shot Jacob Blake multiple times in the back in August, a police shooting that left a Black teenager dead and his girlfriend badly wounded last week is stirring up anger in Waukegan, Ill.


Fact check: Biden did tell a Detroit worker 'I'm not working for you' during gun rights argument

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 01:09 PM PDT

Fact check: Biden did tell a Detroit worker 'I'm not working for you' during gun rights argumentA viral post on social media claims Joe Biden told a factory worker he doesn't work for him. Biden did say that, but the claim is missing context.


Trump reportedly cancels millions of dollars in Florida ad spending

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 01:10 PM PDT

Trump reportedly cancels millions of dollars in Florida ad spendingOne week out from Election Day, President Trump's campaign is reportedly pulling advertising out of Florida.The president's re-election campaign has "all but pulled its advertising" out of the crucial state that he carried in 2016, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. The campaign reportedly canceled $5.5 million in ad spending in Florida during the final two weeks of the 2020 campaign and is now focusing on four states: Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.Trump communications director Tim Murtaugh in a call with reporters on Tuesday predicted that Florida, where Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden have been roughly tied in polls, is "going to go the president's way," citing his "ground game" in the state.Trump's campaign reportedly does still have about $350,000 in advertising spending budgeted for Florida through Election Day, but Bloomberg notes that the president "has cut $24 million from his national ad budget" since Labor Day, whereas Biden "has added $197 million." Read more at Bloomberg.Update: The Trump campaign in a new statement is disputing Bloomberg's reporting as "horribly wrong," saying that "our ad buying week by week in the state has been consistent, and the reporting on this issue demonstrates a clear misunderstanding of how ad buying works."More stories from theweek.com How to make an election crisis 64 things President Trump has said about women Republicans are on the verge of a spectacular upside-down achievement


Burger King is taking a page out of McDonald's playbook, with Amazon-esque drive-thrus that predict what you want to order

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 11:18 AM PDT

Burger King is taking a page out of McDonald's playbook, with Amazon-esque drive-thrus that predict what you want to orderA high-tech drive-thru renaissance was already underway before the pandemic made the drive-thru lane even more crucial.


Thousands of Bangladeshi Muslims rally against France

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 02:26 AM PDT

Thousands of Bangladeshi Muslims rally against FranceAbout 10,000 Bangladeshis from an Islamist group marched through the nation's capital on Tuesday to denounce the display of caricatures of Islam's Prophet Muhammad in France, while the group's leader urged Muslims around the world to boycott French products. The protesters from Islami Andolon Bangladesh, a group that advocates for the introduction of Islamic law in the Muslim-majority country, carried banners and placards reading "All Muslims of the world, unite" and "Boycott France."


Tourist, 12, and guide lose limbs in shark attack at Sharm El-Sheikh

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 07:37 PM PDT

Tourist, 12, and guide lose limbs in shark attack at Sharm El-SheikhA young Ukrainian tourist lost an arm and an Egyptian tour guide lost a leg in a rare shark attack over the weekend off Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, officials said on Tuesday. The attack took place on Sunday when two tourists - a mother and her son - and their tour guide were snorkelling in Ras Mohammed national park, the Environment Ministry said. The injured were taken to a nearby hospital and an initial investigation showed that the attack involved a 2m-long (6-foot) Oceanic Whitetip shark. The ministry did not release details of the injuries, but a statement by Ukraine's State Agency for the Development of Tourism said that the 12-year-old boy was in intensive care, and that surgery had failed to save his arm. An Egyptian health official said that the family's guide had lost a leg, and the mother suffered light injuries. The health official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief the media. Officials have closed the area of Ras Mohammed National Park where the attack took place. Shark attacks have been rare in the Red Sea coastal region of Egypt in recent years. But in 2010, a spate of shark attacks killed one European tourist and maimed several others off Sharm el-Sheikh. Sharm el-Sheikh resort at the southern tip of the Sinai peninsula is one of Egypt's major tourist destinations that offers European tourists a warm and quick escape from frigid winter temperatures on the continent. Divers are drawn by the steep drop-offs of coral reefs just offshore that offer a rich and colourful sea life. Authorities have in recent years sought to revive the vital tourism sector battered by years of instability and, more recently, the coronavirus pandemic.


Social media CEOs get earful on bias, warning of new limits by lawmakers

Posted: 28 Oct 2020 02:14 PM PDT

Social media CEOs get earful on bias, warning of new limits by lawmakersWith next week's election looming, the CEOs of Twitter, Facebook and Google received a hectoring from Republicans at a Senate hearing Wednesday for alleged anti-conservative bias in the companies' social media platforms — and were warned of coming restrictions from Congress.


Hackers breach Trump campaign website, threaten to release 'evidence' of crimes

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 06:39 PM PDT

Hackers breach Trump campaign website, threaten to release 'evidence' of crimesThe Trump campaign's website was briefly hacked late Tuesday, with the culprits posting a typo-riddled message on the site threatening to release "evidence" of the president's "criminal involvement" in a supposed scheme to sway next week's election. The hackers, whose identity was not immediately known, only managed to crack into the Trump website's "about" page. The rest of the website ...


Body of missing hip-hop artist found in trunk after Miami car crash

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 09:17 PM PDT

Body of missing hip-hop artist found in trunk after Miami car crashRobert Deupree Avery Coltrain was arrested and charged with illegal transport of human remains and second-degree murder in the death of Brian Trotter.


Bobulinski Claims Documents Prove Joe Biden ‘Lying’ about Lack of Involvement in Hunter’s Influence Peddling

Posted: 28 Oct 2020 07:31 AM PDT

Bobulinski Claims Documents Prove Joe Biden 'Lying' about Lack of Involvement in Hunter's Influence PeddlingTony Bobulinski, a former business associate of Hunter Biden, has accused Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden of "lying" about whether he was directly involved in his son's foreign business dealings."When he states that, that is a blatant lie," Bobulinski said in an interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson that was aired Tuesday.The former U.S. Navy lieutenant and corporate investor added that he almost walked out of the second presidential debate, which he attended as President Trump's guest, when the former vice president claimed again that he had no knowledge of his son's business dealings and was not involved in them."In that debate, he made a specific statement around questions around this from the president," Bobulinski said. "And I'll be honest with you, I almost stood up and screamed 'liar' and walked out because I was shocked that after four days or five days that they prep for this, that the Biden family is taking that position to the world."Bobulinski was the former CEO of SinoHawk Holdings, which he said was a partnership between the CEFC China Energy conglomerate and the Biden family. He was the recipient of a May 13, 2017 email that discussed a plan to have 10 percent in their related joint venture, Oneida Holdings, "held by H for the big guy?" The "big guy" was Joe Biden, and "H" was Hunter, Bobulinski confirmed.Bobulinski also slammed Democratic efforts to discredit his claims about the Bidens' business dealings by dismissing it as Russian disinformation, singling out for particular criticism Democratic congressman Adam Schiff, who said on television that this "smear" of Biden "comes from the Kremlin.""To have a congressman out there speaking about Russian disinformation or Joe Biden at a public debate referencing Russian disinformation when he knows he sat face to face with me, that I was traveled around the world with his son and his brother, to say that and associate that with my name is absolutely disgusting to me," Bobulinski said.Bobulinski told Carlson that Schiff's baseless disinformation claim motivated him to come forward with what he knew of Biden family corruption.The former business associate of the Bidens also said he was warned by former partner Rob Walker that going public with information about the Bidens would "bury all of us."In a recording of a phone call between Bobulinski and Walker, which Carlson aired, he told Walker that if the elder Biden "doesn't come out on record, I am providing the facts.""Don't say this Tony, you're just gonna bury all of us, man," Walker responds in the recording."Throughout 2015 and 2016 while Joe was still the sitting vice president of the United States, these guys had been doing extensive work around the world," Bobulinski said, adding that "the only qualification they had was the Biden name.""They're able to set up meetings and get people to jump through hoops in an interest to garner favor with the sitting vice president, Joe Biden," he said.The American people "can form their own conclusion" about the Biden family's business dealings, Bobulinski added.


'Anonymous' WH official who wrote about officials thwarting Trump reveals himself

Posted: 28 Oct 2020 02:11 PM PDT

'Anonymous' WH official who wrote about officials thwarting Trump reveals himselfMiles Taylor, the former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security, revealed himself Wednesday as the author of an anonymous 2018 New York Times op-ed that depicted President Trump as a danger to the nation.


U.S.-sanctioned Iranian plane lands in Venezuela -lawmaker, data

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 04:25 PM PDT

'A big win for justice!': Texas officials scrap rule that would allow social workers to deny LGBTQ, disabled clients

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 09:32 PM PDT

'A big win for justice!': Texas officials scrap rule that would allow social workers to deny LGBTQ, disabled clientsAfter backlash, Texas officials have reversed a rule that would have allowed social workers to turn away clients who are LGBTQ or have a disability.


Chicago sisters accused of stabbing employee 27 times after being asked to wear a mask

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 10:54 AM PDT

Chicago sisters accused of stabbing employee 27 times after being asked to wear a maskTwo sisters entered a small shop in Chicago on Sunday when they were approached by a worker who asked them to wear a mask and to use hand sanitizer to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 according to Karie James who is a police spokesperson, the Chicago Sun Times reported. The argument escalated and the women Jessica Hill, 21, and Jayla Hill, 18, are accused of attacking the man. Jessica pulled a knife out of her back pocket and began stabbing the 32-year-old man.


Belarus leader seeks to punish striking workers, students

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 10:49 AM PDT

Belarus leader seeks to punish striking workers, studentsBelarus President Alexander Lukashenko urged authorities Tuesday to take action against plant workers and students who participate in a strike called by the opposition as the authoritarian leader made another attempt to halt protests of his reelection. University students left classes to march in rallies and some factory employees went on strike Monday after Lukashenko ignored an opposition demand to resign following the balloting that was widely viewed as rigged. Nearly 600 people were detained in the capital of Minsk and other cities.


Mother’s body decayed for years in home she shared with her adult children, TN cops say

Posted: 28 Oct 2020 12:24 PM PDT

Mother's body decayed for years in home she shared with her adult children, TN cops sayPolice found her skeleton buried under a pile of clothes on a bed


Mitch McConnell just adjourned the Senate until November 9, ending the prospect of additional coronavirus relief until after the election

Posted: 26 Oct 2020 08:39 PM PDT

Mitch McConnell just adjourned the Senate until November 9, ending the prospect of additional coronavirus relief until after the electionThe Senate's last order of business was confirming Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, capping a contentious nominations process.


Jeff Van Drew, congressman who ditched Democrats for Trump, struggling in reelection race

Posted: 28 Oct 2020 06:03 AM PDT

Jeff Van Drew, congressman who ditched Democrats for Trump, struggling in reelection raceA congressman who switched from the Democratic Party to join Republican ranks is struggling in his ace for reelection.


FBI arrests five in U.S. accused of trying to coerce political dissenters to return to China

Posted: 28 Oct 2020 10:45 AM PDT

FBI arrests five in U.S. accused of trying to coerce political dissenters to return to ChinaA note left on the door of one victim read, "If you are willing to go back to mainland and spend 10 years in prison, your wife and children will be all right."


In pictures: Evacuations as two wildfires rage in California

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 08:39 AM PDT

In pictures: Evacuations as two wildfires rage in CaliforniaMass evacuation orders are in place as two fast-moving fires engulf thousands of acres near Los Angeles.


The Lincoln Project is reportedly trying to create a House of Cards-style TV series

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 07:53 AM PDT

The Lincoln Project is reportedly trying to create a House of Cards-style TV seriesThe Lincoln Project isn't going anywhere.The PAC of President Trump-opposing Republicans and other moderates has built a social media behemoth based largely on trolling the president with pointed ads. And once it potentially achieves its goal of getting Joe Biden and other Democrats elected, it's looking to capitalize on that and build a whole media empire, Axios reports.The Lincoln Project's Twitter account boasts a following that even exceeds the Republican party's, and has raked in millions of dollars from its supporters who'd like to see Trump out of the White House. To Ra Kumar, the project's representative at United Talent Agency, it's clear that "they know how to get audiences," he tells Axios.So in the coming weeks, the Lincoln Project is expected to move beyond podcasts and TV ads and into Hollywood. For starters, the group is working with a documentarian to produce a non-fiction film after the election, Axios reports. Some TV networks are interested in running the project's livestreamed shows, a source says. TV studios are also reportedly reaching out to work with the Lincoln Project "to help develop a House of Cards-like fiction series," Axios reports — a comparison that probably doesn't help the project with allegations of stealing ideas and memes.More stories from theweek.com How to make an election crisis 64 things President Trump has said about women Republicans are on the verge of a spectacular upside-down achievement


Megyn Kelly slams Sunny Hostin over SCOTUS comments: ‘More intentionally dishonest than stupid’

Posted: 28 Oct 2020 09:45 AM PDT

Megyn Kelly slams Sunny Hostin over SCOTUS comments: 'More intentionally dishonest than stupid'Megyn Kelly is no stranger to controversy and being called out on social media, but this week she was the one taking the offensive against Sunny Hostin for what she believes to be "intentionally dishonest" rhetoric. Hostin, who serves as a co-host and political analyst on The View, slammed the Republican Party on Tuesday for stealing seats from the Democrats and pushing through right-wing judges in their place. "We all know the Republican Party has been packing the Supreme Court for decades," Hostin said.


Divided Belgium among Europe's worst virus hotspots

Posted: 28 Oct 2020 01:12 AM PDT

Divided Belgium among Europe's worst virus hotspotsSmall, yet so divided, Belgium has been hit hard again by the pandemic, and now presents some of the most worrying statistics in a continent reeling under a coronavirus resurgence. If ever there was a common enemy for the rival Dutch- and French-speaking citizens and regions to fight, this would surely be it.


Passenger hanging out van window falls and dies after killing bicyclist, Vegas cops say

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 12:40 PM PDT

Passenger hanging out van window falls and dies after killing bicyclist, Vegas cops say"There's no reason behind this that I can tell you why it occurred, other than complete stupidity."


Tech chief executives to defend key law in front of U.S. Senate panel on Wednesday

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 10:18 AM PDT

Tech chief executives to defend key law in front of U.S. Senate panel on WednesdayThe chief executives of Twitter Inc , Facebook and Alphabet Inc will tell U.S. lawmakers at a hearing on Wednesday that a federal law protecting internet companies is crucial to free expression on the internet, according to written testimonies from the companies seen by Reuters. Section 230, a provision of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, shields technology companies from liability for user-generated content and allows them to remove lawful but objectionable posts. It has come under heavy criticism from Republican President Donald Trump and both Democratic and Republican lawmakers who have been concerned about Big Tech's content-moderation decisions.


I flew on a newly upgraded JetBlue plane and despite less legroom and slimmer seats, the refresh is exactly what the airline needed

Posted: 28 Oct 2020 07:13 AM PDT

I flew on a newly upgraded JetBlue plane and despite less legroom and slimmer seats, the refresh is exactly what the airline neededThough long overdue, Jetblue's new cabin brings its aircraft into the modern era with better in-flight entertainment than most US carriers.


A US embassy staffer drugged and sexually abused at least 23 women and kept the evidence on his iCloud account, prosecutors say

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 01:32 PM PDT

A US embassy staffer drugged and sexually abused at least 23 women and kept the evidence on his iCloud account, prosecutors sayBrian Jeffrey Raymond had more than 400 photos and videos that showed the scope of his abuse, according to prosecutors.


'I purely vote for my actual interests': Black men could be critical bloc in presidential election

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 10:42 AM PDT

'I purely vote for my actual interests': Black men could be critical bloc in presidential electionWith one week left until the election, some experts say Black men are a key demographic that could shock the country on Election Day and vote for President Trump in surprising numbers.


Climate scientists throw cold water on 'Arctic methane bomb' report

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 02:39 PM PDT

Climate scientists throw cold water on 'Arctic methane bomb' reportA research team made a worrisome discovery off the Siberian coast, The Guardian reports. The scientists say they believe they are first to uncover observational evidence that frozen methane deposits in the Arctic Ocean have started to be released after determining that methane levels at the ocean's surface were four to eight times higher than expected.The deposits are considered "sleeping giants of the carbon cycle" and could theoretically expedite climate change, given that methane has a warming effect 80 times stronger than carbon dioxide over a 20 year period, The Guardian notes. But while the discovery sounds alarming, it's also been met with skepticism from some climate scientists.> This story is... unconvincing. First off it's just two scientists (no publication), one of whom has made similar (unsupported) claims before & ignores the context that permafrost & methane have been degrading in this region since it was inundated in the early Holocene. https://t.co/EKI02cj2zT> > — Gavin Schmidt (@ClimateOfGavin) October 27, 2020> There are climate feedback mechanisms to be worried about. A supposed "Arctic Methane Bomb" isn't one of them. https://t.co/yuOtqYUIKq> > — Michael E. Mann (@MichaelEMann) October 27, 2020Gavin Schmidt, a climatologist and director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, argued there is no evidence Arctic methane had a "big effect" even in earlier periods when the region was warmer than it is now.The scientists who made the discovery, meanwhile, have acknowledged their work is preliminary, and said the scale of methane releases will not be confirmed until they return and analyze the data. Either way, "there is unlikely to be any major" climate effect "at this moment," Swedish scientist Örjan Gustafsson, told The Guardian from the research vessel. But he did maintain his stance that "the process has now been triggered." Read more at The Guardian.More stories from theweek.com How to make an election crisis 64 things President Trump has said about women Republicans are on the verge of a spectacular upside-down achievement


Democrats warn Republicans they will regret forcing through Amy Coney Barrett confirmation

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 01:52 AM PDT

Democrats warn Republicans they will regret forcing through Amy Coney Barrett confirmationDemocrats says Senate Republicans have broken precedent dating back 231 years, after Trump's pick for Supreme Court was sworn in on Monday


Lawyer for China exec accuses RCMP of lying about her arrest

Posted: 28 Oct 2020 03:28 PM PDT

Lawyer for China exec accuses RCMP of lying about her arrestA lawyer for a senior executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei on Wednesday accused a Canadian police officer of lying about why he didn't arrest her immediately at Vancouver's airport two years ago. Richard Peck told Constable Winston Yep during cross-examination that he did not believe Yep was honest when he told the British Columbia Supreme Court this week why the arrest happened only after Canada Border Services Agency officers questioned Meng for three hours. Yep is the first in a series of witnesses called to testify at the request of lawyers for Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, who is fighting extradition to the U.S. to face fraud charges.


U.S. approves use of Bayer weed killer for five years

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 01:57 PM PDT

U.S. approves use of Bayer weed killer for five yearsThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Tuesday it will allow farmers to spray crops with weed killers based on the chemical dicamba that are sold by Bayer AG and other companies, after a U.S. appeals court blocked sales in June. The decision is a boost for Bayer, which has been hammered by lawsuits over various chemicals in the United States since acquiring seed company Monsanto in 2018. The EPA re-approved for five years Bayer's XtendiMax, a popular dicamba-based herbicide that is sprayed on soybeans and cotton genetically engineered to resist it.


A North Carolina pastor is accused of peeing on a woman while she was sleeping on a Delta flight

Posted: 28 Oct 2020 10:35 AM PDT

A North Carolina pastor is accused of peeing on a woman while she was sleeping on a Delta flight"I jump up and I seen his private area out and I screamed and that woke everybody up," Alicia Beverly told a local news outlet on October 14.


In search of President Trump's mysterious health care plan

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 11:47 AM PDT

In search of President Trump's mysterious health care planPresident Trump's health care plan has become one of the most highly anticipated, hotly debated documents in Washington. And depending on whom you ask, it might not exist at all. 


Facebook throttled Hunter Biden article after being warned by FBI of 'hack and leak' operations, Mark Zuckerberg says

Posted: 28 Oct 2020 10:59 AM PDT

Facebook throttled Hunter Biden article after being warned by FBI of 'hack and leak' operations, Mark Zuckerberg saysZuckerberg told Congress that Facebook throttled a New York Post article after being warned by law enforcement about 'hack and leak' operations.


Michigan man missing after allegedly spending virus relief funds on luxury gifts for girlfriend

Posted: 28 Oct 2020 07:49 AM PDT

Michigan man missing after allegedly spending virus relief funds on luxury gifts for girlfriendA Michigan man looks to be on the run after allegedly conspiring to steal $2.5 million in coronavirus relief funds. Johnny Richardson, 25, and his girlfriend Micahia Taylor, 27, are accused of teaming up with Brandi Hawkins, a contract employee of the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency, to embezzle the money.


Thousands in Bangladesh protest against French cartoons

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 01:16 AM PDT

Thousands in Bangladesh protest against French cartoonsAround 10,000 people in Bangladesh rallied in the South Asian nation's capital on Tuesday to protest France's president and his staunch support of secular laws that deem caricatures depicting the Prophet Muhammad as protected under freedom of speech. Protesters from the conservative Islami Andolon Bangladesh group, which supports the introduction of Islamic law in the Muslim-majority country, carried banners and placards reading: "All Muslims of the world, unite" and "Boycott France." It was the largest protest yet against the cartoons in recent days.


Hurricane Zeta crashes ashore in Louisiana as a powerful Category 2 hurricane

Posted: 28 Oct 2020 04:37 AM PDT

Hurricane Zeta crashes ashore in Louisiana as a powerful Category 2 hurricaneHurricane Zeta came crashing ashore in Louisiana Wednesday evening as a powerful Category 2 hurricane with 110 mph maximum winds and up to 11 feet of storm surge in some places.


Reporters should ‘dig in,’ ‘ask questions’ about Hunter Biden business dealings: MacCallum

Posted: 28 Oct 2020 08:28 AM PDT

Reporters should 'dig in,' 'ask questions' about Hunter Biden business dealings: MacCallumMartha MacCallum questions apparent lack of media coverage, argues the story will not expand Trump's base.


Qatar expresses regret as Australia says women on 10 flights searched

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 09:00 PM PDT

Lindsey Graham, Thom Tillis pushed for controversial casino after donations from gambling mogul

Posted: 28 Oct 2020 02:00 AM PDT

Lindsey Graham, Thom Tillis pushed for controversial casino after donations from gambling mogulPair of embattled Carolina senators changed their views after taking big bucks from casino interests and lobbyists


A look at Trump's most failed businesses, according to his tax records

Posted: 28 Oct 2020 06:52 AM PDT

A look at Trump's most failed businesses, according to his tax recordsTrump's golf courses and other real estate investments showed millions of dollars in losses in tax records reported on by The New York Times.


Iranian Trolls Who Posed as Proud Boys Spread Wild Claims on Facebook

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 12:10 PM PDT

Iranian Trolls Who Posed as Proud Boys Spread Wild Claims on FacebookThe Iranians trolls who disguised themselves as Proud Boys fans in an attempt to intimidate voters were linked to a disinformation campaign that targeted Israel and Saudi Arabia, according to Facebook.In a press conference on Tuesday, Facebook announced that it took down a handful of accounts on Facebook and Instagram after a tip from the FBI about Iranian election-related meddling. The tip followed an announcement by FBI Director Christopher Wray and Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe that U.S. intelligence had found Iran was behind emails sent to Democratic voters in Florida and Alaska threatening that "You will vote for Trump on Election Day or we will come after you."The company says an initial investigation following the tipoff led it to a single account created in October 2020 that "attempted to seed false claims and unsubstantiated election related threats" as part of an election influence plot that relied mostly on email.FBI Says Iran Behind Voter-Intimidation Operation Spoofing Proud Boys Further investigation by Facebook led the company to discover more accounts and pages that were dormant but had been used to spread false claims about Israel and Saudi Arabia. Among the more sensational claims pushed by the network was a false claim about a fake massacre at the annual Eurovision music contest hosted in Israel in 2019.Some of the accounts sought to reach out to reporters, including journalists at an outlet focused on news about Afghanistan, according to the company.The network—a small one relative to others suspended by Facebook, with just 12 Facebook accounts, 6 Facebook pages, and 11 Instagram accounts with a combined 800 followers—was run by "individuals with links to the Iranian government," according to Nathan Gleicher, Facebook's head of security. The dormant accounts uncovered by Facebook researchers were also linked to a previous set of accounts the company suspended in April 2019 and attributed to Iran's state news company, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, Gleicher said.Last week, the Treasury Department sanctioned IUVM and IRTVU—two Iranian fake news umbrella organizations—and the Bayan Rasaneh Gostar Institute, which officials said was an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps front company "prepared to execute a series of influence operations directed at the U.S. populace ahead of the presidential election."Facebook also announced that it had suspended a larger network it attributed to "individuals" in Mexico that had recycled old memes from the Russian Internet Research Agency (IRA) troll farm responsible for much of Moscow's meddling in the 2016 election.Gleicher, however, cautioned that the network's use of old IRA memes "by itself is a limited indicator of who is behind this" and does not necessarily point to Russian involvement.The Mexico-based network was also small at just two Facebook pages and 22 Instagram accounts and racked up nearly 55,000 followers. The network operators used fake accounts that "posed as Americans supporting various social and political causes and tried to contact other people to amplify this operation's content," according to the company. When reaching out to other Facebook users, the fake accounts claimed to be working on behalf of a fictitious Polish social media firm.Memes and content shared by the suspended accounts touched on hot button political issues like race and gender but also pushed more generic content on topics like religion and dog memes.In addition, Facebook also announced that it had suspended disinformation networks operated out of Myanmar which targeted domestic Burmese audiences.Officials from Myanmar's military ran a vast network of coordinated inauthentic activity on Facebook that the company suspended in 2018. Until its suspension, the network was used to incite violence against Myanmar's Rohingya ethnic minority, which U.N. officials have labeled a genocide and ethnic cleansing.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.


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