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Ruan praised Gabriel Paulista's attitude, who, according to him, publicly criticized the Corinthians board and exposed at least a small part of the club's problems. He also stated that, although the players were criticized and insulted, the main responsibility was off the field. #Futebol #Corinthians #Coragem (translated)

The author indicated that high school students from across France gathered in Paris on October 10 for their first national general assembly, dedicated to assessing their mobilization. He wrote that they wished to continue and strengthen their support for high schools in working-class neighborhoods, which he presented as more exposed to police violence. #Lycéens #Mobilisation #JusticeSociale #FR (translated)

Operation Dark Clark – Russia built a real organisation around a false identity Most influence operations create fake people, fake websites or fake news stories. Operation Dark Clark appears to have gone considerably further: Russian operators built what looked like a functioning research organisation in Latin America, employed real people to produce genuine research and concealed from those employees who was ultimately directing their work. OpenAI disclosed the operation on 8 October after banning a cluster of accounts originating in Russia. The actors used ChatGPT while targeting countries across Latin America, principally to damage Ukraine’s reputation, manipulate domestic political debates and manage a self-described research organisation called the Social Research Center, or SRC. OpenAI assessed Dark Clark as Category Five on the six-level Breakout Scale, the first operation it has disrupted since beginning its influence-operation reporting to reach that level. A front organisation with real employees The SRC presented itself as a research platform studying subjects including Latin America’s relationship with India and the Indian diaspora. OpenAI found more than 60 articles on its website, most of them apparently original rather than plagiarised. Internal reports produced by the Russian operators discussed hiring, dismissals, salary scales, staffing and unfinished research projects, strongly suggesting that the operators controlled the organisation rather than merely collaborating with it. At the centre of the structure was “Mia Clark”, a fictitious identity reportedly used to manage social-media activity and communicate with staff. According to OpenAI, the available evidence indicates that employees working for SRC in Latin America were probably unaware that the organisation was being directed by Russian actors. They interviewed experts, conducted research and wrote papers in what appears to have been good faith. The deception therefore existed primarily at the organisational level: much of the work was real, but the identity and strategic purpose of the institution commissioning it were not. OpenAI This is one reason Dark Clark differs from the familiar model of a troll farm. A reader encountering an SRC paper might be looking at research genuinely written by a Latin American employee based on genuine interviews. The manipulation lies further upstream, in who built the institution, selected its direction and controlled its infrastructure. From forged emails to real events The operation also appears to have attempted something more ambitious than online persuasion: inducing real people to produce events that could later be turned into propaganda. In May 2026, according to the operators’ internal reports, they created an email address impersonating Lima’s regional education authorities and instructed schools to organise activities about Ukraine for a cultural-diversity event. The instructions included references to Stepan Bandera, whose historical legacy remains particularly contentious in Poland and parts of Eastern Europe. The operators claimed that some schools complied, replied to the false address and sent photographs of the events. OpenAI could not independently verify every claim contained in the operators’ reports. It did, however, find Peruvian reporting matching the story, followed by publications in Poland and an English-language outlet in Hungary. Some coverage included comments from a Polish MEP calling for people displaying what he described as anti-Polish attitudes to be declared persona non grata. OpenAI therefore concluded that the fabricated starting point appears to have entered genuine political debate across national borders. The mechanism is unusually effective because the final photographs need not themselves be fabricated. If people can be tricked into staging a real event on the basis of a forged instruction, the operation creates authentic visual evidence of something that was artificially initiated. The same method in Ecuador and Bolivia Dark Clark’s internal reports describe similar efforts elsewhere. In Ecuador, the operators claimed they used a fake education email to encourage schools to stage ceremonies involving President Daniel Noboa and Erik Prince, the former head of Blackwater. Ecuadorian media subsequently covered a matching controversy, and the country’s education minister issued a detailed denial. Other Ecuador-focused material included fabricated audio attributed to Ukraine’s consul and a false television report alleging that Noboa’s government was recruiting Ecuadorians to fight in Ukraine. Local fact-checker Lupa found that the supposed Teleamazonas report had never been broadcast, that images had been taken from Instagram, that the audio was AI-generated and that a company named in a supposed recruitment contract did not exist in Ecuador’s corporate registry. In Bolivia, an internal report described a fake audio recording supposedly made by an employee of state water company EPSAS during anti-government protests. It claimed that water supplies to La Paz would be cut and a state of emergency declared. The allegation produced a fact-check and an official denial. OpenAI says the operators explicitly described their objective as worsening the political crisis surrounding the demonstrations. Possible links to the post-Wagner influence machine Dark Clark did not emerge in a vacuum. The operators repeatedly asked ChatGPT about Politology and La Compania, names associated in previous investigations with the Russian influence apparatus that developed from structures once connected to Yevgeny Prigozhin. Forbidden Stories and its partners obtained 1,431 pages of internal documents describing a network known as “The Company”, which they reported had grown to almost 100 operatives and was conducting influence projects across roughly 30 Global South countries. Their investigation found that the organisation moved under the supervision of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, the SVR, after Prigozhin’s death. Its documented budget for ten months of activity in 2024 was approximately €7.3 million. Two older Argentina campaigns claimed in Dark Clark’s internal reports — a false story about Javier Milei buying Cartier collars for his dogs and the staging of anti-Milei graffiti — had already been independently attributed by investigative journalists to Politology/La Compania. That is significant corroboration, but it is not enough to prove that every Dark Clark activity was run by the same organisational structure. AI was the back office, not the mastermind Perhaps the most important finding concerns artificial intelligence itself. In most documented cases, the Russians were not using ChatGPT to generate the propaganda seen by the public. Their principal use was administrative: drafting reports for an unknown superior, summarising operations, translating material and recording the supposed success of campaigns. Those reports also expose a weakness in the operators’ own measurement. OpenAI found instances in which they tried to claim credit for developments they had probably not caused, suggesting that they were not only attempting to manipulate Latin American audiences but also presenting an inflated picture of their effectiveness to whoever was supervising them. Dark Clark nevertheless broke further into the real world than any influence operation OpenAI had previously disrupted. Under the Brookings framework, Category Five means that an operation has escaped its original network and been amplified by high-profile individuals such as politicians. Dark Clark crossed that threshold because fabricated narratives appear to have provoked governmental denials, mainstream reporting and political comment in several countries. Its most important innovation was therefore not a particularly convincing deepfake. It was the construction of a partly genuine institution around a concealed foreign controller. The research could be real. The employees could be real. The interviews could be real. What was false was who they were ultimately working for. Sources OpenAI — Disrupting AI-enabled “false front” operations https://openai.com/index/disrupting-ai-enabled-false-front-operations/ Forbidden Stories — Propaganda Machine: Russia’s foreign influence strategy across three continents https://forbiddenstories.org/propaganda-machine-secret-documents-reveal-russias-foreign-influence-strategy-across-three-continents/ Forbidden Stories — Ghost Journalists, Cash and Kremlin Scripts: Argentina https://forbiddenstories.org/ghost-journalists-cash-and-kremlin-scripts-how-russian-operatives-tried-to-influence-argentinian-media/ openDemocracy — Russian influence operation in Bolivia https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/russia-bolivia-south-america-putin-evo-morales-wagner-prigozhin-covert-operations-propaganda-disinformation-foreign-interference/ Lupa Media — Fake Teleamazonas report about recruiting Ecuadorians for Ukraine https://lupa.com.ec/verificaciones/noboa-mercenarios-ucrania-ecuador/ Brookings Institution — The Breakout Scale https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-breakout-scale-measuring-the-impact-of-influence-operations/ Keywords: #DISINFORMED #Episode17 #OperationDarkClark #DarkClark #Russia #LatinAmerica #RussianInfluence #RussianDisinformation #Disinformation #InformationWarfare #InfluenceOperations #ForeignInterference #FIMI #FalseFront #FrontOrganisation #FakeInstitution #SocialResearchCenter #SRC #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #GenerativeAI #ChatGPT #OpenAI #NarrativeManipulation #SourceLaundering #InstitutionalManipulation #ForgedDocuments #FakeAudio #PoliticalInfluence #CovertInfluence #Peru #Ecuador #Bolivia #Argentina #Ukraine #Politology #LaCompania #TheCompany #SVR #WagnerLegacy #PropagandaMachine #GlobalSouth #BreakoutScale #OSINT #MediaManipulation #WRLD

Bally Bagayoko explained that his group abstained during the vote on a wish presented by the opposition elected officials from the Socialist, Environmentalists, and Citizens group at the municipal council. The text focused on the protection of girls and women against excision and female genital mutilation, as well as the adoption of a comprehensive law against sexist and sexual violence (SSV). He said that his group supported the fight against mutilations and reminded that nearly 500 patients received follow-up each year in the municipality. He also praised the work of the Women's House, Delafontaine Hospital, and various associations, and asked the State to strengthen the resources allocated for prevention and medical follow-up. According to Bally Bagayoko, the abstention concerned the request to quickly adopt the law on SSV. He indicated that the bill had been significantly amended in committee at the National Assembly the week of the municipal council, and its content remained uncertain. His group had asked to remove references to this law from the wish in order to be able to vote in favor of the text on the fight against excision, but the opposition had refused, he wrote. He believed that this refusal had hindered the pursuit of an agreement and denounced a political instrumentalization of the issue. The group ultimately abstained in order not to block the wish, which was adopted, while not supporting all of its content, he noted. #Excision #DroitsDesFemmes #LutteContreLesViolences (translated)

The documentary NAZA, which will be released in theaters on October 12 and 13, exposes the testimonies of military personnel and members of Israeli intelligence services regarding airstrikes that deliberately cause civilian casualties in Gaza, while revealing the military term NAZA used to refer to collateral damage considered tolerable. #NAZA #Gaza #Documentaire (translated)

A report exposes the shortcomings of artificial intelligence protections against terrorism-related requests, revealing that some models can respond to questions about terrorist projects, especially when framed in a security research context. #IntelligenceArtificielle #Terrorisme #Cybersécurité (translated)

The article "Sexual violence at school: silence in the ranks!" exposes the incredible silence and institutional failures in the face of a teacher who sexually abused his students for 25 years, despite several alerts ignored by the hierarchy. #ViolencesSexuelles #Éducation #SilenceDansLesRangs (translated)

Steve Wembi reported that an ambush attributed to the AFC/M23 had resulted in about 20 dead and wounded among the forces of Vectus Global, Erik Prince's security company, in South Kivu on September 17, 2026. According to sources close to the Congolese government and the company, cited by Wembi, the dead included at least seven Congolese and a former member of the New Zealand special forces. Tim Kennedy, a former UFC fighter and ex-member of the U.S. special forces, had been injured and reportedly received three bullet wounds to the leg. Wembi also relayed the remarks of an East African security expert, who described the mercenaries as illegal fighters and war criminals, accusing them of disregarding any rules of engagement. He wrote that Vectus Global's role in the DRC had expanded from securing mining revenues to conducting security support operations in the eastern part of the country. According to his account, Erik Prince's men had deployed to Uvira after the AFC/M23 withdrew from the city in January 2026. #RDC #Sécurité #Conflit (translated)

Young graduates are particularly affected by the decline in permanent job hires, with a reduction of 28.3% between March 2026 and November 2022 in the professions most exposed to artificial intelligence, including a drop of 42% for computer developers. #JeunesDiplômés #Emploi #IntelligenceArtificielle (translated)

RM BRASIL stated that a delivery person from Jadlog threw a package at their house without calling or knocking, even though the box was marked as fragile. According to the report, the package contained a painting by an artist from the exhibition, and the organization requested a solution for the case. https://t.co/wDcx5PH63a #Jadlog #Entrega #Fragil (translated)

Flamengo stated that the officiating by Anderson Daronco and the VAR official, Rodolpho Toski Marques, had serious errors and inconsistent criteria in the match against Santos. The club said that Barreal should have been sent off for a tackle on Carrascal but only received a yellow card. Flamengo also challenged the penalty decision and the expulsion of Jorginho after a handball. According to the club, the incident caused a stoppage of 9 minutes and 56 seconds, a record interruption in a VAR review in the history of the Brasileirão. The team stated that the decision left them a player short and removed Jorginho from the next match. A few minutes later, according to Flamengo, another penalty was awarded to Santos after a foul that should not have occurred, resulting in the second goal for the São Paulo team from the penalty kick. The club also mentioned the numbers of the championship: in 29 matches, they had received seven red cards, the second-highest total in the competition, despite being in 17th place in the foul ranking and leading in average ball-in-play time. Flamengo claimed to be one of the three teams that committed the fewest fouls yet still the second most expelled. The statement also noted that Daronco and Toski were scheduled for the classic between Palmeiras and Corinthians on Sunday and requested that the rules be applied with rigor and impartiality. The club added that they were among the five finalists for the Best Men's Club of the Year award at the Ballon d'Or and stated that officiating errors harmed the results and the image of Brazilian football. #Arbitragem #Futebol #Brasileirão (translated)

The General Directorate of Health (DGS) has simplified the monitoring of people in pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV, allowing the prescription of PrEP in primary health care and community organizations, aiming to facilitate the follow-up of adults and adolescents at high risk of infection. #Saúde #VIH #PrEP (translated)

Edouard Philippe announced that he would not reside at the Élysée with his family if he is elected president in 2027, preferring to maintain a certain distance between his private life and politics to protect his loved ones from media exposure. #ÉdouardPhilippe #ÉlectionPrésidentielle2027 #Politique (translated)

Blue White Red! asserted that the LFI deputy Rima Hassan had been filmed by surveillance cameras degrading, in the European Parliament, an exhibition in tribute to the victims of the Islamist terrorist attacks of October 7. The author indicated that the president of the Parliament had condemned the act and believed that the public was finally becoming aware of the danger that LFI represented. He added that it was time. https://t.co/MhbQoWhZkV #ParlementEuropéen #LFI #Terrorisme (translated)

B-ARMY360 asked BTS fans to mobilize on October 24, 25, and 26 to create and share messages with images on platforms like X, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Weverse. The author stated that the initiative aimed to raise awareness about the importance of respecting the safety, privacy, and space of the members, avoiding risky situations, crowds, and unnecessary exposures. She also requested that fans post, comment, and share the messages. #BTS #ARMY #Respeito (translated)

In responding to Alex Moretti, Carlos Bolsonaro questioned whether a minister of the Supreme Court would open an investigation on his own to investigate something that, according to him, was already exposed. He advocated for the opening of another investigation, compared the situation to a "brothel," and called for the defense of democracy. #Democracia #Justiça #STF (translated)