Caroline Orr Bueno, Ph.D Profile picture
~@rvawonk@newsie.social~ Behavioral Scientist. Postdoc @ UMD. “Epistemic Superpredator.” Studying disinformation, cognitive security, crises. Opinions are mine.
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Oct 8, 2018 9 tweets 3 min read
NEW: Rick Gates sought proposals from Psy-Group (the Israeli intel firm from the Aug 2016 Trump Tower meeting w/Don Jr, Erik Prince, etc) to create fake online identities & gather intel as part of a social media manipulation effort to swing voters to Trump
nyti.ms/2E6xgmD NYT reported in May that the intel firm (Psy-Group) proposed a multi-million $$ social media manipulation plan to help elect Trump.

Now, NYT reports that Rick Gates sought out the proposal to gather intel & create fake online/social media identities.
Sep 29, 2018 5 tweets 3 min read
As expected: The White House is reportedly limiting the scope of the FBI’s investigation into Kavanaugh. The FBI will apparently not be given the authority to investigate the allegations brought forth by Julie Swetnick. nbcnews.com/politics/polit… wow. The White House counsel's office has given the FBI a list of witnesses they are permitted to interview while investigating Kavanaugh.
Sep 26, 2018 5 tweets 2 min read
.@MichaelAvenatti just released a sworn statement from a 3rd Kavanaugh accuser, Julie Swetnick.

She says she witnessed efforts by Kavanaugh & Mark Judge to get girls intoxicated so they could then be gang raped.

And then she became a victim of this practice after being drugged. Kavanaugh's 3rd accuser, Julie Swetnick, also says she witnessed Kavanaugh engaging in "abusive & physically aggressive behavior toward girls," including groping/fondling w/o consent & attempting to remove girls' clothing "to expose private body parts."

Sep 25, 2018 5 tweets 2 min read
Amnesty International has taken the very rare step of calling to halt Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation process "unless and until" an adequate review of his human rights record is completed and all relevant documents released publicly.

shareblue.com/amnesty-intern… Amnesty cites Kavanaugh's potential involvement in Bush WH torture policy, as well as the sexual assault accusations.

They warn that he could use his position on the SCOTUS “to either prevent accountability for these crimes or to continue perpetration.”
Sep 24, 2018 4 tweets 2 min read
"We are aware of significant evidence of multiple house parties in the DC area during the early 1980s during which Brett Kavanaugh, Mark Judge, & others participate[d] in the targeting of women with alcohol/drugs in order to allow a 'train' of men to subsequently gang rape them." "There are multiple witnesses that will corroborate these facts and each of them must be called to testify publicly."

Holy. Shit.
Sep 23, 2018 8 tweets 5 min read
Kavanaugh is a very hot topic among accounts linked to Russian influence operations.

Last night, an article about Ed Whelan's false claims aimed at "exonerating" Kavanaugh was the #1 URL & top trending URL (9,900% spike in shares) in the network tracked by @SecureDemocracy... 1/ The domain linked to the article about Ed Whelan's false claims was also the #1 domain and top trending domain shared by accounts linked to Russian influence operations last night... 2/

Sep 21, 2018 5 tweets 2 min read
Ed Whelan worked with right-wing firm CRC Public Relations to stoke his half-baked Kavanaugh 'alibi' story.

CRC's current clients include the Federalist Society & the Judicial Crisis Network -- the chief outside groups working to help confirm Kavanaugh.
politi.co/2MTtIDj "It is unclear to what extent [Ed] Whelan was coordinating with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee & other Republicans on Capitol Hill. He was in communication with at least one Republican member of the committee this week.."

... yea so this is a pretty BFD.
Sep 21, 2018 7 tweets 4 min read
So:
-The NYT story is based on sources who were *not* present during the conversations they're describing.
-A witness who *was* present disputes NYT's account & says Rosenstein was being sarcastic at the time.
-Rosenstein says NYT story is "inaccurate" & "factually incorrect." 1/ So the NYT's headline is based on the account of the sources who were *not* present and did *not* witness the conversations.

Meanwhile, Rosenstein's denial and the account of a source who *was* present and *did* witness the conversations are buried several paragraphs down. 2/
Sep 19, 2018 4 tweets 1 min read
With all that has been said about the sexual assault accusations facing Brett Kavanaugh, the most profoundly disturbing is what he hasn't said. As a SCOTUS nominee, he is supposed to care about justice – yet he hasn't said a word about how the justice system fails SA victims. 1/ Kavanaugh has spent plenty of time defending himself — yet he hasn't uttered a word defending the millions of sexual assault victims who will never see justice in the system that he represents. 2/
Sep 13, 2018 4 tweets 2 min read
#BREAKING: Sen. Dianne Feinstein says she received information from a confidential informant "concerning the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh" and has referred the matter to the FBI. Dropping this here.
Sep 11, 2018 7 tweets 6 min read
Official Russian govt accounts are pushing a false narrative claiming that filming of a false flag attack has begun (likely a sign that Assad plans to use chemical weapons very soon), and of course they're looping the White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) into the conspiracy theory. 1/ All of Russia's international and US-focused propaganda channels are pushing the same false narrative. People are more likely to believe false information if they see it coming from multiple sources. (Below: Sputnik, RT, TASS, & Veterans Today). 2/
Sep 9, 2018 6 tweets 5 min read
A big part of the Russian-led disinformation campaign surrounding Syria is psychological warfare designed to condition people not to care when Russian/Syrian forces slaughter civilians. One of the main ways this is accomplished is by portraying those targeted as terrorists. 1/ These are just a few examples from this week. Right now, Assad & Putin are targeting #Idlib, which is home to 3 million people, many of whom fled to the province when they were forcibly displaced from their homes. Now they're all being portrayed as terrorists. 2/
Sep 8, 2018 8 tweets 6 min read
Starting another thread on the ongoing Russian disinformation campaign surrounding the White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) and more broadly, the current state of affairs in #Idlib.

For reference, here's a link to last week's thread on the same topic.
The narrative being pushed today by the Russian govt is that "terrorists" (or "jihadists") met w/ the White Helmets, a humanitarian org, to finalize a plot to stage a chemical weapons attack on...themselves.

Putin/Assad have made similar claims before launching a chem attack. 2/
Sep 4, 2018 4 tweets 2 min read
I've now read multiple accounts from people who've been told that many social media services in #Idlib are down. So we're seeing the full spectrum of authoritarian information control, from weaponized social media & mass disinformation campaigns, to cutting off comms entirely. Given how far Assad has gone to cut off the flow of information (e.g., targeting & murdering journalists like Marie Colvin), I can't say I'm surprised to hear that many social media services are down. But it's important to consider the implications of that & what it means. 1/
Sep 4, 2018 10 tweets 4 min read
Russian warplanes are reportedly bombing #Idlib, a so-called "de-escalation zone" that is home to an estimated 2.9 million people, many of whom are living there because they were forcibly displaced from their homes elsewhere in Syria.

A few quick things to know... 1/ Russian/Syrian regime propaganda will claim that the bombing in #Idlib is only about terrorists. It will be framed as a (false) dichotomy: Either you support the bombing or you support terrorists. This is a wholly false and egregious campaign to whitewash a civilian massacre. 2/
Sep 4, 2018 5 tweets 3 min read
I can't sleep so here, have some @Buck65 /Bike for Three Bike for Three is a crazy-awesome collab between @Buck65 and a Belgian producer who goes by the name Greetings from Tuskan. They've never even met in person but they make amazing music.
Sep 1, 2018 18 tweets 12 min read
With all signs indicating that the Assad regime, backed by Russia, is readying an imminent massacre, the ongoing smear campaign against the White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) is ramping back up. Network graph below reflects past 24 hours of activity on Twitter. 1/ (continued)

Network graphs in this tweet & previous one reflect the most active accounts posting about the White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) in the past 24 hours. All are circulating the same few narratives accusing the White Helmets of being terrorists, kidnappers, murderers. 2/
Sep 1, 2018 13 tweets 6 min read
Some notable patterns right now on @SecureDemocracy's Hamilton 68 dashboard, which tracks accounts linked to Russian influence operations.

Syria is still dominating, but the death of pro-Russia separatist leader Alexander Zacharchenko is very quickly taking over the charts. 1/ On the one hand, Zacharchenko is a trending topic overall so at least some of this is an artifact of a larger trend. But worth keeping in mind that much of the content pushed by these accounts is Russian propaganda.

Propaganda doesn't produce itself. 2/
Aug 30, 2018 4 tweets 1 min read
Name a direction. First one that comes to your mind. (N, E, S, W). Two norths and an east within 1 min. I think it's decided. Thanks, guys!
Aug 21, 2018 7 tweets 3 min read
BREAKING: Microsoft has detected & seized websites created by Russian govt hackers targeting conservative US think tanks that have broken with Trump & are pushing for continued sanctions against Moscow, exposing oligarchs, or pressing for human rights. nyti.ms/2wdTbB7 "The shift to attacking conservative think tanks underscores the Russian intelligence agency’s goals: to disrupt any institutions challenging Moscow and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia."

Aug 17, 2018 5 tweets 2 min read
For all the conspiracy theorists out there: I'm flattered that you think I have such immense power that with a single tweet I can iinsta-ban someone from Twitter. FWIW, I would totally use it if I had that power, but alas... I don't.

(But it's fun that you think I do.) No, Caitlan, I didn't call in my deep-state Twitter squad to get you banned.

But, um, are you really using your Facebook account to send your twitter followers after me? Also, stop lying. It looks ugly on you.