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Giancarlo Fiorella

@giancarlofiorella.bsky.social
26K followers 550 following 373 posts

Director of Research and Training | Bellingcat Assistant Professor | Utrecht University PhD, Criminology & Sociolegal Studies | University of Toronto www.giancarlofiorella.com Opinions my own

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Reposted by Giancarlo Fiorella
The Citizen Lab @citizenlab.ca · 11h
Citizen Lab's @rondeibert.bsky.social is quoted in the @theguardian.com about Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s increasing influence on AI dominance. www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...
theguardian.com
Fixer, financier, spymaster: how the UAE’s Sheikh Tahnoon is setting his sights on AI dominance
The long read: The Emirati royal is increasingly influential on the world stage. Some see him as a visionary. Others compare him to a Bond villain. Who is he?
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Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 15h
We are aware of an individual using a UK number on Telegram and WhatsApp under the name “Antony Kevin” to seek assistance recruiting journalists and analysts working on Syria. They claim to work for Bellingcat, but do not. Please disregard requests from them and contact [contact@bellingcat.com].
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Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 18h
New Bellingcat challenges are up on the website. This month, Bellingcat’s investigative technologist @msramalho.bsky.social has designed some puzzles that test your online archiving skills, taking you deeper into the internet of the past. challenge.bellingcat.com?utm_source=b...
challenge.bellingcat.com
The Bellingcat Challenge
Sharpen your open source research skills.
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Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
major democracies electing far-right populist governments
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InSight Crime @insightcrime.org · 03/10/2026
A new US sanction targeting Tren de Aragua focuses on a network that allegedly used malware to attack ATMs and generate revenue for the group. Some of the money was reportedly laundered through cryptocurrencies. Learn more about Tren de Aragua: bit.ly/4ilLRcr
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Karen Attiah @karenattiah.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Today, 8 years ago, my friend, Saudi Journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered.
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Alexios Mantzarlis @mantzarlis.com · 02/10/2026
Grokipedia is back! But I would still avoid using it to prepare for trivia night. From this week’s free @indicator.media briefing: indicator.media/p/briefing-g...
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Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 02/10/2026
It is your last chance to enter your suggested designs and taglines for our audience co-created merchandise capsule! www.bellingcat.com/uncategorize... Pitch them here by the end of today: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
bellingcat.com
Bellingcat Official Merch Design Contest - bellingcat
Bellingcat is finally launching an official merch line! That’s right: after years of fantasizing and wishing, we’re finally ready to get our name and logo on cool merch that you’ll be able to show off...
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Andrew Lawrence @ndrew.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
good morning mr president we have that executive order youve been demanding for weeks renaming every living dog “america,” but once again sir we need to reiterate that the lifeblood of civilization is drying up so if you could just take a look at this iran stuff? please sir. we are begging you sir
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Mike Schreiner @mikeschreiner.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Doug Ford is all words, no action. He promised $5 billion to protect Ontario businesses from Trump's tariffs. Two years in, he's given $100m to one steel company and only spent $40M across all other businesses.
globalnews.ca
Ford government ‘Protect Ontario’ tariff program spent $140 million so far | Globalnews.ca
On Tuesday, during committee at Queen's Park, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy was grilled by opposition MPPs on how much of that cash has actually been deployed.
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Mike Schreiner @mikeschreiner.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Put another way, Ford wants to spend more on removing bike lanes in Toronto ($48M) than he's spent protecting all of Ontario's businesses from an international trade war. Ontario deserves serious leadership, that follows through on promises, and actually puts people before profits.
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John Michael McGrath @jm-mcgrath.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
oh my
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
“.. We’re the only major country in the world losing visitation,” the head of the US Travel Association said. “It’s mind-boggling.” @semafor.com www.semafor.com/article/09/2...
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 01/10/2026
I recommend people read this to get a sense of the president's grave cognitive impairment. Trump is either unwilling or unable (or maybe both) to answer the questions he's actually asked, so he just rants and raves while the interviewers do their best to provide structure to his random brain firings
time.com
Read TIME’s ‘What Trump Has Built’ Interview Transcript
The U.S. President discussed the war in Iran, press freedom, AI, and more ahead of the midterm elections.
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Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 01/10/2026
Viral reports this week suggested new Google satellite imagery showed unseen destruction in Gaza. But the imagery actually depicts the scene in February 2026. Bellingcat has obtained satellite images from September that show how the destruction has continued. www.bellingcat.com/news/middle-...
bellingcat.com
Viral Google Maps Images Shared Widely This Week Show Gaza Ruins. We Obtained More Recent Satellite Imagery - bellingcat
Earlier this week, several viral social media posts and news articles stated that Google had updated satellite imagery over Gaza. But the images weren't entirely new.
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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 01/10/2026
Sounds great.
According to experts I interviewed, the internet is about to get more frustrating. These agents may cause a cascading chain of problems that shake the foundations of digital infrastructure. Chances are good that you're about to live through an era of online chaos. 
The internet was built for humans with limited time and patience. AIs don't have those restraints. You'll probably have to fight with robots over concert tickets and booking appointments. Small businesses could drown in machine-made pestering. AIs don't look at ads, and websites that rely on them are already crumbling. You'll be buried in endless loops of proving you're human. And if you use these AI tools, some may betray you.
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 01/10/2026
I spent the summer trying to understand what makes Mark Carney's government tick. What I found is a C-Suite obsessed with efficiency — which is trying to ignore what's deeply broken. www.thestar.com/opinion/star...
thestar.com
Justin Ling: Who does Mark Carney really listen to? I asked the insiders
It’s become clear that the prime minister would much rather circumvent problems than fix them.
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Brandon Friedman @brandonfriedman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Pete is lost in terms of modern war. I use the example of this outgunned Ukrainian army officer who successfully terrorized a Russian unit for weeks because she "did the math." At the time, someone commented, "yeah, in combat, 'I did the math' beats 'I can do 100 pushups' every time."
Ukrainian female soldier: Okay, I said the idea is this: There is enough time to empty one full can of 32 grenades and be gone by the time the return mortar fire reaches us. I did the math.
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Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 29/09/2026
Can you work out where a photo was taken — and when? Learn methods for geolocation, satellite imagery analysis and chronolocation techniques with Bellingcat experts. 14–16 October 2026. Find the webinar details here: www.bellingcat.com/workshops/in...
Learn our methods... Uncover the █████.Learn to use shadows and background details to date, time and locate a photograph
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Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
My read on this is Luckey is going to put Newt's brain into one of Musk's robots.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 30/09/2026
for the second straight day, Trump -- face drooping -- is struggling to stay awake during a televised event
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I thought this guy said no fatties and no weirdos.
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Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The White House accord on AI that was signed by all the big tech oligarchs today misspells United States as “Unites States.”
Document signed by Trump, Sundar Pichai
Google
Dario Amodei
Anthropic
Mark Zuckerberg
Meta

Greg Brockman
OpenAl

Elon Musk
XAI

Jensen Huang
nvidia “Unites States”
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 30/09/2026
Trump is standing like no human has ever stood before
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Jennifer Ouellette @jenlucpiquant.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The Oldest Book Printed with Movable Type is Not The Gutenberg Bible: Jikji, a Collection of Korean Buddhist Teachings, Predated It By 78 Years and It’s Now Digitized Online www.openculture.com/2026/09/the-...
openculture.com
The Oldest Book Printed with Movable Type is Not The Gutenberg Bible: Jikji, a Collection of Korean Buddhist Teachings, Predated It By 78 Years and It’s Now Digitized Online
The history of the printed word is full of bibliographic twists and turns, major historical moments, and the significant printing of books now so obscure no one has read them since their publication.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 29/09/2026
Jack Smith: "Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation ... rather than accept his defeat in the 2020 election, he engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results and prevent the lawful transfer of power"
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Andrew Lawrence @ndrew.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
theyre just all so fucking stupid and lazy
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 28/09/2026
Trump on Canada: "They have been one of the worst countries in the entire world"
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Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 28/09/2026
How is AI changing investigations? On Thursday, investigative journalist @craigsilverman.bsky.social will share how he’s using AI, including in his investigation of a North Korean hiring scam. We’ll explore what AI can uncover and where it falls short. Join us live: discordapp.com/events/70975...
Reads: Using AI in Investigations-
To Uncover a North Korean Hiring Scam with Craig Silverman, 
Bellingcat Stage Talk
Thursday 10/1
5pm CEST/11am EDT
Discord.com/invite/bellingcat
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Luke LeBrun @lukelebrun.ca · 28/09/2026
If I’m reading this correctly, Toronto mayoral candidate Brad Bradford’s campaign is asking volunteers to give them full access to their contact lists on their *personal* cell phones? www.nationalobserver.com/2026/09/28/i...
'You don't need to freak out about this'
Introducing Bradford's supporters to the app on the Zoom call, Punia instructed them to give the app permission to access all of their contacts.

"Do not give it partial contact ability, give it full. And what I want to say to you guys here is, you don't need to freak out about this," said Punia. He reassured them that only contacts they marked as known or potential Bradford supporters would be given to the campaign.

One attendee hesitated as she had over 2,400 contacts on her phone. She was instructed to give the app access to all of them and mark them one by one according to their level of support for Bradford.
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Cheryl Rofer @cherylrofer.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The Mafia presidency
nytimes.com
Trump Brought Venezuelan Gold to the U.S., but Refiners Won’t Touch It (Gift Article)
The administration is brokering deals in a notoriously corrupt industry, including one with a company that the United States deems a security threat.
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Aram Shabanian @aramshabanian.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
aight that's fuckin cool
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Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
A Q&A I did recently with Ashoka and Forbes - Why Bellingcat Wants Everyone To Become An Investigator www.forbes.com/sites/ashoka...
forbes.com
Why Bellingcat Wants Everyone To Become An Investigator
The founder of one of the world's best-known open-source investigation outfits on building it from a laptop, why anyone can do this work, and why democracies have misread the problem.
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Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 28/09/2026
What does a resilient information society look like? Last week we ran the 'TRUST conference with the European Trust Alliance. Working with technologists, legal scholars, civil society advocates and journalists we discussed the complex challenges facing European digital autonomy.
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ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 26/09/2026
Trump fucked up the *American* renewable transition but he might have had the largest positive effect on the global transition of any president ever
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Vauhini Vara @vauhinivara.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I wrote a book last year showing how tech companies' values and goals show up in the rhetoric of their products themselves — including through AI chatbots. People questioned that; maybe it seemed too dystopian? Well, I've been collecting other examples in the wild, and here's the latest.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 25/09/2026
going live with @paulwaldman.bsky.social at 2pm eastern to discuss Trump supplicating himself before the world's most powerful communist, the pathetic attempt to rebrand AI as "Super Intelligence," why the trickle of Republicans breaking with Trump is likely to become a flood, and more. Tune in!
open.substack.com
LIVE SOON: Trump loves communism
Starting Sep 25 at 2:00 PM EDT
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The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 25/09/2026
Exclusive: The Trump administration has deported more than 25,000 people to at least 28 countries even though the migrants are not their own citizens, according to data analyzed by The Post. Migrants say they have been subjected to inhumane conditions.
washingtonpost.com
How Trump turned a refugee bureau into a $410 million deportation operation
Inside the secret deals powering the president’s push to deport migrants to countries not their own.
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Toronto Star @thestar.com · 24/09/2026
The Trump administration has been accused of widespread human rights violations stemming from its “militarized immigration enforcement” in a new report by Amnesty International USA.
thestar.com
Trump's immigration enforcement is accused of widespread human rights violations in a new report
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Gillian Brockell @gillianbrockell.com · 24/09/2026
Judges say: No really, stop doing third-country removals immediately. And ICE flights are kinda still landing in third-country removal countries??? prospect.org/2026/09/24/j...
prospect.org
Judges Reject ICE’s Underhanded Attempt to Maintain Third-Country Removals - The American Prospect
An appeals court made clear deportation flights to third countries must stop immediately, but flight data showed ICE may be violating the order.
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Celeste Headlee @celesteheadlee.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
So, Banksy bought a used yacht, repaired it and retrofitted it to serve as a rescue boat to save migrants in the central Mediterranean. The whole project cost the artist $860,000. Since 2020, the boat has saved more than 3,800 people. londondaily.com/banksy-funds...
londondaily.com
Banksy funds refugee rescue boat operating in Mediterranean - London Daily
Exclusive: UK artist finances bright pink motor yacht that set sail in secrecy to avoid being intercepted by authorities
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 24/09/2026
So this story is WAY wilder than I thought The Trump post I flagged this morning because it includes Natalie Harp is actually based on the Getty photo you can see below. But there is one key difference -- MONICA CROWLEY'S FACE HAS BEEN EDITED TO LOOK LIKE NATALIE HARP'S WTF is going on here?
Getty pic of Xi and TrumpTrump TS post featuring the mentioned edit of Monica Crowley's faceoriginal pic image of MonicaTrump TS post which shows Natalie's face where Monica's is on the original. very weird
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Teddy Wilson @reportbywilson.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Everyday, I spend several hours researching the far right and monitoring extremist movements. This work is important, exhausting, and only possible with your support — If you want to support my independent investigative journalism, please considering donating. More ways you support my work below⬇️
https://cash.app/$reportbywilsonhttps://www.paypal.com/paypalme/reportbywilsonhttps://venmo.com/u/reportbywilson
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Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
We just dropped a bombshell investigation into ChatGPT's role in the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting. Incredible reporting from @markfollman.bsky.social that will have far-reaching effects...hopefully: www.motherjones.com/media/2026/0...
motherjones.com
ChatGPT helped the Tumbler Ridge school shooter focus on guns, tactics, and terror, our investigation reveals
OpenAI’s chatbot fed the shooter’s violent fantasies and planning up to the massacre.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 24/09/2026
watch Trump walking here -- he can't walk in a straight line
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Joshua Collins @murosinvisibles.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
ACSN crime group shuts down parts of Colombia’s Caribbean coast Gunmen on motorbikes fired into stores who defied the shutdown order, and burned trucks in the department of Magdalena LATEST for PWS
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Laura Barrón-López @lbarronlopez.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
EXCLUSIVE @ms.now: Trump administration officials have discussed attaching the president’s name to Ford’s Theatre, the playhouse where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865 Officials are circulating a list of government sites that could carry the president’s name www.ms.now/news/trump-f...
ms.now
Trump aides explore attaching president’s name to Ford’s Theatre
The playhouse where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated has been mentioned among federal properties that could carry the president’s name, people familiar with the effort told MS NOW.
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Justin Baragona @justinbaragona.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Welp. According to Semafor, David Ellison has discussed bringing Elon Musk on as an investor in Paramount's merger with Warner Bros., which could mean Musk could have a stake in CBS News and CNN. www.semafor.com/article/09/2...
semafor.com
Exclusive: Paramount weighs tapping Musk for equity investment
A cash injection from SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk could reduce investor Larry Ellison’s financial burden and bolster the deal’s investor base.
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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 26/12/2024
lol
OpenAI and Microsoft have a secret definition for “AGI,” an acronym for artificial general intelligence, or any system that can outperform humans at most tasks. According to leaked documents obtained by The Information, the two companies came to agree in 2023 that AGI will be achieved once OpenAI has developed an AI system that can generate at least $100 billion in profits.

There has long been a debate in the AI community about what AGI really means, or whether computers will ever be good enough to outperform humans at most tasks and wipe out major swaths of the economy.
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Lee Cronin’s Pablo Hidalgo @infinata.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Paul Verhoeven would be all “no, that’s too unbelievable.”
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