Twitter Posts Millions Of "Meddling" Tweets From Russia, Iran "Information Operations"

Twitter has released millions of tweets, images and videos from thousands of accounts they claim are linked to operatives based in Russia and Iran, who have used the platform to spread disinformation. The company says it is releasing the information to encourage independent analysis by journalists, academics and researchers.

The data sets comprise 3,841 accounts affiliated with Russia's Internet Research Agency (IRA) and 770 other accounts "potentially originating in Iran," according to a statement by Twitter.

Today we are releasing all the accounts and related content associated with potential information operations that we have found on our service since 2016. We had previously disclosed these activities, but are now releasing substantially more information about them to enable independent academic research and investigation.

We are making this data available with the goal of encouraging open research and investigation of these behaviors from researchers and academics around the world.

These large datasets comprise 3,841 accounts affiliated with the IRA, originating in Russia, and 770 other accounts, potentially originating in Iran. They include more than 10 million Tweets and more than 2 million images, GIFs, videos, and Periscope broadcasts, including the earliest on-Twitter activity from accounts connected with these campaigns, dating back to 2009. -Twitter

As Bloomberg notes, the announcement comes as EU officials brace for potential meddling "by Russia-backed operatives and their copycats" right before the bloc's spring elections, where far-right parties have made massive gains amid a surge of anti-migrant populism.

In August, Twitter disclosed details of an attempted influence campaign they say originated in Iran, while the company has also flagged content linked to the IRA - sending notices to users who have interacted with the accounts.

Twitter had previously suspended the 770 suspected Iranian accounts for "engaging in coordinated manipulation" and violating user policies.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-10-17/twitter-posts-millions-meddling-tweets-russia-iran-information-operations

Institutional Investors Attempt To Oust Zuckerberg From Facebook, There's Just One Thing…

Four powerful institutional Facebook investors have co-filed a shareholder proposal to remove Mark Zuckerberg as chairman of Facebook following his "mishandling" of several scandals this year.

As Business Insider reports, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs, Rhode Island State Treasurer Seth Magaziner, and Pennsylvania Treasurer Joe Torsella are joining forces to pile the pressure on Zuckerberg, holding over a billion dollars between them.

They have put their names to a proposal, originally filed by activist investor Trillium Asset Management, demanding that Facebook appoint an independent chairman above Zuckerberg

"We need Facebook's insular boardroom to make a serious commitment to addressing real risks - reputational, regulatory, and the risk to our democracy - that impact the company," New York City Comptroller Stringer said in a statement.

"An independent board chair is essential to moving Facebook forward from this mess, and to reestablish trust with Americans and investors alike."

Rhode Island's Magaziner added:

"Without an independent board chair, the board's oversight of the company remains inadequate as evidenced by the recent mishandling of several controversies. Having an independent board chair… is in the best long-term interest of Facebook shareholders."

Trillium's proposal cites a series of scandals as the reason why the change is necessary. Crises mentioned include meddling in the 2016 US election and the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, while last month's data breach, which impacted 30 million users, was also noted by Trillium in an email to Business Insider. You can read Trillium's proposal in full here.

However, their chances lie somewhere between slim and none as a similar plan was put forward last year but it was crushed, despite 51% of independent investors voting in favor of the change.

This is a result of Facebook's dual-class share structure.

Class B shares have 10 times the voting power of class A shares (owned by the public), and it just so happens that Zuckerberg owns more than 75% of class B stock.

As BI concludes, Facebook declined to comment. The firm has previously said that removing Zuckerberg as chairman would cause "uncertainty, confusion, and inefficiency in board and management function."

So, assuming these four institutional asset managers are not idiots, this proposal would appear to be nothing more than a 'virtue signaling' press release against the man who 'enabled' Russia to put Trump in the Oval Office?

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-10-17/institutional-investors-attempt-oust-zuckerberg-facebook-theres-just-one-thing

REPORT: Robert Mueller to Release ‘Core Findings’ in His Trump-Russia Report Immediately After Midterm Elections

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is expected to release his Russia report immediately after the midterm elections according to a new report by Bloomberg.

Mueller is reportedly going to give the “core findings” to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein immediately after the 2018 midterms as he faces pressure to produce indictments or shut down his farce of an investigation.

Bloomberg reported:

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is expected to issue findings on core aspects of his Russia probe soon after the November midterm elections as he faces intensifying pressure to produce more indictments or shut down his investigation, according to two U.S. officials.

Specifically, Mueller is close to rendering judgment on two of the most explosive aspects of his inquiry: whether there were clear incidents of collusion between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, and whether the president took any actions that constitute obstruction of justice, according to one of the officials, who asked not to be identified speaking about the investigation.

That doesn’t necessarily mean Mueller’s findings would be made public if he doesn’t secure unsealed indictments. The regulations governing Mueller’s probe stipulate that he can present his findings only to his boss, who is currently Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. The regulations give a special counsel’s supervisor some discretion in deciding what is relayed to Congress and what is publicly released.

Mueller’s fraud investigation into the Trump-Russia hoax has cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

The entire Trump-Russia narrative was cooked up by Hillary Clinton with her DNC-funded Russia dossier.

Obama’s crooked FBI then took Hillary’s unverified Russia dossier to the FISC and obtained a FISA warrant and three subsequent renewals on Trump campaign advisor Carter Page so she could spy on her opponent.

Mueller has produced nothing except for indictments of Russians which was all for show to justify his multi-million dollar witch hunt–we don’t even know if the Russians he indicted are real people; if they are real people, they will never see the inside of a U.S. court.

Both Papadopoulos and Mike Flynn were charged by the Special Counsel for making false statements to the FBI, not for so-called Russian collusion.

The timing of Mueller’s report is raising eyebrows because President Trump is expected to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions after the midterm elections which then puts DAG Rosenstein’s job in jeopardy.

DAG Rosenstein reportedly planned to wear a wire to oust Trump from office right around the same time he appointed Robert Mueller as Special Counsel to investigate Trump.

Mueller, Rosenstein and the rest of the coup plotters should be investigated and prosecuted.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/10/report-robert-mueller-to-release-core-findings-in-his-trump-russia-report-immediately-after-midterm-elections/

#WalkAway Founder Brandon Straka: ‘A Vote for a Democrat is a Vote for Socialism, Communism, Censorship, Illegal Immigrants’

Conservatives, who have been relentlessly branded as “sexist,” “racist,” “homophobic,” “xenophobic,” “nazis” by the left and the mainstream media, have “warmly embraced” him, Brandon Straka, the gay former progressive who founded the #WalkAway campaign told The Gateway Pundit.

But the left, on the other the hand, he argued, continue to demonstrate intolerance, dishonesty, hypocrisy and bigotry.

“I haven’t experienced [discrimination] at all since I’ve become a conservative, which is a transition that has been about a year and half in the making – I’ve been warmly embraced,” he explained during the Dummycrats movie premiere in Washington DC.

“I hear from Americans all over the country, they send me messages of support and encouragement and they tell me how much they love the Walk Away campaign that I’m doing. I feel like I’ve been very warmly embraced. Which has not been my experience dealing with the left since I’ve had my conversion.”

When asked how he’s been received by his friends on the left, Straka noted, “I don’t think I have any leftist friends.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/10/walkaway-founder-brandon-straka-a-vote-for-a-democrat-is-a-vote-for-socialism-communism-censorship-illegal-immigrants/

Melania Trump's plane forced to turn around after 'mechanical issue' fills cabin with smoke

First Lady Melania Trump’s plane has been forced to return to base after smoke filled the cabin and a burning smell was reported 10 minutes after its departure from Joint Andrews Air Force Base.

According to preliminary reports, the plane had just taken off from the air base when Secret Service agents leaped up and ran to the front of the cabin. Smoke began to fill the plane, and journalists on board reported a burning smell growing stronger.

The entourage held wet towels over their faces until the plane touched down safely at the military base. Mrs. Trump was seen getting off the plane at Andrews, and appeared to be in fine health.

Reporters were told the plane suffered a "minor mechanical issue," that one crew member sid stemmed from a "malfunctioning comms unit," although the White House has yet to confirm the source of the issue.

Melania Trump had been en route to Philadelphia from Andrews, a short flight of less than an hour. The first lady was due at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital to visit infants suffering from opioid exposure in the womb, and talk to their families. She had also planned to speak at a conference on the same issue later in the day.

According to a Health and Human Services spokesperson, Trump will continue her journey once a new plane is ready.

Addressing America’s opioid crisis was one of President Trump’s key campaign promises, and the topic has also been taken on board by the first lady, whose hospital visit forms part of her ‘Be Best’ campaign, which focuses on children’s issues.

https://www.rt.com/usa/441517-melania-trumps-plane-smoke/

>>3503427

LIKE CLOCKWORK ISRAEL EXECUTE FF TO ATTACK

Israeli Air Force Has Carried Out Strikes On Over 20 Targets In Gaza Since Morning

The Israei Air Force claimed in a statement that its aircraft have carried out strikes on over 20 Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip since morning. According to the statement, the center of the strikes is a Hamas underground tunnel, which crossed into the Israei-held area of Khan Yunis.

These strikes came amid the developing escalation between the Palestinian groups and the Israeli military, which may lead to an open Israeli intervention in Gaza.

https://southfront.org/israeli-air-force-has-carried-out-strikes-on-over-20-targets-in-gaza-since-morning/

Israel conducts airstrikes, shuts down checkpoints in retaliation for rocket fire from Gaza

Six people were reported injured overnight in a rocket attack from Gaza and Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes. Israel also shut down border checkpoints and imposed more restrictions on fishing off the Gaza coast in response.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said it conducted airstrikes in Gaza on Wednesday after a rocket attack on the Israeli city of Be’er Sheva. One of the rockets that came from the Palestinian side landed near a house, causing some damage and injuring three people, Israel Radio reported, citing medical officials.

The IDF retaliation targeted eight locations in Gaza. According to Palestinian health officials, three people were injured in Rafah by an Israeli airstrike. The IDF claimed that its airstrikes prevented a new rocket attack on Israeli territory.

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman ordered the closure of two Gaza border checkpoints and enforce a smaller-than-regular three-nautical-mile limit for Palestinian fishing boats in response to the rocket fire.

he latest escalation in tensions comes after months of Palestinian protests on the Gaza border, which prompt the IDF to engage the rioters with deadly force. More than 204 Palestinians have been killed and over 22,000 others injured by Israeli forces since the Great March of Return began on March 30.

On Tuesday, Lieberman noted that Tel Aviv is "not prepared to accept the level of violence" witnessed every week. He also urged the cabinet to authorize a military campaign against Hamas in Gaza to put end to violence.

The last major Israeli intrusion into Gaza began in July 2014, when the IDF launched Operation Protective Edge with the stated aim of halting rocket attacks on Israeli territory. The seven-week long conflict is estimated to have claimed over 2,100 Palestinian lives, with another 10,000 injured in the offensive.

Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip has also caused widespread damage to homes and infrastructure. For its part Israel lost seven of its soldiers and five civilians from Hamas rocket fire. Another 469 IDF soldiers and 261 Israeli civilians were injured.

https://www.rt.com/news/441468-israel-gaza-rockets-retaliation/

BUSTED: Feds Pinch Senior Treasury Official For Leaking Bank Records on Paul Manafort & Trump Associates to Crooked Buzzfeed

Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and Eric M. Thorson, Inspector General for the Department of Treasury, announced today the filing of a criminal complaint charging NATALIE MAYFLOWER SOURS EDWARDS, a/k/a “Natalie Sours,” a/k/a “Natalie May Edwards,” a/k/a “May Edwards,” who is a Senior Advisor at the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), with unlawfully disclosing Suspicious Activity Reports (“SARs”) and conspiracy to do the same. EDWARDS was arrested yesterday and will be presented this afternoon in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards, a senior-level FinCEN employee, betrayed her position of trust by repeatedly disclosing highly sensitive information contained in Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) to an individual not authorized to receive them. SARs, which are filed confidentially by banks and other financial institutions to alert law enforcement to potentially illegal transactions, are not public documents, and it is an independent federal crime to disclose them outside of one’s official duties. We hope today’s charges remind those in positions of trust within government agencies that the unlawful sharing of sensitive documents will not be tolerated and will be met with swift justice by this Office.”

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. said: “In her position, Edwards was entrusted with sensitive government information. As we allege here today, Edwards violated that trust when she made several unauthorized disclosures to the media. Today’s action demonstrates that those who fail to protect the integrity of government information will be rightfully held accountable for their behavior.”

Treasury Department Inspector General Eric Thorson said: “Our criminal investigators have been at the center of this investigation as a core part of our responsibility to detect and prevent threats to the integrity and efficiency of Treasury programs and operations. We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners and with FinCEN and other Treasury officials, and appreciate their cooperation and support.”

https://truepundit.com/busted-feds-pinch-senior-treasury-official-for-leaking-numerous-financials-on-paul-manafort-trump-associates-to-msm/

>>3510331

KEK