La Verdadera Izquierda: the sale of accounts on the black market

Back in May, we released an investigation on how an anonymous Spanish alternative blog called La Verdadera Izquierda, which spreads disinformation and polarizing content, had been using the Amazon Associates program to fund its activities. During this investigation, we identified social media accounts clearly connected to the network that had acted suspiciously. Based on our findings, an investigation from El Diario revealed that these accounts had in fact been resold for a profit on a black market.

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Having your say on EU efforts against disinformation

In case you had plans for the summer, such as a long vacation on the beach, the European Commission plans to keep you busy. A couple of weeks after the release of the consultation on the Digital Services Act, the European Commission has now opened the consultation on the European Democracy Action Plan roadmap. Both consultations are open to the public. These are key European regulatory files for the fight against disinformation, so we really encourage you to submit your contributions.

In the news

  • The names of the MEPs who will sit on the European Parliament’s new foreign interference and disinformation special committee were announced last Friday. Information on the committee’s competences can be found here
  • Facebook released the results of its independent civil rights audit last week. On the topic of content moderation, the audit was specifically critical of Facebook’s hands-off approach towards the US president’s posts as well as its stance on free speech. A concise write up of the audit can be found here.

Good reads

  • Peter Pomerantsev reflects on what it means to be a democratic citizen online in a new piece, affirming that it should mean understanding who targets content at you and how (and using which data), as well as having public oversight of algorithms to understand how the information environment is shaped around us. 
  • Cultural factors are behind disinformation pandemic: why this matters – In order to combat dis– and misinformation with appropriate policy, this piece argues we must move towards viewing mis/disinformation practices worldwide as culturally and context-specific, each requiring tailored solutions.

Studies

Events and Announcements

Jobs

  • We’re hiring a Communications and Advocacy Coordinator and a Communications and Advocacy Intern. If interested, please submit your application by Friday 17 July. More information can be found via this link.