1/ I've come across a lot analyses that promote the idea that the US has “failed” to protect the Gulf as a security guarantor, but I think this misunderstands what US protection actually was in the region. Yes it has failed, but not because of raw military might. #WarOnIran
NEW: We've put into context how disinformation fueling anti-Ukrainian fears in Hungary might not be new, but the use of AI to propagate it in the run up to the election, is.
What does its use tell us about Hungarian society and its fractured political system?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The Iran war, or the Ramadan war, as it's known there, takes on a different form on Iranian-state media outlets. We analysed their reporting of the first week of the conflict and picked out the biggest moments of disinformation.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Previously unseen photos showing Jeffrey Epstein's body lying on a stretcher and being attended to by medics in the immediate aftermath of his death have been released as part of a declassified FBI report in the latest batch of the Epstein files.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Starlink’s capabilities in Iran may have just increased after sources tell us that the satellite technology has been made free in the country.
Our piece on the dangers Iranians face using it - including of being accused of espionage and imprisonment - for BBC News.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
UN spokesperson tells me that the internet blackout in Iran undermines human rights.
Some analysis on the internet shutdown in Iran from me yday as I pivot to daily news for a month.
Comments from Mahsa Alimardani and Roya Piraei - both Iranian women living in London who spoke to me about the current wave of protests that has swept over the country.
If you’re looking for BBC Verify material on the suspected gunman responsible for the shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington DC, here’s copy we’ve published on the BBC website from yday and today - with more to come from the team.
Our film Woman, Life, Surveillance for BBC Trending +BBC Verify won report of the year at the Asian Media Awards! We’re honoured. Getting this story over the line was gruelling and extremely dangerous for the Iranian women we spoke to. Thanks to my editor Flora Carmichael for collecting the award.
At BBC Verify we’ve looked at what Israel’s plans to occupy Gaza City could mean for Palestinians.
@benedictgarman.com, Paul Brown, @anxiouspanda9.bsky.social. @jcheetham.bsky.social, @danict89.bsky.social, Kevin Nguyen, @biancabritton.bsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/...
NEW from BBC Verify: we’ve tracked down a smuggler behind a deadly migrant crossing earlier this year.
cc. @shrutimenon.bsky.social , Muhammad Zubair Khan, Flora Carmichael, Dan Isaacs, @biancabritton.bsky.social, Dilay Yalçin + more.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
NEW from BBC Verify: we’ve tracked down a smuggler behind a deadly migrant crossing earlier this year.
cc. @shrutimenon.bsky.social , Muhammad Zubair Khan, Flora Carmichael, Dan Isaacs, @biancabritton.bsky.social, Dilay Yalçin + more.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Grim reality of people smuggling is dying at sea having spent everything on an empty promise, @rehakansara.bsky.social reports www.bbc.com/news/article...
Our film ‘Woman Life Surveillance’, which investigates how Iran - a surveillance state - is crushing dissent, has been nominated for an Amnesty International media award. Please watch the film here: youtu.be/csE00m7qYBs
I am looking for OSINT experts specialising in tracking migration routes for a BBC story. Would love some help/advice.
Why do we and why should we study languages?
A video claiming that USAID has paid Hollywood stars millions of dollars to visit Ukraine has gone viral.
But the clip is not real and has hallmarks of a Russian disinformation operation that BBC Verify has investigated. @shayan86.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
If you're looking for a primer on Proud Boys, Oath Keepers and other far-right activists who were pardoned this week and are among Trump's most fervent supporters, this is the book I wrote which came out just a few months ago.
www.plutobooks.com/978074534971...
I hope you enjoy listening to it!
Listen to my podcast or read the piece on the BBC website. It’s an important reminder that the need for aid doesn’t immediately go away with the end to war. I have no doubt this’ll be the case in Gaza too where a ceasefire was today agreed upon between Israel and Hamas.
2. Someone from the US emailed me asking to be put in touch with Hania so they can replicate the aidbot for people affected by the LA fires. So cool. + what a win for humanity & positive stories, which are rare in the news. I’ll be following their journey to see what comes of it.
🧵 Two nice things happened today, both in relation to my latest story.
1. It was featured in @thetimes over the weekend. Me being slow to pick up on publicity didn’t notice.
There’s an aid gap in 🇱🇧, fuelled by war, a financial crisis & what NGOs describe as a lack of funding. When Israel + Hezbollah went to war in Oct 2023, over 1m were displaced - & left without basic necessities. Hania Zaatari is trying to solve the problem using AI.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
I climbed Kilimanjaro with 4 brown gal pals and spoke about it for the New Years edition of From Our Own Correspondent. You’ll find a lil bit of history, some talk about freedom, colonialism, friendship and even LOTR. From 22:55 onwards. Have a listen!
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
“We really haven't seen anything quite like this since the Nazis," said Rapp, who led prosecutions at the Rwanda and Sierra Leone war crimes tribunals” www.reuters.com/world/middle...
I grew up on a good dose of Zakir Hussain by way of my dad, also a trained classical musician. Lately, fuelled by my love of dance, I re-discovered his music through a different lens that marries spirituality, art & storytelling. Zakir epitomised that.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
@olough.bsky.social Hi Oliver, just checking this is you: odi.org/en/profile/o... If so, would love to speak to you for a BBC story. Thanks
Luigi Mangione reviewed the Unabomber manifesto "violence is necessary to survive":
