If one thing has become clear in the past year or two, it is that even more than in the rest of our lives, on the internet and social media, appearances can be deceiving. From Russian trolling operations that we've heard so much about in the news, to less widely covered (and seemingly less effective) … Continue reading Iraqi security forces latest weapon? Facebook
Author: mirrorwilderness
Jonathan Riley is a multimedia journalist from Oakland, California. He has a bachelor's degree in psychology from California State University East Bay and a master's in journalism from Boston University. He has covered US politics at the local, state and federal level, writing for newspapers in California and Massachusetts, as well as working with the investigative unit at CNN in Washington, DC.
Amazon Web Services last week unveiled a new cloud computing "secret region" to store classified information for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and other members of the American intelligence community. In 2013 it was revealed that the CIA was pursuing a $600 million cloud computing contract with Amazon, in what The Atlantic has described as … Continue reading Amazon’s new ‘secret region’ for the CIA
The recent release of thousands of Central Intelligence Agency files on the John F. Kennedy assassination --which continues this week with another drop of 13,000 documents-- has opened up countless new areas of interest for researchers to study. Critics of federal secrecy who say that the JFK files release will not answer all the lingering … Continue reading 10 astonishing revelations from the JFK files
As controversy continues over investigations into Russian online disinformation programs, the business models of tech companies, and social media companies in particular, have become the target of a growing chorus of criticism. Last week, lawyers for Facebook, Google and Twitter testified on Capitol Hill about Russian purchases of political ads and manipulation of their platforms. … Continue reading Social media business models under fire
While much remains unclear, more details continue to emerge regarding the Oct. 4 incident in Niger that left four U.S. Army Special Forces troops dead. One development related to the ambush near the village of Tongo Tongo stands out, however, as a textbook case of America's often disastrous approach to foreign policy -- the Trump … Continue reading U.S. looks to escalate Niger conflict with drone strikes
It has been nearly three weeks since the horrific Oct. 1 mass shooting in Las Vegas that killed more than 50 people and injured hundreds, yet key questions about the incident remain unanswered. After canceling several interviews and going missing for several days, Jesus Campos, the security guard allegedly shot by alleged lone gunman Stephen … Continue reading Lingering questions surround Las Vegas shooting
A new social media simulation program gives the U.S. military the capability to train its information operators for a wide range of cyber deception and propaganda operations without going on the real internet. The tool, called the Social Media Replication Toolkit System (SMRTS) and developed by the San Diego-based Cubic Corporation, "harvests and remixes real … Continue reading Military using fake internet to train trolls
If anyone still had any lingering doubt that law enforcement and intelligence agencies have been using this year's partisan street battles in places like Berkeley, California, as an opportunity to further develop their crowd control and protest disruption techniques, a newly published document should dispel it. The report, titled "Violent Tactics Showcased at Berkeley Riots … Continue reading Authorities closely studying antifa tactics in Berkeley, document shows
Elon Musk, the billionaire co-founder of PayPal, made headlines in August for joining a group of leading artificial intelligence experts in calling on the United Nations to ban fully autonomous weapons systems, sometimes referred to as killer robots. Yet a recent report on another Musk venture, Tesla, Inc., highlights the somewhat contradictory nature of his … Continue reading Elon Musk should call for a ban on self-driving Teslas
It's been a busy year for American arms sales -- "busier than ever" as one official put it in June. In the first eight months of 2017, by the latest count, the total value of U.S. "arms transfer notifications" has almost doubled compared to the same period last year, reaching $48 billion. The Trump administration's … Continue reading U.S. plans even more aid for state-subsidized arms exporters
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