All posts tagged: observers

Propaganda war: The Gen Z team behind Iran’s hit anti-Trump videos – The Observers

Propaganda war: The Gen Z team behind Iran’s hit anti-Trump videos – The Observers

Published by Sam Flores

Satirical Lego animations depicting US President Donald Trump as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s puppet while casting Iran as the defender of the oppressed mark the latest propaganda coup for the Iranian regime in its war with the US. The FRANCE 24 Observers team spoke to one of the young Iranians behind the videos. From being portrayed as Benjamin Netanyahu’s puppet to being shown entangled in the Epstein affair, Donald Trump has become the star of a series of satirical Lego animations.  Posted by Iranian officials and embassies, these videos have been a worldwide hit – marking a propaganda coup for the Iranian regime in its war with the United States. The group that first created the videos calls itself Explosive Media. Our team spoke with their spokesman: “We’re a group of friends. Most of us are students – or recently graduated. We’re between 19 and 25. We listen to a wide range of music – rap, pop. We write our own rap lyrics. But when it comes to the final track – the singing voice – that part …

Bedouins in Israel’s Negev desert face bomb shelter shortage – The Observers

Bedouins in Israel’s Negev desert face bomb shelter shortage – The Observers

Published by Sam Flores

As Iranian and Hezbollah air strikes on Israel continue, tens of thousands of Bedouins living in the country’s southern Negev desert have no access to shelters. While some NGOs are attempting to install mobile shelters, they are primarily calling on the government to take action, denouncing “discriminatory planning policies”. Since the war in the Middle East began on February 28, Israelis have started using bomb shelters again, to protect themselves from missiles and rockets fired by Iran, their allies Hezbollah and, more recently, Yemen’s Houthi rebels. When the sirens go off, residents head for nearby public bomb shelters (called “miklats”) or the fortified security rooms inside their own homes (known as “mamads”, which have been mandatory in all new constructions since 1992). Video posted on March 7, 2026, on TikTok showing a bomb shelter inside an apartment building. Source: TikTok / shanainisrael To display this content from TikTok, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. Accept Manage my choices But not all Israelis get the same protection.  A January 2026 report by Nagabiya – the …

‘Typosquatting’: How to spot fake news sites created by AI – The Observers

‘Typosquatting’: How to spot fake news sites created by AI – The Observers

Published by Sam Flores

Courrier France 24, Sud Ouest Direct, 20minutes.com… they sound like real news outlets, but they are not. Learn how to spot sites created by AI. Since 2023, fake media sites, often created by AI, have been appearing online. The sites publish articles aimed at misleading users or getting views for ad revenue. Here are four tips for spotting fake media sites. Tip #1: Check the URL In 2023, an article appeared online that looked like it was published by the French newspaper Le Parisien. Using the same logo and graphic style as the real newspaper, the article reported that wheat from Ukraine, meant for children in Africa, was instead being used as pig feed in Europe. But the URL – “leparisien.ltd” – showed that the article was fake. The newspaper’s real address is “leparisien.fr”. Imitating a site by using a URL that is close to the real one is called “typosquatting”. Tip #2: Check the real news site. See whether the article appears on the real news site. If you search for the pig feed article on …

When AI ‘enhances’ or ‘improves’ an image – The Observers

When AI ‘enhances’ or ‘improves’ an image – The Observers

Published by Sam Flores

Using AI to “enhance” or “upscale” an image can make it look sharper. But it can also be dangerous. Several pieces of misinformation have recently circulated using these kinds of images. In the US city of Minneapolis in January, a woman named Renée Good was shot and killed by an agent from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement force (ICE). Videos filmed at the scene show the agent wearing a facemask. But online users asked Grok, Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, to “unmask” the ICE agent. Grok generated clear, detailed images showing the man’s full face. But there was a problem: Grok had, of course, invented the faces. Grok even gave the man a name that was shared across social media. The result? Men with the same name or looking like the photo were falsely accused of shooting Renée Good. AI tools turn a telephone into a gun Another image from Minneapolis shows Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse who was killed by agents from the US Border Patrol. Federal officials said he was holding a gun. Online …

Our Observers in Tehran: ‘For us to achieve freedom, war is the only option’

Our Observers in Tehran: ‘For us to achieve freedom, war is the only option’

Published by Sam Flores

As US and Israeli missiles rained down on Iran on February 28, Iranians found their access to the internet cut, as it was during the brutal repression of nationwide protests in early January. Internet traffic dropped to one percent of normal activity, and calls from overseas were blocked, even via landlines. The FRANCE 24 Observers team managed to contact two Iranians during the bombardments. They described hearing the first air strikes, then the news of the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and the impact of the strikes on their lives and hopes for the future. The Tehranpars neighborhood in eastern Tehran came under attack on March 3, 2026. To display this content from Telegram, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. Accept Manage my choices   ‘We were happy to hear Khamenei is dead’ Dariush [not his real name] is a man in his 40s who works in the private sector. “When the attacks started I was at work. You might not believe it, but many of my colleagues were almost expecting this …

DHS sued over allegedly intimidating and tracking observers : NPR

DHS sued over allegedly intimidating and tracking observers : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

An observer films ICE agents this month in Minneapolis. A new lawsuit alleges federal agents are unconstitutionally retaliating against people who are lawfully observing and recording federal immigration enforcement operations by gathering their personal information and labeling them as domestic terrorists Stephen Maturen/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Stephen Maturen/Getty Images Last month, Colleen Fagan was observing an immigration enforcement operation at an apartment complex in Portland, Maine, when federal agents scanned her face with a smartphone and appeared to record her car license plate number. In a social media video she recorded, Fagan can be heard asking why the agent was taking her information. What the agent said next made the video go viral. “Cause we have a nice little database,” the masked agent said. “And now you’re considered a domestic terrorist.” Fagan, who is a social worker, has now joined a federal class action lawsuit that argues the Department of Homeland Security and a number of its sub-agencies are violating the First Amendment and are taking actions “designed to chill, suppress, and control …

Tracking the ships delivering sanctioned Russian LNG to China – The Observers

Tracking the ships delivering sanctioned Russian LNG to China – The Observers

Published by Sam Flores

Since late August 2025, China has taken delivery of at least 24 liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments from two sanctioned Russian facilities, Arctic LNG 2 and Portovaya. This underscores increased cooperation between China and Russia as the Kremlin seeks to boost LNG exports in order to fund its war in Ukraine. A cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia’s Portovaya plant was delivered to the Beihai terminal in China on December 8, 2025.  This shipment to China was highly significant: it was the first delivery since the Portovaya plant was placed under US sanctions in January 2025. It’s also a sign of increased cooperation between China and Russia. LNG is natural gas that is cooled to minus 160 centigrade for transportation in liquid form. Russia has large reserves of natural gas and is making a major effort to boost its exports.  These exports are an important source of funding for Russia’s war on Ukraine. That is why the United States has imposed sanctions on certain Russian LNG plants, including Portovaya and the major project …