Giancarlo Fiorella
@giancarlofiorella.bsky.social
Director of Research and Training | Bellingcat
Assistant Professor | Utrecht University
PhD, Criminology & Sociolegal Studies | University of Toronto
www.giancarlofiorella.com
Opinions my own
Assistant Professor | Utrecht University
PhD, Criminology & Sociolegal Studies | University of Toronto
www.giancarlofiorella.com
Opinions my own
Pinned
gianfiorel - Twitch
Hi! I live in Toronto and I stream to raise funds for SickKids via ExtraLife! Here is my ExtraLife page: https://www.extra-life.org/participant/548667
www.twitch.tv
It's Tuesday and it's almost 7:00 PM here in Toronto, and that means that I'm about to start my charity fundraiser stream for SickKids Hospital via @extralife4kids.bsky.social!
Come hang out in the chat and consider donating for a great cause!
www.twitch.tv/gianfiorel
Come hang out in the chat and consider donating for a great cause!
www.twitch.tv/gianfiorel
Reposted by Giancarlo Fiorella
The Guardian has a rough outline of what the Tulsi whistleblower complaint is about: NSA found someone close to Trump in contact with foreign intelligence, and rather than doing something about that, Tulsi brought the report to Susie Wiles.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
NSA detected phone call between foreign intelligence and a person close to Trump
Whistleblower says that Tulsi Gabbard blocked agency from sharing report and delivered it to White House chief of staff
www.theguardian.com
February 7, 2026 at 6:05 PM
The Guardian has a rough outline of what the Tulsi whistleblower complaint is about: NSA found someone close to Trump in contact with foreign intelligence, and rather than doing something about that, Tulsi brought the report to Susie Wiles.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Reposted by Giancarlo Fiorella
Grok users prompted the AI chatbot to identify victims from redacted Epstein Files images. Of 31 requests reviewed, Grok generated images for 27, spanning 18 images and one video. X did not respond to requests for comment on Grok's behaviour by time of publication. www.youtube.com/shorts/dhD8O...
Grok Users Are Attempting To Identify Epstein Victims
YouTube video by Bellingcat
www.youtube.com
February 7, 2026 at 3:54 PM
Grok users prompted the AI chatbot to identify victims from redacted Epstein Files images. Of 31 requests reviewed, Grok generated images for 27, spanning 18 images and one video. X did not respond to requests for comment on Grok's behaviour by time of publication. www.youtube.com/shorts/dhD8O...
Reposted by Giancarlo Fiorella
There is NO CURE for #autism still scammers sell UNPROVEN treatments to desperate parents. Dr. Melanie Penner, Sr. Clinician at Holland Bloorview Hospital, says she hears about wild treatments every day!
Learn about the latest scams in our collab with the IJF this Sunday at 8 PM @tvo #ASD
Learn about the latest scams in our collab with the IJF this Sunday at 8 PM @tvo #ASD
February 4, 2026 at 4:32 PM
Reposted by Giancarlo Fiorella
MK-84 2,000-pound bomb with a JDAM kit hitting a building in Gaza after an IDF notice.
Bellingcat recently asked the IDF about the lack of evacuation distances in public evacuation notices in Gaza, which are included in notices in Lebanon, so interesting to see a 100m distance in the notice here.
Bellingcat recently asked the IDF about the lack of evacuation distances in public evacuation notices in Gaza, which are included in notices in Lebanon, so interesting to see a 100m distance in the notice here.
February 6, 2026 at 6:05 PM
MK-84 2,000-pound bomb with a JDAM kit hitting a building in Gaza after an IDF notice.
Bellingcat recently asked the IDF about the lack of evacuation distances in public evacuation notices in Gaza, which are included in notices in Lebanon, so interesting to see a 100m distance in the notice here.
Bellingcat recently asked the IDF about the lack of evacuation distances in public evacuation notices in Gaza, which are included in notices in Lebanon, so interesting to see a 100m distance in the notice here.
Reposted by Giancarlo Fiorella
1. It was not an accident.
2. It was not a staffer.
3. While the president may have dementia his racism is not due to dementia.
4. He isn’t sorry. He means every racist thought he shares.
5. His base agrees with him.
6. He will do it again.
7. No one in power will hold him accountable.
2. It was not a staffer.
3. While the president may have dementia his racism is not due to dementia.
4. He isn’t sorry. He means every racist thought he shares.
5. His base agrees with him.
6. He will do it again.
7. No one in power will hold him accountable.
February 6, 2026 at 5:42 PM
1. It was not an accident.
2. It was not a staffer.
3. While the president may have dementia his racism is not due to dementia.
4. He isn’t sorry. He means every racist thought he shares.
5. His base agrees with him.
6. He will do it again.
7. No one in power will hold him accountable.
2. It was not a staffer.
3. While the president may have dementia his racism is not due to dementia.
4. He isn’t sorry. He means every racist thought he shares.
5. His base agrees with him.
6. He will do it again.
7. No one in power will hold him accountable.
Reposted by Giancarlo Fiorella
Bang on the money:
“Let it haunt Trump and his racist followers that future Americans will embrace the Obamas as beloved figures while studying him as a stain on our history.”
Trump is determined to be remembered as a 'great man'.
His curse is that he won't be.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/live...
“Let it haunt Trump and his racist followers that future Americans will embrace the Obamas as beloved figures while studying him as a stain on our history.”
Trump is determined to be remembered as a 'great man'.
His curse is that he won't be.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/live...
‘A stain on our history’: outrage after Trump shares racist video about Obamas as White House attempts to brush off the post – live
Former Obama adviser Ben Rhodes slams Trump for posting racist video on Truth Social; Karoline Leavitt says criticism is ‘fake outrage’
www.theguardian.com
February 6, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Bang on the money:
“Let it haunt Trump and his racist followers that future Americans will embrace the Obamas as beloved figures while studying him as a stain on our history.”
Trump is determined to be remembered as a 'great man'.
His curse is that he won't be.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/live...
“Let it haunt Trump and his racist followers that future Americans will embrace the Obamas as beloved figures while studying him as a stain on our history.”
Trump is determined to be remembered as a 'great man'.
His curse is that he won't be.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/live...
Reposted by Giancarlo Fiorella
President Donald Trump shared a racist image showing former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama portrayed as apes. The White House immediately defended Trump’s post: “Please stop the fake outrage,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said… www.cnbc.com/2026/02/06/t...
Trump posts racist image of Obamas, White House defends it and slams 'fake outrage'
The depiction of the Obamas, posted from Trump's Truth Social account, was included in a video pushing a conspiracy theory about 2020 election voting machines.
www.cnbc.com
February 6, 2026 at 2:36 PM
President Donald Trump shared a racist image showing former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama portrayed as apes. The White House immediately defended Trump’s post: “Please stop the fake outrage,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said… www.cnbc.com/2026/02/06/t...
Reposted by Giancarlo Fiorella
WARNOCK: Trump said 'we're going to have a manufacturing boom.' Yes or no, have we had one?
BESSENT: There's the beginnings of a manufacturing boom. We have intentions -- factory groundbreakings
WARNOCK: Do you know how many manufacturing jobs have been lost since 'liberation day'? 72,000
BESSENT: There's the beginnings of a manufacturing boom. We have intentions -- factory groundbreakings
WARNOCK: Do you know how many manufacturing jobs have been lost since 'liberation day'? 72,000
February 5, 2026 at 4:33 PM
WARNOCK: Trump said 'we're going to have a manufacturing boom.' Yes or no, have we had one?
BESSENT: There's the beginnings of a manufacturing boom. We have intentions -- factory groundbreakings
WARNOCK: Do you know how many manufacturing jobs have been lost since 'liberation day'? 72,000
BESSENT: There's the beginnings of a manufacturing boom. We have intentions -- factory groundbreakings
WARNOCK: Do you know how many manufacturing jobs have been lost since 'liberation day'? 72,000
Reposted by Giancarlo Fiorella
This is very similar to the AI videos my dad sends me thinking it's real.
There's a huge market for AI women giving testimonies that appeal to men/what they want hear, even further reducing the chance they will question if it's even real.
There's a huge market for AI women giving testimonies that appeal to men/what they want hear, even further reducing the chance they will question if it's even real.
Over on X, the Everything App, serious conservative thinker Dinesh D'Souza shared a video of an AI-generated woman on a fake podcast he seemingly thought was real, telling the audience that young women should get with older men. Dude, wtf?
February 6, 2026 at 1:48 AM
This is very similar to the AI videos my dad sends me thinking it's real.
There's a huge market for AI women giving testimonies that appeal to men/what they want hear, even further reducing the chance they will question if it's even real.
There's a huge market for AI women giving testimonies that appeal to men/what they want hear, even further reducing the chance they will question if it's even real.
Reposted by Giancarlo Fiorella
Jeff Bezos’s wealth has increased an average of $70 million every day of 2026, meaning that he could have offset The Post’s losses with what he’s made since Monday.
February 5, 2026 at 2:48 AM
Jeff Bezos’s wealth has increased an average of $70 million every day of 2026, meaning that he could have offset The Post’s losses with what he’s made since Monday.
Reposted by Giancarlo Fiorella
I think it should probably be a bigger story that the president of the United States is a raving lunatic
Trump at the National Prayer Breakfast: "We hit 'em. And we want to hit 'em right, sir, and we want to hit them from the top! East, west, north, south. Sir, they won't know what the hell! And we'll knock them out. We did it politically correct. Five years."
February 5, 2026 at 2:29 PM
I think it should probably be a bigger story that the president of the United States is a raving lunatic
Reposted by Giancarlo Fiorella
the man in this video is Rep. Jonathan Jackson of Illinois
wow -- with Trump standing behind him, a man (not sure who he is) offers this prayer: "We pray that he would be mindful of the poor and that he would be invested in the alleviation of suffering happening in the families preparing to bury their loved ones in Minneapolis."
February 5, 2026 at 4:22 PM
the man in this video is Rep. Jonathan Jackson of Illinois
Reposted by Giancarlo Fiorella
lmfao yeah for sure man
*BESSENT: PART OF CANADA TOURIST DROP MAY BE THEIR POOR ECONOMY
*BESSENT: PART OF CANADA TOURIST DROP MAY BE THEIR POOR ECONOMY
February 5, 2026 at 3:59 PM
lmfao yeah for sure man
*BESSENT: PART OF CANADA TOURIST DROP MAY BE THEIR POOR ECONOMY
*BESSENT: PART OF CANADA TOURIST DROP MAY BE THEIR POOR ECONOMY
Reposted by Giancarlo Fiorella
Who could this be? Hmm…
February 5, 2026 at 5:16 AM
Who could this be? Hmm…
Reposted by Giancarlo Fiorella
Bellingcat's Director of Research and Training @giancarlofiorella.bsky.social appeared on CTV yesterday to discuss the misleading AI-generated images that were used to falsely identify ICE agents and weapons at the centre of the two fatal shootings in Minneapolis youtu.be/mL7Fbp3UrSo?...
AI images spreading confusion about ICE agents in Minneapolis, expert says
YouTube video by CTV News
youtu.be
February 5, 2026 at 9:36 AM
Bellingcat's Director of Research and Training @giancarlofiorella.bsky.social appeared on CTV yesterday to discuss the misleading AI-generated images that were used to falsely identify ICE agents and weapons at the centre of the two fatal shootings in Minneapolis youtu.be/mL7Fbp3UrSo?...
Reposted by Giancarlo Fiorella
If ICE was coming for them, they would ban the masks. Says all you need to know.
February 5, 2026 at 2:26 AM
If ICE was coming for them, they would ban the masks. Says all you need to know.
Reposted by Giancarlo Fiorella
NEW: since last year, a pair of "highly trained" feds have been involved in an array of incidents attacking crowds with chemical weapons.
We used public records and open source analysis to identify Edgar Vazquez and Michael Sveum, alongside some other members of their tactical team.
Read more:
We used public records and open source analysis to identify Edgar Vazquez and Michael Sveum, alongside some other members of their tactical team.
Read more:
Identified: the El Paso BORTAC crew rampaging through the Midwest
One violent duo in particular, U.S. Border Patrol agents Michael Sveum (EZ-2) and Edgar Vazquez (EZ-17), have been frequently seen alongside former commander-at-large Greg Bovino terrorizing crowds wi...
unraveledpress.com
February 4, 2026 at 9:24 PM
NEW: since last year, a pair of "highly trained" feds have been involved in an array of incidents attacking crowds with chemical weapons.
We used public records and open source analysis to identify Edgar Vazquez and Michael Sveum, alongside some other members of their tactical team.
Read more:
We used public records and open source analysis to identify Edgar Vazquez and Michael Sveum, alongside some other members of their tactical team.
Read more:
Reposted by Giancarlo Fiorella
American-made munitions have played a significant role in Israel’s operations in Gaza. Bellingcat has collated scores of incidents where the remnants of US-made munitions have been found in the aftermath of Israeli strikes. Read here: www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/01...
Made in the USA: How American-Built Weapons Have Wrought Destruction in Gaza - bellingcat
Bellingcat has identified scores of incidents where remnants from munitions made in the US have been found after Israeli strikes in Gaza.
www.bellingcat.com
February 4, 2026 at 4:53 PM
American-made munitions have played a significant role in Israel’s operations in Gaza. Bellingcat has collated scores of incidents where the remnants of US-made munitions have been found in the aftermath of Israeli strikes. Read here: www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/01...
Reposted by Giancarlo Fiorella
We gotta come up with a better system than “everything rests on whether these twelve billionnaires are nice”
February 4, 2026 at 7:41 PM
We gotta come up with a better system than “everything rests on whether these twelve billionnaires are nice”
Reposted by Giancarlo Fiorella
My story on Elon Musk cutting safeguards at xAI is on the front page of today's @washingtonpost.com. I’m also among 100’s of reporters laid off. I absolutely loved my job my brilliant coworkers & the thrill of reporting @ the center of forces upending the world: AI & Silicon Valley’s political power
February 4, 2026 at 7:40 PM
My story on Elon Musk cutting safeguards at xAI is on the front page of today's @washingtonpost.com. I’m also among 100’s of reporters laid off. I absolutely loved my job my brilliant coworkers & the thrill of reporting @ the center of forces upending the world: AI & Silicon Valley’s political power
Reposted by Giancarlo Fiorella
Between Jeff Bezos' evisceration of The Washington Post, Bill Gates' appearance in the Epstein Files, and, you know, every single thing Elon Musk has done, at least we'll see the end of the Myth of the Benevolent Billionaires.
February 4, 2026 at 8:36 PM
Between Jeff Bezos' evisceration of The Washington Post, Bill Gates' appearance in the Epstein Files, and, you know, every single thing Elon Musk has done, at least we'll see the end of the Myth of the Benevolent Billionaires.
Reposted by Giancarlo Fiorella
There is an entire cohort of people who are like "we will work insane hours in the worst conditions imaginable for basically zero money" and the billionaires who own everything are like "nah, let's buy more RAM"
February 4, 2026 at 5:53 PM
There is an entire cohort of people who are like "we will work insane hours in the worst conditions imaginable for basically zero money" and the billionaires who own everything are like "nah, let's buy more RAM"
Reposted by Giancarlo Fiorella
Jeff Bezos' personal wealth is around $260 billion. He could fund the Washington Post in perpetuity without breaking a sweat. He might have to give up one yacht. On the flip side, it's a great opportunity for a news startup in the DMV (not an Axios/Politico-style one).
Washington Post Begins Sweeping Layoffs
www.nytimes.com
February 4, 2026 at 3:03 PM
Jeff Bezos' personal wealth is around $260 billion. He could fund the Washington Post in perpetuity without breaking a sweat. He might have to give up one yacht. On the flip side, it's a great opportunity for a news startup in the DMV (not an Axios/Politico-style one).
Reposted by Giancarlo Fiorella
with the Washington Post firings I'll redirect you again to the piece I wrote last year for Dame Magazine:
America’s Right-Wing Propaganda Problem Might Be Terminal - Dame Magazine
America’s descent into mass delusion isn’t happenstance. The demise of courageous journalism isn’t a happy accident. Its replacement with engagement-chasing infotainment and propaganda isn’t an error....
www.damemagazine.com
February 4, 2026 at 2:47 PM
with the Washington Post firings I'll redirect you again to the piece I wrote last year for Dame Magazine: