Layla Mashkoor
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laylam.bsky.social
Layla Mashkoor
@laylam.bsky.social
4.1K followers 450 following 110 posts
Deputy Director of Research, @dfrlab.bsky.social.
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laylam.bsky.social
Layla Mashkoor @laylam.bsky.social · Mar 1
Book is out today! I had the privilege of contributing a chapter to “Age of Doubt: Building Trust in a World of Misinformation.”

Read this to understand how we got to where we are today—and where we go next.

publishing.monash.edu/product/age-...
Age of Doubt - Monash University Publishing
Today, trust seems harder to find than ever before. It's hardly surprising we feel that way. Our politics is polarised, our online world is awash with misinformation, and we’ve lost faith in our bedro...
publishing.monash.edu
Reposted by Layla Mashkoor
nardwuarserviette.bsky.social
I am honoured to announce I’ve been appointed as a member to the Order of Canada. Thank you to everyone for the support! I dedicate this to my late Mom who taught me so much about history, local independent media & research. I know that she would be, like me, screaming with joy! #orderofcanada
December 31, 2025 at 1:24 PM
laylam.bsky.social
It has been a year of challenges and turbulence, but the work continues.

dfrlab.org/2025/12/31/t...
The DFRLab reflects on 2025
The DFRLab's 2025 investigations expose global attempts to undermine democracies, erode public trust, and weaponize emerging technologies.
dfrlab.org
December 31, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Reposted by Layla Mashkoor
washingtonpost.com
Exclusive: Internal documents reveal Meta pursued a yearslong strategy to bring more teens to Instagram even after critics said it wasn’t safe.
Leaked documents show Instagram’s plan to win back teens
Instagram has pursued a yearslong strategy to win teens back to the app after its critics said the platform wasn’t safe for them, documents obtained by The Post show.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 27, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Reposted by Layla Mashkoor
katestarbird.bsky.social
Good article, but I think we could add that many of the current government officials & influencers spreading political point-scoring falsehoods during crisis events HAVE BECOME gov officials & influencers BECAUSE of their bullshit-spreading talents. System effects of rotten attention dynamics.
Government Officials Once Stopped False Accusations After Violence. Now, Some Join In.
www.nytimes.com
December 27, 2025 at 12:46 AM
Reposted by Layla Mashkoor
yasharali.bsky.social
NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani on Mustapha Kharbouch, the Palestinian student who was falsely accused last week of being the Brown University shooter by various racists and conspiracy theorists.
X.com Last week, online conspiracy theorists wrongfully blamed Mustapha Kharbouch, a young Palestinian student at Brown University, for the horrific shooting in early December because of a photo of him wearing a Keffiyeh. In the days since, Kharbouch has faced death threats and unimaginable Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism. Today, I had the privilege of speaking with Mustapha. I learned about his life as a bright-eyed scholar interested in international relations and Anthropology. He shared stories about his summer living in Sunnyside while he pursued an internship. He is considering a PhD and thinks about moving back to New York City one day if he can afford it. And I learned about his Palestinian heritage, the very heritage he was doxxed for. I told Mustapha that we would love to have him back in New York City, where — as Mayor — I will make it my job to cherish, protect, and celebrate all New Yorkers and combat Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism at every corner.
December 24, 2025 at 4:42 AM
Reposted by Layla Mashkoor
dfrlab.bsky.social
Join us today @ 8:30 AM ET | 2:30 PM CET for key lessons from Moldova’s 2025 elections w/ DFRLab's @buziashvili.bsky.social @victoriaolari.bsky.social & @laylam.bsky.social

bit.ly/49cY1lG
December 17, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Reposted by Layla Mashkoor
rsf.org
#Belarus: RSF reveals the existence of a previously unknown spyware tool, used since at least 2021 by the KGB against journalists. Installed after the physical confiscation of phones, #ResidentBat constitutes a grave violation of press freedom. RSF calls for a ban on these surveillance technologies.
Exclusive: RSF uncovers new spyware from Belarus
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)’s Digital Security Lab (DSL), working with the Eastern European organisation RESIDENT.NGO, has uncovered a previously unknown spyware tool used by the State Security Co...
rsf.org
December 17, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Reposted by Layla Mashkoor
laylam.bsky.social
I’ll be moderating this discussion on Wednesday on lessons from Moldova’s elections. Anyone who cares about information or election integrity should be closing watching what is unfolding in Moldova.
December 16, 2025 at 5:20 AM
laylam.bsky.social
I’ll be moderating this discussion on Wednesday on lessons from Moldova’s elections. Anyone who cares about information or election integrity should be closing watching what is unfolding in Moldova.
December 16, 2025 at 5:20 AM
laylam.bsky.social
"A.I.s end up collapsing into drivel quite a lot. They somehow manage to be both predictable and nonsensical at the same time."

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/m...
December 12, 2025 at 8:08 AM
laylam.bsky.social
“1 in 10 Canadian Security Intelligence Service investigations now involve at least one extremist under age 18, the agency’s director said on Nov. 13.”

globalnews.ca/news/1154264...
Youth arrested in Ontario for posting ISIS videos, seeking firearms | Globalnews.ca
The arrest comes amid what security officials are calling a worrying trend of youth radicalization.
globalnews.ca
November 27, 2025 at 9:06 PM
laylam.bsky.social
And this is why we need data transparency from platforms.

www.thedailybeast.com/top-maga-inf...
Top MAGA Influencers Accidentally Unmasked as Foreign Actors
A new feature on Elon Musk’s X has given deeper insight into the online “America First” movement.
www.thedailybeast.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:18 AM
Reposted by Layla Mashkoor
lorak.bsky.social
Meta halted internal research that purportedly showed (young) people who stopped using Facebook became less depressed and anxious, according to an unredacted legal filing released on Friday. www.cnbc.com/2025/11/23/m...
Meta halted internal research suggesting social media harm, court filing alleges
Meta is alleged to have halted internal research suggesting social media harm, according to court documents.
www.cnbc.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:31 AM
laylam.bsky.social
New report!

49 African countries now use biometric systems, but weak governance, heavy reliance on foreign vendors, and limited transparency risk exclusion and surveillance.

www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-res...
Biometrics and digital identity in Africa
Biometrics have become deeply embedded in Africa’s political, social, and economic landscape.
www.atlanticcouncil.org
November 19, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Reposted by Layla Mashkoor
nytimes.com
Several journalists resigned this week from three newspapers in Alaska after the publications’ corporate owner made significant edits to an article about Charlie Kirk’s death, after pressure from a Republican state lawmaker who had criticized the coverage.
Journalists at 3 Alaska Newspapers Quit Over Charlie Kirk Story
The publications in Alaska lost significant staffing after the owners made changes to an article that had drawn criticism from a Republican state lawmaker.
nyti.ms
October 3, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Reposted by Layla Mashkoor
reuters.com
Apple removes ICE tracking apps after pressure by Trump administration reut.rs/4mIfztt
Apple removes ICE tracking apps after pressure by Trump administration
Apple said on Thursday that it had removed ICEBlock, the most popular ICE-tracking app, and other similar apps from its App Store after it was contacted by President Donald Trump's administration.
reut.rs
October 3, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Reposted by Layla Mashkoor
joolia.bsky.social
I spoke to parents who are letting their young kids play with generative AI and tried to sort through some of the questions they have about it.

"I don’t know what this is doing to their brains," one dad told me.

Meanwhile, Sam Altman says, "Kids love ChatGPT on voicemode."
‘My son genuinely believed it was real’: Parents are letting little kids play with AI. Are they wrong?
Some believe AI can spark their child’s imagination through personalized stories and generative images. Scientists are wary of its affect on creativity
www.theguardian.com
October 2, 2025 at 1:31 PM
laylam.bsky.social
Update from @freedomflotilla.bsky.social states the Mikeno came within 7nm of Gaza before being intercepted
October 2, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Reposted by Layla Mashkoor
thestar.com
The federal government has updated its travel advisory to the U.S. with a warning that people who have the gender-neutral “X” identifier on their passports may face restrictions when crossing the southern border.
Canada issues warning for U.S.-bound travellers with gender-neutral passports
The advisory notes some countries, including the U.S., don’t recognize the “X” gender identifier, meaning entry is not guaranteed.
www.thestar.com
October 2, 2025 at 2:00 PM
laylam.bsky.social
The Flotilla ship Mikeno has gone dark, its current status is unknown. But it is reportedly the first civilian vessel to successfully enter Gaza’s territorial waters.

www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/...
October 2, 2025 at 12:45 PM
laylam.bsky.social
Yep. LLM poisoning is the next stage of info ops.
noupside.bsky.social Renee DiResta @noupside.bsky.social · Oct 1
Let's be clear a what's happening here: the "censorship" and "bias" narrative is being extended to Wikipedia bc the far right knows that getting bullshit into LLMs is how to shape reality as "answer engines" replace search engines.

Wikipedia is core to that fight so the grievance blitz is here.
October 2, 2025 at 2:50 AM
laylam.bsky.social
A huge communications blackout has hit Afghanistan after Taliban authorities began severing fibre-optic connections in several provinces to prevent “vice”

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
Afghanistan hit by communications blackout after Taliban shuts internet
Telecoms disrupted nationwide after authorities cut fibre optic connections in several provinces to prevent ‘vice’
www.theguardian.com
September 30, 2025 at 2:06 PM
laylam.bsky.social
My takeaway from the Klein-Coates conversation is that Klein repeatedly brushes past the central issue that Coates keeps returning to, which is that "hate is a powerful force." It's a question of when and how to engage with hateful rhetoric.
September 29, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Reposted by Layla Mashkoor
qjurecic.bsky.social
I have been haunted by this statement all day www.kgw.com/article/news...
Local News Trump seems to back off Portland military plan: 'Am I watching things on television that are different from what's happening?'
September 28, 2025 at 11:20 PM
Reposted by Layla Mashkoor
kyivindependent.com
⚡️Pro-EU party leads in Moldova election as votes are counted.

The EU has warned that Moldova is enduring "an unprecedented campaign of disinformation" from Russia ahead of the election.
Pro-EU party leads in Moldova election as votes are counted
The EU has warned that Moldova is enduring "an unprecedented campaign of disinformation" from Russia ahead of the election.
kyivindependent.com
September 28, 2025 at 10:54 PM