TacticalMediaRoom/Signal
Notes from the TacticalMediaRoom Signal group.
we will be sending out weekly email newsletters with the latest news, important projects and events regarding the ongoing war. please feel free to subscribe: http://eepurl.com/h1rkVz
Contents
Network and Internet services
Open internet
Network
An Open Internet Remains the Goal - New from RIPE NCC:
https://labs.ripe.net/author/hans_petter_holen/an-open-internet-remains-the-goal/
What could be done, if there is political will, regarding the "technical sanctions" & blocking of the aggressive regimes/countries/networks:
https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/pdf/draft-giuliano-blocking-considerations-00
This research report shared OONI data analysis on recent blocks that have emerged in Russia(and in the EU) amid the war in Ukraine.
https://ooni.org/post/2022-russia-blocks-amid-ru-ua-conflict/
Article that explains why the RIPE NCC remains fully compliant with the latest sanctions
https://labs.ripe.net/author/athina/eu-sanctions-and-our-russian-membership/ -
About data analysis & visualization relating to censorship. OONI discussion channel:
https://join.slack.com/t/openobservatory/shared_invite/zt-16ndyhjcw-xC~h_CNBKBm0IFZI3zhwNQ
https://pulse.internetsociety.org/blog/internet-perspectives-ukraine-and-russia
Platform governance
group doing analysis on the timeline of platform governance that I've shared here and that Ruben Brave has published online with ISOC. We also have another group doing an analysis on the most popular apps being used in Ukraine during the war. The datasprint will be done on Friday, we can share results after.
Sanctions
A More Robust Approach to Sanctions
https://labs.ripe.net/author/chrisb/a-more-robust-approach-to-sanctions/
Recent events in Ukraine have spotlighted some fundamental questions about Internet governance and the use of state-imposed sanctions. This post frames the discussion in reference to one of the Internet's most enduring maxims.RIPE NCC "position" :
https://www.ripe.net/participate/member-support/the-ripe-ncc-and-ukraine-russia/
"To sanction or not to sanction the Internet access: A SancNet debate"
https://www.giga-net.org/to-sanction-or-not-to-sanction-the-internet-access-a-sancnet-debate/
History of using sanctions against internet in Serbia (& history of war in ex-yugoslavia )
https://wiki.techinc.nl/TacticalMediaRoom#History
Ukraine
Story from Ukrainian ccTLD registry .ua during war : https://ripe84.ripe.net/archives/video/753
The link to keep Ukraine connect task force
https://keepukraineconnected.org
In the rubble of bombarded Ukrainian cities, technicians are risking their lives to keep the country online.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2022/03/22/while-russians-bombs-fall-around-them-ukraines-engineers-battle-to-keep-the-internet-running/?sh=4a20aad35a4c
Saving Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Online We are saving digitised collections from Ukrainian museums, libraries and archives.
https://www.sucho.org/
The international surge to help keep Ukraine's frontlines connected
https://www.cyberscoop.com/ukraine-internet-starlink-security/
Russia
Free University Moscow created this new and for some here probably useful Telegram channel: https://t.me/FreeStudentMedia. (NB in Russian only though, so it seems)
"We Are Not Doing Anything Illegal, Why Be Anonymous?" — Interview with Maxim Kondratiev from Avtozak LIVE by Angela Gurtsieva https://networkcultures.org/blog/2022/05/26/we-are-not-doing-anything-illegal-why-be-anonymous-interview-with-maxim-kondratiev-from-avtozak-live/
About sanctions & ripe ncc : https://ripe84.ripe.net/archives/video/810/
the open letter for the dutch ministers of foreign affairs and justice, asking for : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nJU5JrWcvplXMT1YICiJlCuHTJC_LtTXdUnl8YeoiK0/edit
https://discord.gg/XVYMcSCx Russian Press in Exile channel (Alexander from Moscow Times is also in the group, I understood there is an effort to create a united media coalition by Tvrain, meduza and moscow times)
Oprichter Russisch Telegram-kanaal gevlucht naar Nederland: https://nos.nl/video/2427534-oprichter-russisch-telegram-kanaal-gevlucht-naar-nederland-ik-zou-zeker-worden-opgepakt
Russian political journalist and politician Vladimir Kara-Murza was detained for 'spreading fakes' about actions of Russian army in Ukraine. He faces up to 10 years in jail. He is brave and honest, if you want to write about it I have details( Alina Danilina) , photos and video.
It's also posted there https://t.me/novaya_europe/659https://t.me/novaya_europe/659
https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/04/22/kara-murza-charged-russia-speech/
Russia turns its diplomats into disinformation warriors
https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-diplomats-disinformation-war-ukraine/
Redacteuren DOXA hangt gevangenisstraf boven het hoofd –
https://www.wereldbrand.nl/2022/04/08/redacteuren-doxa-hangt-gevangenisstraf-boven-het-hoofd/
Open Letter of Dmitry Pilikin, Russian Artist, Curator, Art Historian
https://networkcultures.org/blog/2022/04/04/open-letter/
Op zoek naar de feiten in oorlogstijd
https://www.volkskrant.nl/kijkverder/v/2022/op-zoek-naar-de-feiten-in-oorlogstijd~v484352/
Russia Is Building Its Own Intependent Internet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk329evDDqo
Internet
Before a possible internet wall between Russia and the rest of the world is erected, it seems to me a priority to actively invest energy in join, receiving (internet) addresses, proxies, VPNs, satellite options, short golf etc.However, it is necessary that that information is quickly decentralized, through various media.
The open internet in Russia must be protected. Here’s why,
https://webfoundation.org/2022/03/the-open-internet-in-russia-must-be-protected-heres-why/
Russian internet resources and background https://labs.ripe.net/author/alexander-isavnin/the-russian-sovereign-internet-and-number-resources/
How Is Russia Connected To The Wider Internet?
https://labs.ripe.net/author/emileaben/how-is-russia-connected-to-the-wider-internet/
Meduza is a Russian platform
https://save.meduza.io/eu
AmneziaVPN is the only service that has supported this petition. One free service for all Russians, accessible through a telegram bot - because all foreign vpn services are blocked or impossible to pay for from Russia. It as one small win for free internet access without
https://www.change.org/p/we-call-on-vpn-companies-to-provide-russian-users-with-free-access-to-their-services
On March 7, TikTok made all the content posted by non-Russian channels unavailable to Russian users. This unannounced restriction removes an estimated 95% of the content previously available to Russian TikTok users. Content restriction is happening at the application layer rather than the transport layer,which requires the direct involvement of TikTok. It is the first time a global social media platform has restricted access to content at this scale. A network of coordinated accounts is using a loophole to post new content promoting Russian pro-war propaganda in Russia, despite the current ban on new content uploads.
https://tracking.exposed/pdf/tiktok-russia-15march2022.pdf
U.S. Treasury moves to keep Russians connected despite sanctions
https://www.accessnow.org/u-s-treasury-russia-sanctions-internet/
Sanctions
Protests
I have contacts in OVD now, so if there is an interest on working together, I can cross-connect; more info:
https://ovd.news/news/2022/03/02/russian-protests-against-war-ukraine-chronicle-events
Flag from the Russian opposition - - The Russian design community has created a flag for anti-war movement in Russia. It is a white banner with blue horizontal stripe in the middle. We are removing bloody color because future and prosperity of new Russia is in peace'
https://whitebluewhite.info/english
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/03/red-is-dead-russian-anti-war-protesters-fly-a-new-flag-for-peace
Tools
dCommsDecentralized communications that work with or without the Internetdcomm.net.ua. This is a useful tool for regular people for connecting with family & friends, if their internet is flaky :
https://dcomm.net.ua/
Don’t help Putin and Lukashenko silence anti-war voices - Access Now
https://www.accessnow.org/putin-lukashenko/
Learning security courses
https://wiki.techinc.nl/TacticalMediaRoom/Workshops#Learning security courses
Online, self-paced courses offered to journalists
https://totem-project.org/
Internet Security
“Cryptography has failed to address the needs of the disenfranchised.But we can fix that!
bit.ly/3KYomFe
advice about secure communication tools, for non-techies:
https://labs.ripe.net
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/03/telegram-harm-reduction-users-russia-and-ukraine
https://cip.gov.ua/en/news/viktor-zhora-potencial-rosiiskikh-khakeriv-imovirno-pereocinenii
https://www.ft.com/content/1fb2f592-4806-42fd-a6d5-735578651471
Anonymous hacktivists warned that the next #OpRussia target will be corporations that refuse to pull their business from Russia as one group of hackers decided to try to use their data haul from a Russian company to financially help the people of Ukraine.
https://www.hstoday.us/featured/anonymous-hackers-fire-warning-shot-at-companies-refusing-to-pull-out-of-russia/
Journalism and Media
Crisis reporting
Institute of Mass Information in Kyiv
https://fixersandjournalists.humanities.uva.nl/
The Russian press in Exile petition to the EUropean Parliament
File:Independent Russian Journalists Relief.pdf
Desinformation
https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-communications/inside-putins-propaganda-machine
Tactical media room public event - publication https://networkcultures.org/blog/2022/05/03/reflexions-on-navigating-disinformation/
Funding for projects dealing with disinformation deadline 25. April (info in Duthc)
https://www.sidnfonds.nl/grip-op-desinformatie-2
Findings from the warfakes Telegram data sprint research published on INC
https://networkcultures.org/?p=14671&preview=1&_ppp=d58a9e9474
Support
Support for journalists, artists and scientists
RT and Sputnik
B: we launched a complaint, https://www.bit.nl/FOIC-goes-to-court
SK: Blocking RT and Sputnik is not limiting access to information, as these are not independent media but weapons created and lavishly funded by the aggressor. It is blocking agressor state’s weapon on EU territory.
SK:I agree that the post-postmodernist reality has put us in front of a new challenge: while we used to have too little freedom of speech/ access to information and fought to gain more, we have now landed in a situation where we have access to so much information, growing exponentially, that we no longer have the mental capacity or time or resources to discern purposefully false and weaponized statements from true records. What we mostly need is media literacy (stop limiting children’s screen time, let them build up resilience, talk about disinformation) and accessible tools to debunk false information/ disinformation. It’s a huge and difficult dilemma, probably one of the worst of our time, alongside with climate change. What I argue about is that now, with the war going on and hundreds of independent Russian journalists having a hard time getting the ends meet and desperately in need of our support, I find it strange that NGOs spend money and human resource on what is essentially helping the aggressor. I know this was not their goal, but this is unfortunately a perfect example of what Lenin called “useful idiots” (people in the West who assisted the bolsheviks without realizing it).
https://twitter.com/sophiakornienko/status/1526655159203405825 - Got a reply from @EUparliament Human Rights chair @MariaArenaEU saying immediate measures to grant emergency visas to independent journos/ temp shelter in the EU is a priority. I know many independent Russian information workers have trouble accessing EU visas, grants denied! (17 05 2022)
It might be good to add a note somewhere in that list on how the same need is urgent for academics and cultural workers at risk (from Ru & Be, I’d say). No need to expand the initiative, a mere alert/extra sentence would help in flagging this broader need. (Ellen) We are writing an open letter to the ministry of foreign affairs in NL. I already mentioned this here, really need support in placing the letter. We are finishing it on Thursday (Kris)
The PEN Charter ~ PEN Ukraine PEN affirms that: Literature knows no frontiers and must remain common currency among people in spite of political or international upheavals. In all circumstances, and particularly in time of war, works https://pen.org.ua/en/hartiya
GONG is a civil society organization founded in the 1997 to encourage citizens to participate more actively in the political process. GONG works on improvement of human and civil rights. GONG promotes culture of dialogue, openness, transparency and accountability in the public sphere through research, advocacy and education, individually or in collaboration with individuals and organizations who share GONG's values. www.youtube.com live: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkOUw6ldlzqMj8LYB71uZUA
Inzamelplekken Oekraïne / collection points for Ukraine
Vind een inzamelpunt bij u in de buurt en doneer spullen aan Oekraïners in nood. / Find a collection point near you and donate items to Ukrainians in need.
https://www.inzamelplekkenoekraine.nl/
Foods and Goods collection - Adam
untill 25th march
https://verblijfblog.nl/tijdelijke-bescherming-van-oekrainers-in-nederland/
Fundraising and support
Open Society Launches Fund for a Free and Democratic Ukraine
https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/newsroom/open-society-launches-fund-for-a-free-and-democratic-ukraine
Initiative supporting Ukrainian companies
https://dutchcloudcommunity.nl/community/cloud4ukraine/
https://twitter.com/freepressunltd/status/1503734397081735173
https://twitter.com/CFWIJ/status/1503809300589953026
https://www.gofundme.com/f/keep-ukraines-media-going
petition https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rlmF3ug8chNX2cemMj-RmRoZ1b71GbuPvax8Vai45rQ/edit?usp=sharing
https://www.nobelprizeforukraine.org/
News and resources
https://www.ripe.net/participate/member-support/the-ripe-ncc-and-ukraine-russia
Nextcloud folder for the Tactical Media Room. !pwd protected
True about Internet as well as books: “Censorship is absolutely antidemocratic and elitist. The process of learning is that of learning how to choose. Freedom isn’t given, it’s earned. Read, learn, and earn it.” ("Whose Lathe?", 1984) https://www.ursulakleguin.com/dancing-at-the-edge-of-the-world
News on the war
Reimagining the aftermath of war, now https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/wps/2022/05/10/reimagining-the-aftermath-of-war-now/
China’s pro-Russia propaganda exposed by online activists.Mistranslations falsely blame Ukrainians for atrocities perpetrated by Russian forces against civilians https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/10/china-pro-russia-propaganda-exposed-by-online-activists-ukraine?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
"Blood on your hands" and other surprising anti-#Kremlin messages released by #Russian media outlets on #VictoryDay https://twitter.com/jamnewscaucasus/status/1523927947366875138?s=21&t=M0kSQR2uSsVAhohbYAI8IQ
Dispatches from the Place of Imminence, part 9 https://networkcultures.org/blog/2022/05/10/dispatches-from-the-place-of-imminence-part-9/
Vladimir Putin sits atop a crumbling pyramid of power | Vladimir Sorokin https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/27/vladimir-putin-russia-ukraine-power
Stand With Ukraine: A Makeshift Reading List is a compilation of what we believe are relevant articles and interviews that give historic context on the invasion of Ukraine and how we at BAK—and a broader international left opposing this and all wars—can express solidarity and exert political pressure https://www.bakonline.org/prospections/stand-with-ukraine-makeshift-reading-list/
How do wars end? HCSS director of research Tim Sweijs and assistant analyst Mattia Bertolini consider what we can learn from past war terminations: how long they last, how they end and factors that https://hcss.nl/report/how-wars-end-russia-ukraine/
Russian soldiers fighting for Ukraine against the Russian Army driving through the Poltava region. https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1520472404987990018
Novaya Gazeta Europe will cover what is happening in Russia in several languages. It will cover international and Russian news for people who read in Russian and who share European values.
https://novayagazeta.eu/
The Last Days Of Mariupol’s Internet - Engineers who kept Ukraine’s port city online have gone missing or died in the carnage inflicted by Russia’s siege. Hope remains that Ukrainian cities knocked off the internet map will come back online fast—once the shelling ends.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2022/03/31/the-last-days-of-mariupols-internet/?sh=514f41a45962
From a Ukrainian colleague, a recommendation: "Some twitter accounts to follow: @DmytroKuleba (Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, I saw this account being prised for efficient communication, could be interesting from professional point of view as well), @Kyivindependent, @ukraine_world (news in English), @andersostlund (a Swedish journalist reporting from Kyiv), @nolanwpeterson (war reporter based in Ukraine since 2014).
A Wikipedia author has been arrested in Belarus. Wikipedia advises all editors in Belarus and Russia to hide their personal data, and to write/complete articles about war only from secret accounts. Question: If they write under a pseudonym, is their IP address untraceable, or are they masked by Wikipedia?
MFFR komt met statement uit om Russische en Belarussische jourhttps://verblijfblog.nl/tijdelijke-bescherming-van-oekrainers-in-nederland/
more info: https://ovd.news/news/2022/03/02/russian-protests-against-war-ukraine-chronicle-events
File:FPU leaflet ONE MONTH OF INVASION.pdf
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/03/28/the-russians-fleeing-putins-wartime-crackdown
Platform Geopolitics in 2022: Russian Invasion of Ukraine – an incomplete overview
https://isoc.nl/nieuws/platform-geopolitics-in-2022-russian-invasion-of-ukraine-an-incomplete-overview/
Information wars
‘Troll factory’ spreading Russian pro-war lies online, says UK https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/01/troll-factory-spreading-russian-pro-war-lies-online-says-uk?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
Russia targeting BRICS, Africa, Asia. Not the West really at all.
https://twitter.com/carljackmiller/status/1504896238826700800?s=21
OSint - open source intelligence
https://restofworld.org/2022/osint-viral-ukraine/
Events
Dear everyone, I’m currently in the midst of arranging TMR workshops. There are two workshops possible in the near future. The first one is offered by Karla Wagner from Hight tech tea, an organization that works to connect and inspire women in tech. The workshop revolves around Role Model Methodology in Diversity & Inclusion with mindfulness of bias, with practical exercises in how to channel our role models. The second one revolves around Video subtitling with free open source tools and is specifically geared towards journalists (professional or not) who work a) independently or in self-organized grassroots collectives, b) on controversial issues, and c) with desperately tight time constraints. People interested in captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing may also benefit from this course, but the discussions and exercises will be limited to interlingual subtitling. I would like to get a sense of the urgency and demand for these two workshops. And am very interested to know how many of you would be interested in partaking in either of the two workshops. Please send me a personal message on Signal before Friday if you or your organization would like to partake in a workshop in the near future.
Coming
here’s info about workshops I’ve added to the wiki
https://wiki.techinc.nl/TacticalMediaRoom/Workshops
https://www.human.nl/2doc-kort/kijk/overzicht/2022/aflevering-75.html Niet mijn Moskou - 2Doc Kort -31 mei 2022, 23:05 uur - NPO 2 (you stillcan see it on the npo website)
Past
https://twitter.com/mariannedh/status/1531283952660455425?s=12&t=RAEbiBDCE13hJvvotsq04Q RightsCon : “On June 8, at 12:30 pm (GMT -4) we'll have an amazing panel on "Internet splintering due to server-side blocking and embargo sanctions" with the incomparable @RoyaEnsafi, @DougMadory, @hellais, and @nielstenoever.”
Dattalion – Ukraine's Data Battalion. may 30 - at 14:30 (EEST),first media briefing of Dattalion at Ukraine Media Center. The link to the event is available here https://youtu.be/d6HHk7u98Bc https://twitter.com/mykolska/status/1531188142958592000-
the conspiratorial memory group (a research group on east European conspiracy theory based at Uva, ASCA) is having a workshop in early June that will mainiy focus on the Ukrainain war.https://www.conspiratorialmemory.com/events/conspiratorial-memory-workshop
screening of video art works, curated by Serge Klymko from the Kyiv Biennial, is taking place on 2 June at 20.00 at Waag.
https://waag.org/nl/event/tactical-media-meetup-2-oekraiense-videokunst-tijden-van-oorlog
RIPE 84 – Berlin, Germany | 16-20 May 2022
A RIPE Meeting is a five-day event where Internet Service Providers (ISPs), network operators and other interested parties from all over the world gather.
https://ripe84.ripe.net/archives/video/739/
^^^ Global NOG Alliance: Taskforce to Keep Ukraine Connected
Resilience of the internet in Ukraine: Emile Aben https://ripe84.ripe.net/archives/video/738/
Solidarity Screening for Thursday June 2nd at Waag
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd8DLAjgRpi/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
https://waag.org/en/event/tactical-media-meetup-2-ukrainian-video-art-times-war
Presentations of interest to TMR, at RIPE84
- Monday, 16 May 14:00 - 15:30 (UTC+2) https://ripe84.ripe.net/programme/meeting-plan/plenary/
- Resiliency of the Internet in Ukraine - Emile Aben, RIPE NCC
- Global NOG Alliance: Taskforce to Keep Ukraine Connected - Rene Fichtmueller, Global NOG Alliance
- https://ripe84.ripe.net/attend/how-to-participate/
1st Cross-cutting TDW: AI: Mitigating Bias & Disinformation:Theme Development Workshop18 May 2022 | 9:00- 17:30 CEST Identify common goals between academia and industry as well as other relevant
https://www.vision4ai.eu/ai-mitigating-bias-disinformation/
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ukraine-russia-nato-anti-imperialism-today-tickets-288712375487
(free, on zoom, 5th May, 6PM CEST; ask me for the zoom link if you don't want to register...) https://nvctraining.com/live-nvc-courses/video-conference/russia-ukraine-war-2022
The History of the Yugoslavian Internet Live at SEE 10
https://labs.ripe.net/author/becha/the-history-of-the-yugoslavian-internet-live-at-see-10/
12 April 20.00 Witnessing U: testimonials from the frontline 3 Ukrainian theatre makers Bogdana Orleanova, Iana Gudzenko, Alesia Andrushevska present @ Toneelmakerij, Laurier gracht 99c, Amsterdam
HTTPS://toneelmakerij.nl/en/voorstellingen/witnessing-u/
Friday 22 april - 2-5 pm Public seminar: from imperialism to fascism. The phatasmatic structure of war - SAndberg institute Amsterdam
Wendsday 6 apr 2022 20.00 – 21.30, LOCATIE SPUI25 : "De Russische invasie in media" - is recorded and streams on the page
https://spui25.nl/programma/de-russische-invasie-in-media
Datasprint -Buzzhouse space, located at the University of Amsterdam, BG5 (Oudezijds Achterburgwal 233-237) (enter through the Prisma cafe, then on the first floor). Only the keynote presentation will take place in OMHP D1.08.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QmKlgTS-9ZQqIpXieU1OVduIXMinpQaKTn243XYE_iU/edit# Here is the info on the datasprint.
dataprint
datasprint
datasprint
Ripe -As there is a lot of discussion and concern around sanctions related to the war in Ukraine and the effects on the net and the community, weare doing a cooperation working group (virtual) session coming Tuesday,22 March. The session will run from 13:00-14:30 UTC (14:00-15:30 CEST). To participate, you can register at
https://www.ripe.net/s/register-coop-wg-20220322
31-03 at 11PM, online event:
https://www.umass.edu/russian-eurasian-polish-studies/event/public-interest-technology-symposium-ukraine-and-russia-online-war
30 mrt 2022 event:
https://framerframed.nl/projecten/the-hmm-on-a-lighter-internet/
