mahsa alimardani
@mahsaalimardani.bsky.social
Tech and human rights at WITNESS, previously ARTICLE19
DPhil Candidate Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford
Views all my own!
DPhil Candidate Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford
Views all my own!
“This is X in 2025: potentially fake accounts crying at other potentially fake accounts that they aren’t real, all while refusing to acknowledge that they themselves aren’t who they say they are—a Russian nesting doll of bullshit.”
I wrote about the fake account blowup on X this weekend. A genuine post-truth nightmare and proof that these companies have polluted their platforms so thoroughly and traded reality for profit that they've undermined the very idea of what the internet is supposed to be.
That MAGA Account Might Be a Troll From Pakistan
How X blew up its own platform with a new location feature
www.theatlantic.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:08 PM
“This is X in 2025: potentially fake accounts crying at other potentially fake accounts that they aren’t real, all while refusing to acknowledge that they themselves aren’t who they say they are—a Russian nesting doll of bullshit.”
Cool spot line in @nytimes.com on WITNESS’ work helping frontline documenters capture video that is harder to discredit and supporting real-time authentication with journalists and fact-checkers in the age of AI.
Read here: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/m...
Read here: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/m...
Can You Believe the Documentary You’re Watching?
www.nytimes.com
November 22, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Cool spot line in @nytimes.com on WITNESS’ work helping frontline documenters capture video that is harder to discredit and supporting real-time authentication with journalists and fact-checkers in the age of AI.
Read here: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/m...
Read here: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/m...
AI regulation should build trust, not control.
India can lead by adopting rights-based, interoperable AI transparency standards.
Grateful to @internetfreedom.bsky.social whose work on India’s digital-rights landscape helped shape our intervention. www.witness.org/witness-call...
India can lead by adopting rights-based, interoperable AI transparency standards.
Grateful to @internetfreedom.bsky.social whose work on India’s digital-rights landscape helped shape our intervention. www.witness.org/witness-call...
WITNESS calls on India to develop an innovative, interoperable and effective AI Transparency regulations - WITNESS
On November 6, WITNESS submitted comments to the Ministry of Electronic and Information Technology (MeitY) in response to the Draft IT Amendment Rules “in relation to synthetically generated informati...
www.witness.org
November 15, 2025 at 10:07 AM
AI regulation should build trust, not control.
India can lead by adopting rights-based, interoperable AI transparency standards.
Grateful to @internetfreedom.bsky.social whose work on India’s digital-rights landscape helped shape our intervention. www.witness.org/witness-call...
India can lead by adopting rights-based, interoperable AI transparency standards.
Grateful to @internetfreedom.bsky.social whose work on India’s digital-rights landscape helped shape our intervention. www.witness.org/witness-call...
Reposted by mahsa alimardani
WITNESS submitted inputs to two recent EU Commission calls for input (a) Art. 50 of the EU AI Act and (b) the upcoming Digital Omnibus. Our recommendations regarding art. 50 outline how transparency can work in practice while safeguarding rights: lnkd.in/dDmjnaMq
LinkedIn
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
lnkd.in
November 6, 2025 at 11:12 AM
WITNESS submitted inputs to two recent EU Commission calls for input (a) Art. 50 of the EU AI Act and (b) the upcoming Digital Omnibus. Our recommendations regarding art. 50 outline how transparency can work in practice while safeguarding rights: lnkd.in/dDmjnaMq
The new Computer Says Maybe episode with @samgregory.bsky.social and @alixdunn.com dives into AI video, trust and human rights. Happy to see WITNESS’ work featured and made so accessible. www.themaybe.org/podcast/stra...
The Maybe
www.themaybe.org
November 15, 2025 at 10:01 AM
The new Computer Says Maybe episode with @samgregory.bsky.social and @alixdunn.com dives into AI video, trust and human rights. Happy to see WITNESS’ work featured and made so accessible. www.themaybe.org/podcast/stra...
Reposted by mahsa alimardani
This week Open AI walked back a call for the govt to backstop financing for its trillion dollar investments in data centers. This was only the tip of the iceberg; a slow bailout for AI firms is already underway. Read more from @ambakak.bsky.social and I in @wsj.com: www.wsj.com/opinion/you-...
Opinion | You May Already Be Bailing Out the AI Business
Washington is treating the industry as if it’s too big to fail, even as the market sends lukewarm signals.
www.wsj.com
November 12, 2025 at 10:56 PM
This week Open AI walked back a call for the govt to backstop financing for its trillion dollar investments in data centers. This was only the tip of the iceberg; a slow bailout for AI firms is already underway. Read more from @ambakak.bsky.social and I in @wsj.com: www.wsj.com/opinion/you-...
Reposted by mahsa alimardani
🚨 Do not hand your unlocked phone to law enforcement 🚨
Normalising the surrender of unlocked devices — esp at borders — is a dangerous precedent Apple is fore-fronting. Pushing an unlocked phone as standard-issue ID &commercialising #surveillance under the guise of “convenience”
#privacy #digitalID
Normalising the surrender of unlocked devices — esp at borders — is a dangerous precedent Apple is fore-fronting. Pushing an unlocked phone as standard-issue ID &commercialising #surveillance under the guise of “convenience”
#privacy #digitalID
Apple launches a Digital ID and says it’ll be accepted by the TSA
Apple launches a Digital ID and says it’ll be accepted by the TSA
A new way to present your ID.
buff.ly
November 13, 2025 at 1:14 PM
🚨 Do not hand your unlocked phone to law enforcement 🚨
Normalising the surrender of unlocked devices — esp at borders — is a dangerous precedent Apple is fore-fronting. Pushing an unlocked phone as standard-issue ID &commercialising #surveillance under the guise of “convenience”
#privacy #digitalID
Normalising the surrender of unlocked devices — esp at borders — is a dangerous precedent Apple is fore-fronting. Pushing an unlocked phone as standard-issue ID &commercialising #surveillance under the guise of “convenience”
#privacy #digitalID
Reposted by mahsa alimardani
“Every participant who was detained by authorities & had biometrics enabled, said they were violently forced to unlock their phone. […]”
The research is clear: those with biometrics lost the power to resist device searches. Only using passcodes had some ability to refuse, delay, or obscure access.
The research is clear: those with biometrics lost the power to resist device searches. Only using passcodes had some ability to refuse, delay, or obscure access.
"Research shows that features like Face ID and fingerprints enable violent, forced phone access by police and authorities" the-decenter.ghost.io/the-body-as-... by Afsaneh Rigot
The Body as a Password: The Cost of Face ID
Convenience is costing people their freedom. Research shows that features like Face ID and fingerprints enable violent, forced phone access by police and authorities, writes Afsaneh Rigot.
the-decenter.ghost.io
November 7, 2025 at 7:47 AM
“Every participant who was detained by authorities & had biometrics enabled, said they were violently forced to unlock their phone. […]”
The research is clear: those with biometrics lost the power to resist device searches. Only using passcodes had some ability to refuse, delay, or obscure access.
The research is clear: those with biometrics lost the power to resist device searches. Only using passcodes had some ability to refuse, delay, or obscure access.
Reposted by mahsa alimardani
"How we choose to act now will determine whether our shared basis for reality — what we see and hear — remains trustworthy."
Generative video's threat to visual truth and what we can do about it, and why concerted action matters now, in @transformernews.ai
www.transformernews.ai/p/sora-is-he...
Generative video's threat to visual truth and what we can do about it, and why concerted action matters now, in @transformernews.ai
www.transformernews.ai/p/sora-is-he...
Sora Is Here. The window to save visual truth is closing
Opinion: Sam Gregory argues that generative video is undermining the notion of a shared reality, and that we need to act before it’s lost forever
www.transformernews.ai
November 6, 2025 at 2:50 AM
"How we choose to act now will determine whether our shared basis for reality — what we see and hear — remains trustworthy."
Generative video's threat to visual truth and what we can do about it, and why concerted action matters now, in @transformernews.ai
www.transformernews.ai/p/sora-is-he...
Generative video's threat to visual truth and what we can do about it, and why concerted action matters now, in @transformernews.ai
www.transformernews.ai/p/sora-is-he...
Reposted by mahsa alimardani
I had one of those difficult conversations on Venezuela with my dear @ayoub.bsky.social in @thefirethesetimes.com. I deeply appreciated having a welcoming space for such a complicated conversation and being able to keep calling attention to what is going on.
thefirethesetimes.com/2025/06/10/a...
thefirethesetimes.com/2025/06/10/a...
A Liquid Convo About Venezuela w/ Laura Vidal
We got into why Venezuelans flee the Maduro regime, how Venezuela(ns) is often covered, and the broader discourse battles that may or may not include people who still think Maduro is a passionate d…
thefirethesetimes.com
June 13, 2025 at 10:38 AM
I had one of those difficult conversations on Venezuela with my dear @ayoub.bsky.social in @thefirethesetimes.com. I deeply appreciated having a welcoming space for such a complicated conversation and being able to keep calling attention to what is going on.
thefirethesetimes.com/2025/06/10/a...
thefirethesetimes.com/2025/06/10/a...
Reposted by mahsa alimardani
With the announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize to María Corina Machado, we're diving once again into endless debates about her political position - with media calling her "far-right" or "radical right."
October 10, 2025 at 7:04 PM
With the announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize to María Corina Machado, we're diving once again into endless debates about her political position - with media calling her "far-right" or "radical right."
Reposted by mahsa alimardani
📣 Germany's close to reversing its opposition to mass surveillance & private message scanning, & backing the Chat Control bill. This could end private comms-& Signal-in the EU.
Time's short and they're counting on obscurity: please let German politicians know how horrifying their reversal would be.
Time's short and they're counting on obscurity: please let German politicians know how horrifying their reversal would be.
We are alarmed by reports that Germany is on the verge of a catastrophic about-face, reversing its longstanding and principled opposition to the EU’s Chat Control proposal which, if passed, could spell the end of the right to privacy in Europe. signal.org/blog/pdfs/ge...
signal.org
October 6, 2025 at 6:46 AM
📣 Germany's close to reversing its opposition to mass surveillance & private message scanning, & backing the Chat Control bill. This could end private comms-& Signal-in the EU.
Time's short and they're counting on obscurity: please let German politicians know how horrifying their reversal would be.
Time's short and they're counting on obscurity: please let German politicians know how horrifying their reversal would be.
"Several cynics have suggested that Altman’s lament was his first foray into marketing OpenAI’s rumored social media platform." techcrunch.com/2025/09/08/s...
Sam Altman says that bots are making social media feel 'fake' | TechCrunch
After watching Reddit's OpenAI and Anthropic communities, Sam Altman thinks social media cannot be trusted. And bots are to blame.
techcrunch.com
October 6, 2025 at 8:10 AM
"Several cynics have suggested that Altman’s lament was his first foray into marketing OpenAI’s rumored social media platform." techcrunch.com/2025/09/08/s...
1/Citizen Lab’s new report on PRISONBREAK is a must-read. It exposes an AI-enabled influence operation targeting Iran with deceptive media, from the infamous Evin Prison gates video to deepfake music.
October 3, 2025 at 9:03 AM
1/Citizen Lab’s new report on PRISONBREAK is a must-read. It exposes an AI-enabled influence operation targeting Iran with deceptive media, from the infamous Evin Prison gates video to deepfake music.
Reposted by mahsa alimardani
Also, @haaretzcom.bsky.social @themarkup.org has an exclusive companion report here, authored by Gur Megido and Omer Benjakob 👇
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
The Israeli influence operation in Iran pushing to reinstate the shah monarchy
Citizen Lab Found That an Online Network Pushed Out Deepfake Videos During Israel's Airstrikes on Tehran's Evin Prison. An Investigation by TheMarker and Haaretz Reveals the Persian-language Online Ca...
www.haaretz.com
October 3, 2025 at 3:23 AM
Also, @haaretzcom.bsky.social @themarkup.org has an exclusive companion report here, authored by Gur Megido and Omer Benjakob 👇
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
Reposted by mahsa alimardani
1/ NEW REPORT: “We Say You Want a Revolution” - An AI-Enabled Influence Operation Aimed at Overthrowing the Iranian Regime. We call it PRISONBREAK. Keep reading to find out why.
THREAD 🧵
THREAD 🧵
We Say You Want a Revolution: PRISONBREAK - An AI-Enabled Influence Operation Aimed at Overthrowing the Iranian Regime - The Citizen Lab
We investigate a coordinated network of inauthentic X accounts that is spreading AI-generated content to induce revolt in Iran. The network has been active since 2023, but increased activity during th...
https://citizenlab.ca/2025/10/ai-enabled-io-aimed-at-overthrowing-iranian-regime]
October 3, 2025 at 3:32 AM
1/ NEW REPORT: “We Say You Want a Revolution” - An AI-Enabled Influence Operation Aimed at Overthrowing the Iranian Regime. We call it PRISONBREAK. Keep reading to find out why.
THREAD 🧵
THREAD 🧵
Reposted by mahsa alimardani
Millions in crisis rely on ubiquitous tools that betray them: from social media to Starlink. The deeper shock is when secure tools also exclude them through everyday hurdles like phone verification. In order to have real alternatives, we must reclaim hyper-accessibility. 🔐
Secure Tech Cannot Be a Luxury Item
Millions in crisis rely on ubiquitous tools that betray them: from social media to Starlink. The deeper shock comes when secure tools also exclude them through everyday hurdles like phone verification...
the-decenter.ghost.io
September 4, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Millions in crisis rely on ubiquitous tools that betray them: from social media to Starlink. The deeper shock is when secure tools also exclude them through everyday hurdles like phone verification. In order to have real alternatives, we must reclaim hyper-accessibility. 🔐
Reposted by mahsa alimardani
During the Iran-Israel war, civilians in Iran had little access to trustworthy information. AI deepfakes circulated online exacerbated this situation. What are the implications?
@mahsaalimardani.bsky.social and @samgregory.bsky.social explained:
@mahsaalimardani.bsky.social and @samgregory.bsky.social explained:
Iran-Israel AI War Propaganda Is a Warning to the World
The war signaled critical challenges in the growing gap between the sophistication of AI deception and analysts’ ability to detect it, heralding a frightening new phase in global conflict.
buff.ly
August 4, 2025 at 1:26 PM
During the Iran-Israel war, civilians in Iran had little access to trustworthy information. AI deepfakes circulated online exacerbated this situation. What are the implications?
@mahsaalimardani.bsky.social and @samgregory.bsky.social explained:
@mahsaalimardani.bsky.social and @samgregory.bsky.social explained:
Reposted by mahsa alimardani
🆕| There is a growing gap between the sophistication of AI deception and analysts’ ability to detect it, heralding a frightening new phase in global conflict.
@mahsaalimardani.bsky.social & @samgregory.bsky.social's latest for @carnegieendowment.org⤵️
@mahsaalimardani.bsky.social & @samgregory.bsky.social's latest for @carnegieendowment.org⤵️
Iran-Israel AI War Propaganda Is a Warning to the World
The war signaled critical challenges in the growing gap between the sophistication of AI deception and analysts’ ability to detect it, heralding a frightening new phase in global conflict.
carnegieendowment.org
July 29, 2025 at 7:00 PM
🆕| There is a growing gap between the sophistication of AI deception and analysts’ ability to detect it, heralding a frightening new phase in global conflict.
@mahsaalimardani.bsky.social & @samgregory.bsky.social's latest for @carnegieendowment.org⤵️
@mahsaalimardani.bsky.social & @samgregory.bsky.social's latest for @carnegieendowment.org⤵️
Reposted by mahsa alimardani
I can't emphasize enough how crucial accurate information is when you live anywhere in the margins. This is true in wartime Iran, & it's true under militarized policing and white supremacist kyriarchy in the U.S.
Thank you @mahsaalimardani.bsky.social for all of your lifesaving work.
Thank you @mahsaalimardani.bsky.social for all of your lifesaving work.
Read this piece where we explore the serious implications of synthetic media in conflict -especially when it begins to further destabilise an already fragile information ecosystem like Iran’s, amid wartime conditions where access to truth can mean the difference between life and death.
Glad to collaborate with @mahsaalimardani.bsky.social on this exploration of AI war propaganda in the Israel-Iran war and the gaps growing in our capability to detect and respond carnegieendowment.org/research/202...
July 28, 2025 at 4:18 PM
I can't emphasize enough how crucial accurate information is when you live anywhere in the margins. This is true in wartime Iran, & it's true under militarized policing and white supremacist kyriarchy in the U.S.
Thank you @mahsaalimardani.bsky.social for all of your lifesaving work.
Thank you @mahsaalimardani.bsky.social for all of your lifesaving work.
Read this piece where we explore the serious implications of synthetic media in conflict -especially when it begins to further destabilise an already fragile information ecosystem like Iran’s, amid wartime conditions where access to truth can mean the difference between life and death.
Glad to collaborate with @mahsaalimardani.bsky.social on this exploration of AI war propaganda in the Israel-Iran war and the gaps growing in our capability to detect and respond carnegieendowment.org/research/202...
Iran-Israel AI War Propaganda Is a Warning to the World
The war signaled critical challenges in the growing gap between the sophistication of AI deception and analysts’ ability to detect it, heralding a frightening new phase in global conflict.
carnegieendowment.org
July 28, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Read this piece where we explore the serious implications of synthetic media in conflict -especially when it begins to further destabilise an already fragile information ecosystem like Iran’s, amid wartime conditions where access to truth can mean the difference between life and death.
Reposted by mahsa alimardani
The Iran-Israel war signals a major gap between the sophistication of AI deception and analysts’ ability to detect it.
@mahsaalimardani.bsky.social & @samgregory.bsky.social explain how the info war is changing and its consequences @carnegieendowment.org
⬇️
carnegieendowment.org/research/202...
@mahsaalimardani.bsky.social & @samgregory.bsky.social explain how the info war is changing and its consequences @carnegieendowment.org
⬇️
carnegieendowment.org/research/202...
Iran-Israel AI War Propaganda Is a Warning to the World
The war signaled critical challenges in the growing gap between the sophistication of AI deception and analysts’ ability to detect it, heralding a frightening new phase in global conflict.
carnegieendowment.org
July 28, 2025 at 2:22 PM
The Iran-Israel war signals a major gap between the sophistication of AI deception and analysts’ ability to detect it.
@mahsaalimardani.bsky.social & @samgregory.bsky.social explain how the info war is changing and its consequences @carnegieendowment.org
⬇️
carnegieendowment.org/research/202...
@mahsaalimardani.bsky.social & @samgregory.bsky.social explain how the info war is changing and its consequences @carnegieendowment.org
⬇️
carnegieendowment.org/research/202...
Reposted by mahsa alimardani
Glad to collaborate with @mahsaalimardani.bsky.social on this exploration of AI war propaganda in the Israel-Iran war and the gaps growing in our capability to detect and respond carnegieendowment.org/research/202...
Iran-Israel AI War Propaganda Is a Warning to the World
The war signaled critical challenges in the growing gap between the sophistication of AI deception and analysts’ ability to detect it, heralding a frightening new phase in global conflict.
carnegieendowment.org
July 28, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Glad to collaborate with @mahsaalimardani.bsky.social on this exploration of AI war propaganda in the Israel-Iran war and the gaps growing in our capability to detect and respond carnegieendowment.org/research/202...