Wednesday, May 7, 2025

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Israeli hacker group claims to have rigged over 30 national elections abroad

Published 19 February 2023
– By Editorial Staff
Tal Hanan is very proud of his manipulation business.

The Tel Aviv-based hacker group is led by 50-year-old Tal Hanan, who has a background in the Israeli Special Forces. Believing that the journalists who meet with him are in fact potential clients, he boasts of influencing election campaigns around the world and of hacking into accounts, using bot armies and variously sabotaging political opponents on behalf of his clients.

Tal Hanan refers to himself as “Jorge” in his shady work at the anonymous office outside Tel Aviv. His group’s work includes creating tens of thousands of fake social media accounts – which are then used to spread disinformation in order to influence election results. For a fee, Gmail and Telegram accounts can also be hacked to gain access to potentially sensitive information that could be used politically.

Several major media outlets, including Haaretz, The Guardian and Der Spiegel, have jointly made the revelation – which includes journalists meeting Tal Hanan and pretending to be consultants working for a regime in an unstable African country seeking help in delaying an election. The journalists also secretly filmed the entire conversation.

According to the review, Tal Hanan and his team have been manipulating political elections for over 20 years, hired by intelligence agencies, political parties and private companies to secretly manipulate public opinion – in developing countries in Africa and Central America – but also in the US and Europe.

One of the “services” it offers is a software package that “controls a large army of thousands of fake social media profiles on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Telegram, Gmail, Instagram and YouTube” that can be used to manipulate public opinion.

If this is not what the customer is looking for, Tal Hanan’s group can also gather intelligence on political opponents – including by hacking their accounts on various platforms. He also boasts that it has managed to “plant material on legitimate news sites” – which then gets very wide distribution through the software and can be used to sway opinion.

 

The professional election manipulator tells the journalists that much of the company’s strategy is to disrupt or sabotage opponents’ political campaigns – including allegedly ordering sex toys to a male politician’s home in order to make his wife think he was cheating on her.

“The revelations could cause embarrassment for Israel, which has faced growing diplomatic pressure in recent years over its export of cyber weapons that undermine democracy and human rights”, the paper writes, pointing out that Tal Hanan appears to have collaborated with at least one Israeli security and intelligence firm (Demoman International) that is also highlighted by the Israeli defence ministry on a website that promotes Israeli defence exports.

According to him, his team consists of former government personnel with “expertise” in finance, social media campaigns and “psychological warfare” – and it carries out its work from six offices around the world. During the meeting with journalists, he also boasts that his team is currently “involved in an election in Africa” and that it has rigged 33 national elections – 27 of which the sabotage is said to have been “successful”. He also claims to be involved in “two major projects in the US”.

The paper notes that it’s hard to tell if all the claims are really true – or if it’s just bragging a little extra to attract potential customers. It also reveals that it charges hundreds of thousands of dollars for its services and that it secretly influenced the 2015 Nigerian presidential election with the now-defunct British consultancy Cambridge Analytica, among others.

One of the most important things is to create antagonism between the right people, Hanan explains, showing how he can send fake messages from politicians or high-ranking political officials to create conflict.

When confronted by the magazine before publication of the revelation, he says he “did nothing wrong”.

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US defense secretary: “No more vaccine mandates”

Donald Trump's USA

Published today 10:27
– By Editorial Staff
Hegseth has previously described the slogan "our diversity is our strength" as "the single dumbest phrase in military history".

Yesterday, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth strongly criticized left-wing liberal so-called diversity and inclusion programs within the military and reiterated the message that there is no future for such destructive phenomena within the US Armed Forces.

In a speech delivered at the Special Operations Forces Week conference, the defense secretary declared that climate alarmism, LGBTQ lobbying, and vaccine mandates are over, and that from now on, the focus will be solely on issues that are actually relevant to the military.

– No more pronouns, no more climate change obsession, no more emergency vaccine mandates, and no more dudes in dresses.

– We’re done with that shit, Hegseth continued.

Hegseth’s statements follow a US Supreme Court ruling that gives the green light to the Trump administration’s efforts to strengthen the military’s focus by restricting the participation of transgender people in the armed forces.

The decision is based on an executive order signed in January, shortly after Donald Trump took office, with the aim of ensuring what the administration describes as an effective and unified defense force.

“The dumbest phrase in military history”

The Nordic Times has previously highlighted Hegseth’s views on diversity programs in the US military and how he condemned the left-liberal rhetoric previously used by the military leadership.

– I think the single dumbest phrase in military history is ‘our diversity is our strength’, Hegseth explained at a meeting with Defense Department employees at the Pentagon.

– I think our strength is our unity, our strength is our shared purpose, regardless of our background, regardless of how we grew up, regardless of our gender, regardless of our race, he continued, promising to do everything in his power to remove left-wing activist influence from the army.

Illegal migrants get $1000 if they leave the US voluntarily

Donald Trump's USA

Published today 7:12
– By Editorial Staff
Trump says that those migrants who are "good people" and "love the USA" can come back in the future.

President Donald Trump’s administration announced on Monday that it will offer $1,000 in compensation to anyone who is in the US illegally and voluntarily returns to their home country. The measure is part of the mass deportation campaign that has been central to Trump’s politics since he ran for office.

According to a press release from the US Department of Homeland Security, the government will also cover travel expenses. Migrants who use the CBP Home app to notify the authorities that they plan to return will also be given priority in the agency’s work on arrests and physical removals.

– If you are here illegally, self-deportation is the best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest, said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, adding:

– DHS is now offering illegal aliens financial travel assistance and a stipend to return to their home country through the CBP Home App.

The department itself states that it has already paid for the plane ticket for a migrant who has returned to Honduras from Chicago, and that more tickets are booked for this week and next week.

Self-deportation – a key part of Trump’s strategy

During his presidential campaign, Trump made immigration control and mass deportations a central issue, and his administration has continued along this path during its first months in power. At the same time, implementation has been described as expensive, slow, and resource-intensive.

While the Republican government is requesting significantly increased funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency responsible for deporting unwanted immigrants from the country, it is also trying to get people without residence permits to leave the US voluntarily.

The initiative has been combined with TV ads warning of measures against illegal immigrants and images on social media showing arrests and migrants being taken to a giant prison in El Salvador.

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele inspects the giant “Cetot” prison, where criminal migrants have also been sent. Photo: Casa Presidencial, El Salvador/CC0 1.0

The Trump administration has repeatedly described self-deportation as a way for migrants to preserve the possibility of legally returning to the US in the future, and the president himself repeated this message on Monday in a statement to reporters at the White House.

He said that immigrants who leave the country voluntarily may have a chance to return legally in the future, “if they are good people” and “love our country”.

– If they aren’t, they won’t, Trump added.

Activists urge migrants to reject the offer

It should be noted that the app developed by the Trump administration is a revised version of the app launched during Joe Biden’s presidency with the aim of allowing nearly one million immigrants to book appointments to enter the country.

However, as the purpose of the app is now to encourage immigrants to return home, it has been renamed from CBP One to CBP Home and, according to the Department of Homeland Security, has so far been used by “thousands” of migrants for self-deportation.

However, Trump’s opponents do not view the proposal favorably. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, an immigration activist and senior researcher at the American Immigration Council, urges migrants to be very cautious and consider remaining in the US for as long as possible to pursue their cases in immigration court.

He points out that it is often a disadvantage for migrants themselves to leave the country voluntarily, especially for those already facing deportation, as failure to participate in court proceedings can lead to automatic deportation orders and returning home is often considered abandoning important applications, such as asylum.

Others argue that the amount is probably far too low and that only a few illegal immigrants would actually consider leaving the US permanently in exchange for $1,000.

Smotrich: “We will finally occupy the Gaza Strip”

The situation in Gaza

Published yesterday 13:29
– By Editorial Staff
Bezalel Smotrich has long advocated for the permanent Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip and the re-establishment of Israeli settlements in the area.

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced on Monday that the country intends to occupy the entire Gaza Strip. At the same time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the planned expansion of the offensive against the area.

We will stop being afraid of the word ‘occupation’, declared Smothrich.

On Monday, Israel’s security cabinet unanimously approved a plan to expand the military operation in Gaza, which, according to government officials, means a de facto occupation of the entire Gaza Strip. Tens of thousands of reservists have been called up for the operation.

We are finally going to occupy the Gaza Strip. We will stop being afraid of the word ‘occupation’, said the Finance Minister and Religious Zionist Party leader during a conference organized by B’Sheva newspaper.

Prime Minister Netanyahu described the operation as “intensive” and stressed that Israel will not withdraw from areas taken under its control.

– Once the new offensive is launched, Israel will not withdraw from conquered territories. The intention is the opposite of that, said Netanyahu in a video clip on X.

Opposition: It’s about saving Netanyahu

Netanyahu added that Gaza’s civilian population will be moved south “for its own protection” as part of the plan.

The decision has drawn sharp criticism from the opposition and relatives of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza. Many accuse the government of prioritizing territorial gains over human lives.

– The cabinet decided last night to expand the military operation inside the Gaza Strip – not to maintain Israel’s security, but to save Netanyahu and the extremist government, opposition leader Yair Golan wrote on X.

May constitute genocide

Plans to forcibly displace civilians in Gaza raise questions of international law. According to the UN Genocide Convention, the forcible transfer of a protected group with the intent to destroy it in whole or in part may constitute genocide.

Also under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), such displacement can count as a crime against humanity.

German left party leader calls for NATO replacement – involving Russia

The new cold war

Published 5 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
According to Jan van Aken, NATO has outplayed its role - and a new alliance should take shape instead.

Jan van Aken, co-chair of the German left-wing party Die Linke, wants NATO to eventually be replaced by a new international security alliance that includes both Russia and the US.

In an interview with Die Zeit, he said that the NATO-led structure has no future and should be replaced by a more cooperative system.

– We have never wanted to abolish NATO without replacement, but rather to replace it with a cooperative security system, van Aken said in the interview published over the weekend.

He referred to his party’s 2011 manifesto, which proposes that Germany leave NATO in favor of a new collective security arrangement. Van Aken proposes a model similar to the OECD – a kind of “OECD 2.0” – where the focus is on peacekeeping and joint defense.

– A peace and defense alliance together with Russia and the US. But of course, such a structure would require at least ten years of confidence-building measures. During that time, NATO would remain in place – but it has no future, in my opinion, he added.

In addition to his criticism of NATO, van Aken also called for the withdrawal of US troops stationed in Germany – including the nuclear weapons they carry with them. He pointed out that the UK and France already have more than enough nuclear arsenals of their own.

Dreaming of a demilitarized Europe

Van Aken also confirmed that the vision of a demilitarized Europe remains central to the German left-wing party – a controversial and unusual stance in these times.

– Of course I want to live in a country without an army. Don’t you? he asked rhetorically.

The interview was published at a sensitive political moment, with Germany recently announcing a new military aid package for Ukraine, including air defense missiles and artillery. Incoming Chancellor Friedrich Merz has also expressed support for sending Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine a weapon capable of reaching deep into Russian territory.

This has led to strong criticism from Moscow, which has warned that a German decision to deliver the weapons would make the country an active party in the war, as Russia claims that the Taurus system cannot be operated without German personnel.

Die Linke has consistently opposed arms deliveries to Ukraine and instead advocated a ceasefire and diplomatic solutions.