In case you missed it, the fediverse is under attack by a Pro-Russian Propaganda Network.

In case you missed it, the fediverse is under attack by a Pro-Russian Propaganda Network. You can learn more about it in the blog post from @iftas below.

Here are two things everyone can do to help combat this:

1. If you see an account posting or spamming Telegram links, report it. Many of the accounts are impersonating news outlets — check verification status, the account's follower count, or the outlet's website to confirm if the account is real or fake.

2. Donate to your local mods if you can, or at least give them a big virtual hug and say thanks. They've been working tirelessly around the clock to combat this and deserve our gratitude and support.

Stay safe out there, friends.

Coordinated Pro-Russian Propaganda Network Targeting ActivityPub and ATProto Services

Indicators of compromise (IOCs) that identify accounts as likely being part of the network include: a single follow (the bsky.brid.gy @ bsky.brid.gy account), or first follow is the bridge followers and following hidden from public registration after September 8, 2025 linking to pro-Russia Telegram channels, or Russian news sources posts that cut off mid-sentence masquerading…

IFTAS (about.iftas.org)

#ActivityPub #Fediverse #Telegram

@haubles @iftas How are we going with mod tools? Specifically tools that help mods?

@haubles
2b. Or do both. Both is good!
*hugs @alice* Thanks!

@iftas

@alice
Speaking of, I've been meaning to ask for a while: is there any way to contribute to our server's financial needs? I've been told no last time I asked but that was over two years ago so maybe there is now?

cc @mcp as I'm unclear about who's currently mod or admin so Alice might not actually have the answer.

@koalou asking @mcp is the way to go, as I'm just the noisy one—someone else deals with the payments and technical stuff.

@alice
Not the point but I don’t agree with calling you "noisy" as that would imply that your toots aren’t welcome in our TLs
"Visible", maybe? (doubly so with the photos )

@mcp

@koalou @alice @mcp If your sever doesn't accept donations, you can also donate to one of the servers your friends are using, to IFTAS, or to Fedi developers. Emelia Smith also works on Trust & Safety tools and can use a few bob.

@geolaw @haubles @iftas Mastodon is aware of the problem, but although they get more funding than many other Fediverse projects, they are still short-handed.

@haubles @iftas https://blog.isabel-drost.de/spam-spam-spam/ ... Are there plans to make sharing activities like these among moderators easier? Do moderators have an easy way to inspect the connections of accounts to spot spammy patterns (connections here meaning who re shares, follows, replies, replies only to influential accounts, re shares only what gets lots of replies/ engagement)?

@haubles @iftas another question I cannot quite wrap my head around: should news outlet be strongly encouraged to run their own instances? (For me, the domain would increase trust. It would also enable them to moderate comments on their publications.)

@mainec @haubles

There's the IFTAS Library, and a number of mdoerator/admin communities that collaborate e.g. https://about.iftas.org/library/technical-support-communities/

For making it easier to share findings, @thisismissem is working on FIRES https://github.com/fedimod/fires

@mainec @haubles they should, and some are already doing it! Check News & Media in this search: https://jaz.co.uk/projects/orgs-using-ap/

Additionally, @newsmast is helping news publishers reimagine local journalism married to ethical social networking: https://goodcommons.world/casestudies/bristol-cable-newsmast-foundation-uk-news-coop

@iftas @mainec @haubles FIRES can already share data on entire domains and individual actors, though access to a dataset like this likely needs to be authorized, which is something I need implementer feedback on.