A large international network of investigative journalists, led by France’s Forbidden Stories, has uncovered an Israel-based group offering to manipulate elections through hacking, sabotage and the spread of disinformation. That’s what The Guardian writes, which on Wednesday morning published a large package about the group, which calls itself “Team Jorge”. The group takes its name from its leader, 50-year-old Tal Hanan, who uses the pseudonym Jorge. – My name is Jorge. George is a nickname and I don’t have a name, says Hanan in a hidden recording made by him, published by The Guardian. – You don’t have a name? – You saw what was written on the door, didn’t you? It says nothing. It’s what we are. We are nothing. Hanan has not responded to detailed questions about their methods, but denies any wrongdoing. Claims to have influenced 33 elections For more than six months, a group of reporters has been investigating “Team Jorge”, under the guise of being potential clients. They pretended to work for a businessman who wanted to delay an election in an African country. Late in December, the journalists met Hanan outside Tel Aviv in Israel. Hanan said the services he offered were intended for intelligence services, political campaigns and private companies that want to manipulate public opinion. “Team Jorge” is said to have carried out work in Africa, South and Central America, the USA and Europe. There they are said to have influenced 33 presidential elections. “Team Jorge” claims to use fake user profiles on several social media to, among other things, spread disinformation. Illustration image. Photo: DENIS CHARLET / AFP One of the main services they offer is a software package they call “Aims” – Advanced Impact Media Solutions: Aims will be thousands of fake profiles on various social media and websites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Telegram, Gmail, Instagram and YouTube. Ordered sex toys for politicians A large part of the strategy of “Team Jorge” revolves around disrupting and sabotaging election campaigns. The group claims, among other things, to have ordered a sex toy for a politician’s home via Amazon. The aim is said to have been to make his wife believe that he was unfaithful. In initial conversations with the reporters posing as customers, Hanan said they had several ongoing operations. The Guardian newspaper has published a large package about “Team Jorge” on Wednesday morning. The picture is of the newspaper’s offices in London. Reporters from several newspapers have been involved in the work. Photo: ANDREW COWIE / AFP – We are involved in an election in Africa. We have a team in Greece and a team in the Emirates. Furthermore, Hanan claimed to be involved in two “major projects” in the USA. He said at the same time that they did not interfere directly in American politics. The Guardian emphasizes that the reporters did not succeed in verifying all the claims Hanan made in the meetings. It may very well be that he bragged about things to land a potential client, writes the newspaper. Held for over 20 years Tal Hanan is a former operator for the special forces in Israel, according to The Guardian. He is said to have worked under the radar with electoral influence for more than 20 years. “Team Jorge” will consist of people with experience from public agencies, with expertise in finance, social media and election campaigns, as well as “psychological warfare”. The group will have six offices around the world. It also appears to be a lucrative industry. Hanan was wearing an expensive watch when the reporters met him. In order to interfere in an election, he should have paid between 6 and 15 million euros, i.e. over 160 million Norwegian kroner. Hacked Telegram accounts During the meeting with the reporters, Hanan showed how he could hack into accounts on the social media Telegram. – In some countries they think Telegram is safe. I’ll show you how safe it is, Hanan said. He then sent messages from what appeared to be the user of a Kenyan strategist to someone in his contact list. – One of the biggest things is putting sticks between the right people, you understand. I can write what I think about his wife, what I think about his last speech, or I can promise him to be my next chief of staff, says Hanan. Hanan said he used to delete the messages after they were read by the recipient, to hide his tracks. However, he was unable to delete one of the messages. One of the journalists in the network managed to track down the recipient of this message, and was able to see his Telegram correspondence. This is how they verified that Hanan had actually infiltrated a user and sent the message.
ttn-69
Secret group claims to have influenced 33 presidential elections – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
