Amnesty International denounces Macri administration for cyberattacks against opponents [View all]
A report released today by Amnesty International concluded that journalists and human rights advocates critical of the right-wing Mauricio Macri administration have been the target of coordinated cyberattacks by government-sponsored trolls.
The conclusions are based on a survey of Twitter activity in Argentina between October 22 and November 14, at the height of political controversies ranging from mid-term election results, to Macri's labor law deregulation and pension cutback proposals, to the contentious autopsy results of slain artist and activist Santiago Maldonado.
"The modus operandi of cyber attacks against journalists and human rights advocates reveals coordination between government officials and figures authorized by said officials to act as enablers," the report stated.
"In the first stages the future attack is framed. Government officials are not initially exposed - with exceptions - but trolls and bots are deployed that combine content generated by genuine users, with retweeting and Faveo activities aimed at magnifying the attack though automated and semi-automated means."
Fake news, the report noted, is used most at the peak of the attacks.
Among the journalists most targeted or this work were María O'Donnell, Edi Zunino, and Reynaldo Sietecase - as well as Hugo Alconada Mon, who though a senior writer at the typically pro-government La Nación, has been critical of the Macri administration over its numerous corruption and tax evasion scandals.
Others targeted include the 1980 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, and Amnesty International's own director, Mariela Belski, who was the target of a fake news campaign after inviting Sergio Maldonado, Santiago's brother, to give a lecture at Amnesty's Buenos Aires offices.
"Attacks on criticism," Belski noted, "threaten the free flow of information, ideas and opinions, and violates freedom of expression."
At: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pagina12.com.ar%2F102613-ciberataques-a-los-que-critican-a-cambiemos&edit-text=
Mariela Belski, executive director of Amnesty International's Argentina office
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