CheckFirst https://checkfirst.network/ CheckFirst Tue, 15 Sep 2026 07:30:52 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1 The Kremlin’s Digital Pirates: How Russian Tracking Pixels Harvest Romanians’ Data to Fund Conspiracies and Extremism https://checkfirst.network/the-kremlins-digital-pirates-how-russian-tracking-pixels-harvest-romanians-data-to-fund-conspiracies-and-extremism/ Tue, 15 Sep 2026 07:30:09 +0000 https://checkfirst.network/?p=3681 For five months, we tracked over 100,000 ads displayed across 131 websites in Eastern Europe. After decoding the hidden mechanisms behind these ads, we uncovered a network of Russian companies. This investigation reveals what data is harvested from Romanians, who ends up receiving it, and why the ads shown on platforms with conspiratorial and extremist content are among the most valuable to this network.

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]]> CheckFirst’s 6th Birthday: a year of innovations https://checkfirst.network/checkfirsts-6th-birthday-a-year-of-innovations/ Thu, 16 Jul 2026 09:29:55 +0000 https://checkfirst.network/?p=3611 We are delighted and proud to celebrate our sixth anniversary! We marked this occasion by reflecting on our achievements and learnings over the past year.

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]]> Roska Bridge: How a pro-Russian IMS exploits vulnerabilities of decentralised platforms to spread propaganda https://checkfirst.network/roska-bridge-how-a-pro-russian-ims-exploits-vulnerabilities-of-decentralised-platforms-to-spread-propaganda/ Thu, 02 Jul 2026 04:00:00 +0000 https://checkfirst.network/?p=3592 Our new investigation reveals how a sophisticated Russian information manipulation set (IMS), dubbed “Roska Bridge”, uses alternative and decentralised social media platforms as a weapon to flood Western and domestic Russian audiences with aggressive, anti-Western, and anti-Ukrainian propaganda.

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]]> Noise without effect: anti-Pashinyan disinformation on the rise ahead of Armenian parliamentary elections https://checkfirst.network/noise-without-effect-anti-pashinyan-disinformation-on-the-rise-ahead-of-armenian-parliamentary-elections/ Wed, 10 Jun 2026 04:00:00 +0000 https://checkfirst.network/?p=3564 We spent one month ahead of Armenian parliamentary elections monitoring disinformation spread by foreign Information Manipulation Sets and tracking what recommendation algorithms were pushing to diaspora users searching for content about the vote.

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]]> Introducing Tutki: We simulated social media to teach how it gets weaponised https://checkfirst.network/introducing-tutki-we-simulated-social-media-to-teach-how-it-gets-weaponised/ Fri, 05 Jun 2026 09:36:11 +0000 https://checkfirst.network/?p=3551 We run OSINT investigations. We contributed to create methodological and ethical guidelines to frame the practice. Logically, we developed a platform to help organisations strengthen their staff’s resilience against information manipulation, foreign influence, and disinformation campaigns.

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]]> Watch the replay: Ethics in the fight against disinformation: from theory to practice https://checkfirst.network/watch-the-replay-ethics-in-the-fight-against-disinformation-from-theory-to-practice/ Wed, 27 May 2026 14:07:07 +0000 https://checkfirst.network/?p=3492 On May 19th, Nelly Pailleux discussed the ethical implications while conducting OSINT investigations in light of the ObSINT guidelines.

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]]> CheckFirst and Filigran connect the Pravda network to OpenCTI https://checkfirst.network/checkfirst-and-filigran-connect-the-pravda-network-to-opencti/ Wed, 29 Apr 2026 11:55:51 +0000 https://checkfirst.network/?p=3456 Meet CheckFirst’s Import Connector, which brings in real-time data directly from the Pravda network.

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]]> Watch the replay: Decoding Russian intelligence: what medals and insignia reveal https://checkfirst.network/watch-the-replay-decoding-russian-intelligence-what-medals-and-insignia-reveal/ Mon, 27 Apr 2026 09:55:40 +0000 https://checkfirst.network/?p=3370 On April 23rd, Hervé Letoqueux presented findings from two recent investigations merging OSINT and phaleristics.

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]]> CheckFirst and Samsa immerse French journalists in a virtual foreign interference campaign https://checkfirst.network/check-first-and-samsa-immerse-french-journalists-in-a-virtual-foreign-interference-campaign/ Fri, 13 Mar 2026 13:10:50 +0000 https://checkfirst.network/?p=3333 We constructed a one-day training with the French training organisation Samsa to help French journalists to learn how to identify and analyze information manipulation, disinformation campaigns, and coordinated inauthentic behavior in electoral context.

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]]> Unveiling GRU’s Information Operations Troops with OSINT and Medals  https://checkfirst.network/unveiling-grus-information-operations-troops-with-osint-and-medals/ Mon, 09 Feb 2026 08:41:23 +0000 https://checkfirst.network/?p=3293 We tracked the infrastructure of one of the most secretive units of Russian intelligence by using phaleristics (i.e. the academic study of medals and military decorations) and traditional OSINT techniques.

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