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Post: Reporters expose electoral fraud worldwide

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An Israeli company offers worldwide hacking and disinformation campaigns to manipulate elections. That’s how undercover journalists found out about them.

Modi’in is a gray town between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The somewhat modest Modi’in is one of many planned cities in the Holy Land. Here, three journalists from all over the world meet a group of men who claim they can manipulate elections around the world.

Journalists are Omer Benjakob from the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Gur Megiddon from Israel’s TheMarker, and Frédéric Métézeau, a correspondent for the French Radio France channel. Relying on cameras and tape recorders, they are moving towards their goal: Modi’in’s Millennium Center, a simple office building. The three of them have been doing undercover research for months.

Mastermind ‘Jorge’ shows his face for the first time

One final check on the elevator. Flying can be dangerous, very dangerous. Then he stops in front of them and greets them. The man nicknamed Jorge. The head and namesake of the group who is said to be able to fix the elections. You are seeing him for the first time. There were five video calls before the meeting, but Jorge never showed his face.

We are nothing. We are like air.

Tal Hanan aka “Jorge”

That’s why journalists are here. To see it and film it on the hidden camera. He greets the three of them and has no idea about undercover research. Jorge thinks he’s safe. “Did you see what it says on the door? Nothing. No name. That’s what we are. We are nothing. We are like air,” he says.

In reality, “Jorge” was an explosives expert in the Israeli armed forces, according to his own statements in publicly available sources.


Undercover as a consultant to a businessman in Africa

Journalists also acquired new identities. They are acting like a consultant to a businessman who wants to manipulate an election in Africa. This is what Hanan and his team specialize in. For manipulation and sabotage. for election fraud. “Give us money and nominations. Then we’ll fight.” That’s how he brags. “Do you know the difference between conspiracy and truth? 18 months!”

Hanan and his men claim to have manipulated 33 elections already. 27 of his campaigns were successful. The guys want six to 15 million euros. Not all of its claims are independently verifiable.

Team Jorge hacked someone else’s Telegram account

But in five video calls, journalists repeatedly tested Team Jorge. When Hanan showed them how a political adviser in Kenya had apparently hacked his Telegram account, they couldn’t believe their eyes at first. It seems hard to imagine that Team Jorge could not only read someone else’s messages but also send messages on their behalf.

What implications does this have for business and politics, as well as for relationships between people? “Our biggest concern the whole time was that none of this was true. It might be showing us something that looks like stolen data. It’s showing us screenshots or videos that look like hacks but not hacks,” Gur Megiddon says. one of three journalists.

Source: ZDF

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