The curious case of David Jewberg, the fake senior Pentagon Russia analyst

[Jacque67 7,328]

Summary:

• “Senior Pentagon Russia Analyst LTC David Jewberg” maintained a popular Facebook page and was frequently quoted in Ukrainian and Russian media as a Pentagon insider related to topics concerning Ukraine and Russia. He represented himself as an actual person with the legal name “David Jewberg,” not as a persona or pseudonym.
• A number of well-known Russian opposition figures frequently cited David Jewberg as a respected analyst and real-life contact.
• David Jewberg is actually an imagined persona connected to a group of individuals inside the U.S. revolving around well-connected American financier Dan K. Rapoport, who was named as the person who wrote under this persona by well-known Russia expert David Satter and other sources in Washington who spoke to Bellingcat. A number of personal friends and professional connections connected to Rapoport helped to prop up this fake persona; for example, photographs from Rapoport’s college friend were used to represent Jewberg and a number of Washington-area friends of Rapoport wrote about Jewberg as if he were a real person.
• Dan K. Rapoport is the former owner of the house sold to Ivanka Trump in January 2017. He worked as a financial executive in Russia in the 2000’s, after which he reportedly became active in supporting Russian opposition figures. He moved to Kyiv in late 2016 and most recent reports indicate that he works as a financial executive in Ukraine.
• Per legal experts consulted during this investigation, the person(s) who maintained the “David Jewberg” persona created false identification documents, impersonating a federal official with a Pentagon identification card.
• The U.S. Department of Defense and State Department have disavowed the existence of David Jewberg, stating that they have never employed a person by this name.
• Rapoport has repeatedly denied being the author behind David Jewberg and not acknowledged that “Jewberg” is an imagined persona.

https://www.bellingcat.com/news/americas/2018/04/02/curious-case-david-jewberg-fake-senior-pentagon-russia-analyst/

 

unable to edit title.fake senior Pentagon Russia analyst.

Edited April 2, 2018 by TBoneTX
title edited

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

Putin's $19,200 rent-a-mobs: Emails show Russia uses paid thugs and email hackers to sow dissent and chaos abroad

http://www.businessinsider.com/leaked-emails-show-russia-uses-paid-thugs-to-sow-dissent-and-chaos-2018-4

 

• A tranche of hacked emails sent by Kremlin-linked figures appear to show Russia's plan to sow chaos and dissent abroad.
• The emails discuss prices for rent-a-mob rallies, hackers, and propaganda merchants in Ukraine, which Russia invaded in 2014.
• Kremlin figures allegedly discussed a $130,500 plan to "troll" opponents of Russia, "demotivate enemies" on social media, and collect personal data of opponents in Ukraine.
• Experts warned that Russia could use the same weapons in the UK and elsewhere in Europe.

 

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LONDON — Hacked emails appear to expose the full extent of Russia's plans to sow chaos and dissent abroad by paying for rent-a-mob rallies, hackers, and propaganda merchants.

A tranche of emails sent by Kremlin-linked figures were leaked to the Times newspaper on Monday. They outline a dirty-tricks campaign in Ukraine, which Russia invaded in 2014 on the orders of President Vladimir Putin.

The emails allegedly outline how much Russia was prepared to pay for various services in a huge disinformation campaign in Ukraine. One set of correspondence from October 2014 appears to have been sent by an unnamed Russian politician to Inal Ardzinba, a Kremlin figure close to Putin.

It contained proposals to fund a cybercampaign that outlined various cost proposals, including:

•$100 to $300 to hack email accounts.

• $130,500: A plan to "troll" opponents of Russia, "demotivate enemies" on social media, and collect personal data of opponents in Kharviv.

Other prices discussed in the leaked emails include:

• A $120,460 proposal to discuss in June 2015 to arrange for 30 ex-communist figures elected to local government.

• A $19,200 proposal to buy a month of rallies in Ukraine's second-largest city Kharviv, including 100 participants, 3 organisers, and 2 lawyers. Organisers would orchestrate anti-Ukraine, pro-Russia rallies featuring crowds of martial-arts-trained protestors, and lawyers would buy off the police. It is unclear whether the plan happened.

 

Experts warned that Russia could use the same weapons in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, especially in the wake of the Sergei Skripal nerve agent attack in Salisbury, England.

"There is overwhelming evidence that the tools and techniques of Russian covert conflict are being used in and against the UK, the US and the EU," Tory MP Bob Seely, an expert on Russian warfare who analysed the emails, told the Times. "In the wake of the Skripal poisoning it's more important than ever that we understand these methods."

He said they represent a "shopping list of subversion."

The emails come from the third tranche of the "Surkov leaks," named after Vladislav Surkov, Putin's close personal adviser, who is alleged to have sent emails found in the two previous tranches.

The latest hack appears to contain emails from various Russian politicians, including accounts linked to Inal Ardzinba, Surkov's first deputy, that were sent to a Ukrainian Communist party leader.

 

[Jacque67 7,328]

Indeed.