Want to share my initial findings on some searches I've done on articles/outlets falsely claiming the Mossad were involved in the killing of Lebanese writer & Hezbollah critic Lokman Slim. Feeling helpless/frustrated so this is my contribution. #لقمان_سليم

UK-based Arabic lang. site Rai Al Youm published an article on 6 Feb alleging that the Mossad was involved in Lokman Slim's murder. The author, Fatima Al Jubouri, claims to be an Iraqi writer & researcher. Here are some unusual things I’ve found so far:

Jubouri appears to have no online presence before Dec 2020. She's published eight articles in Rai Al Youm since then, which all promote pro-Tehran/Tehran allies narratives. The articles are largely pro-Hezbollah, anti-US, anti-KSA, anti-Israel.

Jubouri's articles have been re-published by 10s of pro-Tehran outlets in Arabic & Persian, including IRNA, Mehr News, Khabarbaan, Essahraa, SNN.

Considering she published her first article two months ago, that's quite the traction..

Interestingly, her Twitter, Facebook and Instagram profiles all appear to be created on the same day: 26 January, 2021. So far, she has used the profiles to promote her articles on Rai Al Youm. Reverse image searches yielded no results on either picture on her FB acct.

Note - In the hours that passed from when I discovered Jubouri's IG account to writing this thread, her account has been removed. Unclear why.

Next Up: Iran-registered, Arabic lang. news site Al Alam TV then re-packaged Jubouri’s article, claiming “a British newspaper” had reported the Mossad was involved in Slim’s murder. Al Alam gave the article a new title & an intro, then lifted the article in its entirety.

Several other sites such as Sour Press, Kl Youm, Newhub re-posted Al Alam TV's re-packaged article. It also appeared in the cache results of the Al Khiam municipality website (town in Nabatieh, Lebanon).

Will continue keeping an eye on where these articles turn up in the coming days - but hopefully this sheds light on how disinformation is disseminated and amplified online