@derekthomson

Head of The France 24 Observers

 Paris, France
observers.france24.com/en/
Joined May 2008
  • Tweets154
  • Following128
  • Followers1.3K
10Media
Be highly suspicious of anyone that confidently tweets the exact cause of a deadly incident in a war zone within minutes of it happening. It takes time to investigate such incidents. And sometimes, it might never be possible to determine what exactly happened.
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Wow! The courage of these young kids… the brutality of the regime…
The Observers
@Observers21 Oct 2022
Iranians are mourning as 215 people have been killed in protests over #MahsaAmini's death. But some are finding ways to share love and comfort with their peers.

Young Iranians boost morale in face of protests

As security forces harshly repress protests, young Iranians aren't letting up. And they're finding ways to spread peace and comfort to their peers.

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Good work @ErshadAlijani #IranProtests
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Petr Sherekin told us more about how he had to capture “the horror of war” by playing the role of a soldier in this music video shoot. 2/2
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derek thomson retweeted
The Observers
@Observers19 Oct 2022
A mixture of tennis, football and volleyball, a new sport called Razball also brings together elements of Burkina Faso's various languages and cultures.

Razball, the new sport that is proudly Burkinabe

A ball, a field and a net. You can only touch the ball three times. Will this be the first African sport to appear one day at the Olympic Games? Razball has already gained popularity in Burkina Faso.

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A video shows a Ukrainian soldier screaming in front of a camera. Does this mean the war in Ukraine is “staged”? 1/2 We found the “soldier”. He’s actually an actor and he was shooting a music video for a Ukrainian singer. See his response below. observers.france24.com/en/eu…

Were these Ukrainians staging a fake battle scene? Nope, it’s a music video

Pro-Russian social media accounts have been widely circulating a video over the past few weeks that shows a man dressed as a Ukrainian soldier acting out a scene in front of a camera. These accounts…

observers.france24.com
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derek thomson retweeted
The Observers
@Observers17 Oct 2022
September 30, Zahedan. It was the bloodiest day of Iran's protests to date, as security forces opened fire after Friday prayers. With the help of eyewitnesses and videos shared online, the @FRANCE24 Observers team was able to piece together what happened.

'Bloody Friday': A massacre in Iran's Zahedan

Using videos and eyewitness accounts, we took a closer look at what happened in Zahedan, Iran on the bloodiest day of protests to date.

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There’s a new slogan being heard in Iran.
The Observers
@Observers22 Sep 2022
Women are at the centre of the anti-regime protests that have exploded across Iran.

'Woman! Life! Freedom!': Women in Iran lead protests

Protests have escalated in Iran since the September 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was arrested by the Islamic Republic’s notorious “morality police”.

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Great reporting from @PariesaYoung and @ErshadAlijani
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derek thomson retweeted
TEXTY.Org.Ua@TextyOrgUa6 Jan 2021
Штурм Конгресу не був випадковістю: його відкрито планували в інтернеті протягом останніх декількох тижнів. buzzfeednews.com/article/jan…

The Rioters Who Took Over The Capitol Have Been Planning Online In The Open For Weeks

The mob that forced Congress to flee organized on both obscure and mainstream sites.

buzzfeednews.com
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As countries around the world roll out the #Covid-19 #vaccine, many politicians are taking the vaccine themselves to show it is safe. But how do you convince hardcore skeptics who believe the high-profile vaccinations are fake?

Covid-19 vaccine and the "retractable needle" theory

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Bravo @ErshadAlijani - amazing work and well-deserved!
The Observers
@Observers23 Dec 2020
We're proud to announce that @ErshadAlijani has won the 2020 French Diplomatic Press Association Prize for his report "#Iran's Hidden Slaughter". He dedicated the prize to "the brave Iranian citizens who risked their lives to document what was going on." youtu.be/itpL1bBW6FE
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Does this video show French #police beating up North Africans? or people who refuse to wear masks against #Covid? Was it even shot in France? #TruthOrFake #fakenews #metro #France

TRUTH OR FAKE: 1 video shared in 3 different contexts - which is true?

Does this video show French police beating up North Africans? or people who refuse to wear masks against Covid? Was it even shot in France?

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"Experts predict that by the year 2020 a new virus will rise...." Did US scientists foresee the #Covid-19 #pandemic back in the 1950s and 1960s? Er, no....

TRUTH OR FAKE: Did scientists predict Covid-19 more than 50 years ago?

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Michel, un producteur de musique, a été tabassé par trois policiers samedi dernier à Paris. Ils l’ont ensuite accusé à tort d'avoir voulu prendre leurs armes et de rébellion. Mais les policiers ignoraient une chose : tout a été filmé.
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"Shockingly quiet. Kinda spooky...." US #factcheckers see comparatively little sharing of #misinformation as Americans go to the polls. observers.france24.com/en/20…
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The amateur video touched a nerve in #Afghanistan, and the explanation offered by the #Kabul #mayor's office did not go down well. observers.france24.com/en/20…
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Watch our video investigation of the November protests in #Iran youtu.be/itpL1bBW6FE #OSINT #IranProtests
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Four of our Observers in #DRCongo helped us put together an amazing report on the #Ebola outbreak in North Kivu. I went on #France24English to talk about it... we'll be posting it soon...
The Observers
@Observers27 Jun 2019
On our Facebook page at 8 p.m. tonight: our special episode "#Ebola in #DRCongo: an Epidemic of Rumours" facebook.com/FRANCE24.Observ… Our editor-in-chief Derek Thomson @derekthomson talked about the episode this morning on @FRANCE24
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derek thomson retweeted
Bellingcat@bellingcat10 Dec 2018
What happens when Yandex blurs out secret and semi-secret Turkish/Israeli military facilities in its satellite imagery? Well, you find out exactly where the places are, and then you check them on other mapping services that haven't blurred them out. fas.org/blogs/security/2018/…

Widespread Blurring of Satellite Images Reveals Secret Facilities - Federation of American Scient...

A Russian mapping service has selectively obscured political and military facilities in both Israel and Turkey, which has had the unintended effect of revealing their exact locations to the world.

fas.org
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