Jane Castles

Family and friends in Iran describe the shutdown as a form of psychological torture. Not only are they in darkness and suffocated - their contacts abroad, who are now their voices, are increasingly vilified in Western discourse. German news magazine Spiegel recently ran the headline: "Revenge is a central theme of the Iranian diaspora." Whoever is behind this campaign is clearly intending to silence and discredit all anti-regime voices.

.@NazaninBoniadi recalls the “message of despair” from a human rights advocate in Iran asking why the US is reportedly negotiating with Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. A man “instrumental in the machinery of repression and a regime henchman…the people are once again being sidelined."

@yarotrof A bit like Putin not wanting to say Navalny’s name.

The Hungarian election campaign is legit cray cray. An extraterrestrial visiting Budapest would think Orban is in a tight race against Zelensky.

And yet!—This person's audience grew dramatically since she spouted this utter garbage!

@AmiDar It is very sad. Agee we are failing this child. But also want to know the who / how of filming and why the adults doing the filming can’t help?

Why do Green parties all across the world have a particular problem with antisemitism?

Maybe it’s a function of the algorithm, but on my X feed, and in the great social media battle between the pro-Palestinian vs the pro-Israel side, I see so many more pro-Palestine accounts pushing nonsense like this, and it being taken seriously by so many. That’s not to say that some on the pro-Israel side don’t put lies, distortions, and half-truths out; some clearly do. But the pro-Palestine crowd seem much more committed to just pushing out obvious nonsense, videos and photos that have nothing to do with the claims made about them, or obvious AI slop like this. And their audience and supporters don’t seem to care. They want to it be true, so they never challenge it.

@colwight Yes, this is my experience too.

Viktor Orban wants Hungarians to re-elect him, even though he has turned Hungary into the most corrupt and one of the poorest countries in the EU. To do so, he is telling Hungarians to fear sabotage, thievery, or even a military attack from … Ukraine theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/03/…

2 million+ views. 21 thousand+ likes. For antisemitic AI vomit. This has real-world impact. Promotes dehumanisation & actual violence. Distorts judgement. How brain-dead high on sick hate have so many become? Despite replies confirming AI Earth Hippy keeps it up. Says everything.

The madness continues: Orban can't win an election talking about Hungary, and so he has conjured up a fake threat from Ukraine

The Chinese government believes it can terrorize people in the US. Agents working for the CCP stalked and threatened a student at Stanford who was doing research on China's military. This is happening in other democracies as well and we must put a stop to it.

@panyiszabolcs Full support to you. Thanks for your fight for Hungary's democracy.

‼️Statement on the Orbán Government Accusing Me, an Investigative Journalist, of Espionage‼️ Today, the Hungarian government has filed a complaint against me for espionage. Accusing investigative journalists of espionage is virtually unprecedented in the 21st century for an EU member state. This is typical of Putin’s Russia, Belarus, and similar regimes. I have spent over a decade documenting how Russian spies and interests have penetrated Hungarian politics, so I am probably the least surprised by this. Despite growing signs that the Hungarian government acts as a Kremlin ally and copies the Russian model, I still trust that parts of the Hungarian state—and the judiciary—follow the Hungarian constitution, not that of the Russian Federation. I have never engaged in espionage. I see my work as journalistic counterintelligence—from exposing the hacking of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry by Russian actors to revealing the activities of Hungarian pro-Kremlin propagandists. Defending myself publicly would be easier if I were not bound by source protection. But that remains my top priority. I cannot reveal who provides me information or what I receive, including from within Hungarian state structures. If I were not a journalist, I could list many facts proving it is impossible for the Hungarian state to genuinely believe I am spying. Certain meetings, contacts, and information gathering could never have happened otherwise. This baseless accusation now forces me to share details of a specific investigation, including a conversation with a confidential source that appears to have been wiretapped. Normally, this would appear in a finished article or my upcoming book—not here. (It will appear there as well.) Since 2023, I have investigated whether the relationship between Péter Szijjártó and Russian officials exceeds legal limits. The published audio, where I’m heard talking to a source, mentions that communication between Szijjártó and Sergey Lavrov is recorded by EU intelligence services. Less attention has gone to my point that this relationship raises strong suspicion of political intelligence activity and influence operations in Russia’s interest. These are serious claims and hard to prove. As a journalist, I cannot force anyone to speak or hand over documents. That is why gathering this information has taken so long—and why I spoke to that sensitive source (while the conversation was secretly recorded). Serious claims require serious evidence, and I believe I have gathered some. I have not engaged in espionage. I have not cooperated with any foreign intelligence service in surveilling Szijjártó. Instead, I tried to verify earlier fragments of information about Szijjártó–Lavrov communication. I sought to identify the channels and phone numbers used, and whether a secret channel—possibly used by Russian intelligence—exists. In other words, whether Szijjártó uses a hidden device or number unknown even within the Hungarian Foreign Ministry. This was only one part of my research. The other, more serious topic is this: Since at least 2016–2017, EU and NATO intelligence services have had indications that large amounts of cash and precious stones may have been transported from Russia on Hungarian government aircraft or private jets used by government figures. Officials from at least six countries made such claims to me. These signals did not come from monitoring Hungarian targets, but, for example, from intercepting Russian officials discussing or preparing such shipments. Alongside Szijjártó–Lavrov communication, I examined how baggage screening and handling works on such flights, which officials travel with what luggage, whether more packages arrive from Moscow than depart, and how such shipments could be handled discreetly. I know how serious this is, and I would not have written even this much—but since I do not know what else may be taken from the edited recording, or what fabricated accusations (like, for example, that I was seeking such details to commit terrorism) may follow, I believe I must share this now. Why do I investigate all this? According to many sources familiar with the Hungarian state and counterintelligence, there is no independent body in the Orbán system able to investigate or act if a senior official is suspected of espionage. Government members direct intelligence services and set expectations. The services lack both tools and authority to investigate a government member. I knew this would be difficult when I chose to pursue it. But few people in Hungary can or dare to do this, so I felt it was my duty. We have now reached the point where the Orbán government—of which Szijjártó is still a member—aware of my reporting plans and the risk they pose, has preemptively accused me of espionage. I am a Hungarian patriot. I serve the public. As an investigative journalist, my job is to hold power accountable. Neither political theater nor legal threats will deter me.

This is deeply alarming. According to statements from an IRGC official, Iran’s regime has now lowered the minimum age for participation in war-related roles to just 12 years old. Let’s be clear: Recruiting children into military activity is a violation of international laws and the international community must not stay silent. Twelve-year-olds, kids,being pulled into patrols, checkpoints, and military logistics. This is the same regime that lectures the world about morality. But when it comes to survival? They’re willing to send children into danger.

Invading and seizing these territories with ground forces will be far from a “final blow,” according to everyone who’s ever attempted such an undertaking.

@bopanc I’d say it is chipping away Gulf countries’ patience with / tolerance of Islamic regime and their hegemonic approach to destabilising ME and insistence on making it and the world as unstable & unpeaceful as possible.

Why would any Gulf country, or any country, want to host U.S. bases when they are utterly unable to protect them even from remote attacks? Every passing day of this is chipping away at the American hegemony

We are engaging with countries in the Middle East and the Gulf, which now show a strong interest in Ukraine’s experience in defending against drones. We already see that not only “shaheds” are being used in the region, but there is also growing evidence of the use of FPV drones. This is modern warfare, and everyone must be prepared for it. Ukraine has this expertise, and in exchange for our support we need help in areas where we face greater challenges. This includes protection against ballistic threats and financial resources for defense. Ukraine offers a mutually beneficial partnership: we can strengthen those who can strengthen us. The situation in the world now is such that only coordinated and joint actions can guarantee real results and genuine security. We are being blocked in Europe, and as long as this risk remains, we must seek out additional opportunities to strengthen ourselves. The Middle East and the Gulf are the right direction and serious opportunities to make Ukraine stronger.

Just something to think about Australia... Virtually all garbage trucks that collect your rubbish each week run on diesel... When that runs out, who collects the rubbish? #Fuel_Security_Is_A_Serious_Issue

Has any scriptwriter or filmmaker started work on a sequel to The Social Network? #Zuckerberg