Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: Israeli drone strikes town of Harouf, Nabatieh district.
Factions' statement: The attendees agreed to support and continue implementing the ceasefire agreement measures, including the withdrawal of the occupation and lifting the siege.
Factions' statement: Calling for an end to all forms of torture and violations against prisoners in occupation prisons and the necessity of obligating the occupation to do so.
Statement: The current moment is crucial, making the meeting a true turning point toward national unity in defense of our people and their right to life, dignity, and freedom.
Factions' statement: Call for an urgent meeting of all Palestinian forces and factions to agree on a national strategy.
Factions' statement: Continuing joint work to unify visions and positions to confront the challenges facing the Palestinian cause.
Statement of the factions: Emphasis on the unity of the Palestinian political system and the independent national decision.
Statement: Approval to establish an international committee to oversee the financing and implementation of the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
Statement: The committee is responsible for managing life and services in cooperation with Arab brothers and international institutions, based on transparency and accountability.
Resistance factions' statement: Agreement to hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a temporary Palestinian committee of independent technocrats.

X will send your ID, face to Israeli-based firm to verify your account

  • By Mohammad Al-Jaber
  • Source: Agencies
  • 20 Aug 2023 23:05
  • 3 Shares
5 Min Read

X will be cooperating with an Israeli-based tech firm to verify the identity of users who wish to verify their accounts under a new system.

  • x
  • A partially completed
    A partially completed "X" sign rests atop the company headquarters, formerly known as Twitter, in downtown San Francisco, on Friday, July 28, 2023 (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

X, formerly known as Twitter, will be collaborating with an Israeli-based tech firm on the verification of users' accounts through a new means, alleging that this is in a bid to combat impersonation.

Users will be required to upload a photo of their ID and take a selfie in order to get verified, while independent researcher Nima Owji shared a screenshot of what seems to be the stipulations of the verification process, chief among which is the usage of a device that has an "uncovered, working" camera.

The main issue, however, is the fact that X owner Elon Musk is collaborating with an Israeli-based third-party identity intelligence company, Au10tix, for the verification feature.

Read next: Elon Musk says US government can read private Twitter DMs

The platform will be storing the images of the user's ID and their biometric data for 30 days while allegedly using the information "for the purposes of safety and security, including preventing impersonation."

Au10tix is only obtaining the data to confirm the user's identity.

The Israeli occupation is notorious for its continuous violations in cyberspace, wherein it was found to be responsible for virtual extortion and blackmail campaigns.

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) slammed "Israel's" tech industry as a threat not just to Palestinians but also "to the world."

The statement comes following an investigation carried out earlier by a consortium of journalists, who work for 30 different news outlets, including Le Monde, Der Spiegel, and El País, exposing a private Israeli cyber-espionage company based in "Modi'in", a new illegal settlement established between "Tel Aviv" and occupied Al-Quds, responsible for virtual extortion, blackmail campaigns, and disinformation operations worldwide, targeting presidential-level elections in countries, manipulating lawsuits, influencing nuclear energy deals, and meddling in cryptocurrency prices.

Read more: After Pegasus Scandal, Gantz Heads to Paris for Discussions

The consortium of journalists, led by French NGO Forbidden Stories, revealed that the cyber unit was run by 50-year-old former Israeli special forces operative, Tal Hanan, working under the name of "Jorge".

Related News

Israeli drone strike kills one, injures another in South Lebanon

Iran calls for end to Western impunity for 'Israel' after ICJ ruling

The "Israeli disinformation technology, developed by former intel officers in Team Jorge, has been used in manipulating elections and rigging votes in 33 countries in Africa, US, Europe, Asia & Latin America," the statement continued.

BDS added, "Apartheid Israel's military technologies, tested on Palestinians, empower dictators' and authoritarian regimes' surveillance, torture, even assassination of human rights activists, journalists," and elected officials.

Israeli-led spyware industry has been embroiled in a seemingly never-ending spate of extremely prominent controversies. Revelations that it sells its spyware to authoritarian regimes, that its products have been used to spy on journalists, activists, politicians, and even potentially world leaders, and accusations that it played a role in murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi's death have put it at the center of international criticism.

In December 2022, US senior senators said they will look into the government's purchase and use of strong spyware developed by two Israeli hacking firms called Graphite, as Congress passed legislation aimed at limiting the spread of hacking tools.

Before Musk took over the company and turned its verification program into a for-profit feature that only required users to pay a fee at the end of each month, Twitter had a different program and features for verified accounts.

Read next: Chaos ticks on Twitter after Musk enforces free blue checkmarks

As a mechanism put in place to stop misinformation, verification has been free and serves as a confirmation of validity for the accounts of users such as governments, journalists, celebrities, and sports leaders. 

Verification was just to verify that someone was real and their account was genuine rather than someone pretending to be a celebrity, for example. The rules back then stipulated that people were eligible for a blue checkmark if they supplied either official website links, a photograph of a legitimate government-issued ID, or an official email address.

Twitter began rolling out the contentious new paid subscription system in November, which Musk ordered staff to construct a week after taking over the platform.

Days into his leadership of one of the world's major venues for dialogue and activism, his promises and provocations elicited a flood of responses, including warnings from the United Nations and an apology from Twitter's co-founder.

His intention to reduce content monitoring on the site has alarmed UN rights chief Volker Turk, who urged him to make human rights a priority for the social network. "Twitter has a responsibility to avoid amplifying content that results in harm to people's rights," Turk said in his open letter. 

The new version of Twitter Blue, which costs $8 per month, gives users a blue checkmark and benefits like fewer ads in their feeds, more characters in their posts, and priorities in feeds, to name a few.

  • Israel
  • Israeli occupation
  • Elon Musk
  • Twitter
  • X

Most Read

From previous scenes of the Qassam Brigades targeting an Israeli D9 bulldozer with a Yassin 105 shell, east of Deir al-Balah. (Military Media of the Qassam Brigades)

US knew fatal Rafah blast cause was not Hamas op., says journalist

  • Politics
  • 20 Oct 2025
'Israel’s Digital Iron Dome: Weaponizing the web against Palestine

'Israel’s Digital Iron Dome: Weaponizing the web against Palestine

  • Technology
  • 24 Oct 2025
Abu Hamza, the spokesperson for the Al-Quds Brigades, during a speech televised on October 22, 2025 (Al-Quds Brigades Military Media)

Al-Quds Brigades' Abu Hamza mourns leaders, vows continued resistance

  • Politics
  • 22 Oct 2025
US missionary kidnapped in Niger capital, suspected taken toward Mali

US missionary kidnapped in Niger capital, suspected taken toward Mali

  • Africa
  • 23 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
The Mann beach lighthouse stands next to Naufragio Bay in San Cristobal, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, May 2, 2020. (AP)
Politics

Ecuador's Noboa considering hosting foreign military bases

Inside Rubio's push for government change in Venezuela: DropSite
Politics

Inside Rubio's push for government change in Venezuela: Drop Site

Maduro rejects US accusations, highlights ties with Colombia
Politics

Maduro rejects US accusations, highlights ties with Colombia

Pentagon accepts $130M anonymous donation during shutdown
Politics

Pentagon accepts $130 mln anonymous donation during shutdown

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS