The hacking and disinformation team meddling in elections | First Thing

Tal Hanan, the mastermind of the Team Jorge' unit, claims covert involvement in 33 presidential elections. Plus, the truth about caffeine

Good morning.

A team of Israeli contractors who claim to have manipulated more than 30 elections around the world using hacking, sabotage and automated disinformation on social media has been exposed in a new investigation.

How did undercover reporters catch Team Jorge" disinformation operatives on camera? For more than six months, undercover reporters posed as consultants working on behalf of a businessman who wanted to delay an African election.

How does the unit spread disinformation? Advanced Impact Media Solutions, or Aims, which controls more than 30,000 fake social media profiles, can be used to spread disinformation at scale and at speed. It is sold by Team Jorge".

What's happening in France? France's most-watched news channel, the 24-hour BFMTV, has suspended one of its longest-serving presenters and launched an internal investigation into news packages linked to an Israeli disinformation unit calling itself Team Jorge".

What else did Whitmer say? We know this is a uniquely American problem ... Our children are scared to go to school. People feel unsafe in their houses of worship, or local stores. As parents, we tell our kids it's going to be OK. But the truth is words are not good enough. We must act and we will."

Who were the victims? They have been named as Alexandria Verner, Brian Fraser and Arielle Anderson. All three came from the suburban Detroit area.