A false tweet regarding HMS Diamond being hit by Houthi rockets is perfect to serve as a case study in understanding the dynamics of disinformation and the role of source credibility.

Bob Costello’s tweets about HMS Diamond needing repairs after alleged attacks by Houthi rebels ignited a discussion that highlights the spread of disinformation and demonstrates the pivotal role of shifting narratives and the influence of confirmation bias in public discourse.

In my view, it’s a fascinating insight into how these things work. You can also see some inaccurate claims about other projects in his tweet but we’ll focus on the claim about HMS Diamond today.

This article is a fact checking article, if you believe we’ve made an error you can submit a correction in line with our correction policy.

Bob is a real person by the way, you can read about him here.

The Twitter Thread

The narrative began with Costello’s assertion that HMS Diamond was significantly damaged in attacks by Houthi rebels—a claim he initially attributed directly to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and most importantly, one that is entirely false. This specific attribution to a credible and official source lent the claim an air of authenticity and urgency, compelling enough to catch public attention and concern.

However, the thread took a notable turn when the source of the claim was questioned by many users, myself included. Costello shifted from citing the MoD to claiming the information was “all over the news”. It wasn’t, and where did the number three come from?

This move from a specific and authoritative source to a more generalised and unverifiable one introduced ambiguity into the discussion, muddying the waters of what was previously presented as a clear-cut fact.

This shift is particularly illuminative when considering the role of confirmation bias in the dissemination and reception of information. Initially, individuals predisposed to believe in the fragility or failings of the British military might have found Costello’s MoD-referenced claim more convincing. Yet, as the source became less clear, the narrative’s credibility should, in theory, diminish. However, for those already inclined to believe in the narrative’s essence, the lack of specificity may not detract from its believability. Instead, their preexisting beliefs fill in the gaps left by the now ambiguous sourcing, maintaining or even strengthening their conviction in the claim’s accuracy.

The movement from a concrete source to an ambiguous one not only illustrates a common tactic in the spread of disinformation but also highlights the challenges in countering such claims. As the narrative’s origin becomes fuzzier, debunking the misinformation becomes a more complex task, especially when the discussion devolves into questioning the motives of those who demand evidence or clarity. At some point, it becomes impossible to keep the conversation going.

Costello’s subsequent remarks, which disparaged those who “believe anything the British government tells them,” further complicate the issue and it is my view that this may be intentional, although I cannot fathom what his intentions are. This stance is particularly ironic given that Costello himself initially cited the British government (the MoD) as his source.

Such a defensive shift towards questioning the credibility of skepticism, rather than substantiating his initial claims, diverts attention from the need for evidence and also deepens divisions, making it more challenging to reach a consensus on what is true or false.

This tactic of undermining trust in institutional information sources, after having invoked such sources to lend credibility to his claim, is such a common, routine tactic with this kind of thing and fits a fairly well known pattern.

How it’s done

Common tactics emerge when individuals repeat unverified information or, in some instances, fabricate claims and subsequently get caught.

  1. Initial Claim with Credible Source: The disinformation campaign kicks off with an assertion that HMS Diamond needed repairs following attacks by Houthi rebels, attributing this claim to the Ministry of Defence (MoD). This tactic of citing a credible source first lends an aura of legitimacy to the information, encouraging its acceptance among the audience.
  2. Shift to Vague Sources Upon Challenge: Upon facing scrutiny, the originator shifts from citing a specific, credible source to referencing vague, unverifiable ones, claiming the information was “all over the news.” This move is characteristic of disinformation efforts, designed to make the claim harder to refute directly while maintaining the narrative’s momentum.
  3. Exploitation of Confirmation Bias: This step exploits confirmation bias, where individuals are predisposed to accept information that aligns with their existing beliefs. The disinformation thus finds fertile ground among those already sceptical of the British military, demonstrating how disinformation thrives by resonating with the audience’s preconceived notions, despite the evolving nature of the claim’s sourcing.
  4. Questioning the Credibility of Scepticism: The strategy culminates in criticising those who trust government sources, despite the initial reliance on such sources for legitimacy. This tactic, aimed at undermining the credibility of scepticism and institutional trust, is a hallmark of disinformation campaigns, intended to polarise discourse and render individuals more susceptible to misleading narratives.

When asked for comment on his motivations, Bob blocked me.

The Minefield of Misinformation

Bob Costello’s tweets about HMS Diamond underscore the potent combination of human psychology and social media in the propagation of disinformation. Research has shown that tweets containing falsehoods were 70% more likely to be retweeted than those containing truthful information, a phenomenon driven not by bots, but by human users. Costello’s initial credible attribution to the MoD and subsequent shift to vague sources exemplify how misinformation can gain traction, leveraging the novelty and emotional engagement that drive retweets and shares.

The HMS Diamond tweet saga mirrors the broader challenges posed by fake news, as evidenced by a 2018 study highlighting the rapid spread of false news on Twitter. This case study reinforces the need for heightened vigilance and critical media literacy among the public, alongside more robust safeguards from social media platforms, to mitigate the impact of disinformation. Understanding the underlying mechanisms and human tendencies that facilitate the spread of fake news is crucial in devising effective strategies to combat this.

George Allison
George Allison
George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison
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74 COMMENTS

  1. Great to see UKDJ bringing up confirmation bias(has he been reading my posts 😀), its everywhere these days and its not just rogue actors. Its used in political spin by what are supposed to be trust worthy politicians and in sales. And its not always what we would describe as lies but things like publishing a fact that makes something look concerning but releality is its not a cocern. Example to discredit a company the press publish Acme Inc make 1m defective widgets, and yes they did but they make 1b widgets a month so the defect rate is > 0.1% and well within normal quality expectations. Everyone now thinks they should not buy from Acme Inc. because they have a quality problem. Of course to protect themselves the press say how many of the total this is but no one every reads beyond the head or retweets detail just the headline.

    • I’m not sure journalists feel they are under any obligation to tell the truth. Indeed I suspect that merely telling the truth would generally not get you published. It is perhaps necessary to embelish things much of the time.

        • We should be supporting the Free Press unencumbered represented by the BBC. They did not report this lie. The alternate is GB News and likes of Bob Costello

          • Your sarcastic P155 taking out of the BBC is of the highest order, I salute you!
            GB News as you likely know, is the most watched news channel in Great Britain or so they claim. They would be crucified by the lefty lunes for making that claim if it were not true.

          • The fact mostly old people watch the news channels may give a weird perspective.
            the Kids and I don’t really watch tv. We play computer, on demand programs like Netflix, YouTube etc, use internet.

          • Oh dear, no P155 take intended. I have never and would not watch GB News, they are simply a UK Clone of Fox. I am not of the Luney Left. I was someone who spent a long time pounding the streets on behalf of one Maggie Thatcher who would not recognise UK politics now.

          • The BBC may not have reported this particular misinformation but they are the same as any other outlet and often publish head lines which are intended to misrepresent.

          • Sorry, do not believe the BBC ever intend to mislead. But hey-ho maybe I am simply old fashioned.

          • They intentionally misreported in an article on a study on why London had the densest traffic in Europe at the time.
            The study itself clearly stated it was because of the UK coming out of lockdown earlier, however the BBC decided to say the study blamed it on cycle lanes.
            Despite those who carried out the study correcting them in an open letter the next day the BBC still waited weeks to correct the article.

            The BBC use the same outrage baiting tactics as the rest of them.

        • Hardly, they tell porkies all the time. Accusing them of confirmation bias falls short of the mark. It infers some unintentional bias rather than journalistic malpractice. deliberate false statements and dishonest reporting.

          I recall watching an interview for Panorama made by John Sweeny. That was so dishonestly edited, an interviewees answers to questions were rearranged to totally reverse the intended meaning! The interviewee secretly recorded the entire event and broadcast it publicly, with the BBC’s grossly damning version. It was cut and dried, blatant dishonest reporting. One of the best sting operations ever. It is still available on line somewhere.

          • Problem is with shows like panorama they think they have a story spend months investigating it but then find it may not be as sensational as they first thought but rather than can it I suspect they want to double down on the time invested and use creative editing to sensationalise. After all even journalist don’t like to walk into the bosses office and say they were wrong and they’ve just blown 6 months and a pile of cash on nothing.

          • That happens too. But there are blatant examples of journalistic malpractice. deliberate false statements and dishonest reporting.

          • John Sweeny is an investigative reporter and i doubt very much that he would agree to a dishonest slant on his investigation. Maybe you should listen to some of his podcasts they are on the whole very enlightening.

        • I suppose what I am looking for from any broadcaster, especially a public funded broadcaster, is the truth about the present and the past and the options (including the most likely option) for the future. This might be expensive & difficult to obtain but it can’t be as costly as misleading the population.

      • Read an interesting comment by an Estonian guy who greatly supports Ukraine who pointed out a number of articles you find published in respectable media articles even the Financial Times in an article last week, clearly fed by the Russian propagandists but do so because that ‘news’ attracts extra clicks and interests on a very large scale boosting their own exposure. Being used as useful idiots even when they know it sadly. Ties in infact with the flat earthers or sad individuals like Costello, who have a great need to be noticed and feel important and powerful in often dreamy lives. Sadly Democracies are far more victim to this than in places like Russia where a war blogger recently ‘committed suicide’ when coincidently going off piste.

  2. Anyone else find Bob incredibly annoying, a bore who lectures people at a family bbq or some guy in a pub claiming to know everything but when challenged reverses the argument back at you. I was in Starbucks in Sheffield and a bore sits in there every Saturday all day with his laptop and engages strangers with ‘facts’ when all they want to do is ignore him. I’m sat there as he’s lecturing a German couple (previously minding their own business) with the ‘fact’ that the British invented the concentration camp and the first to do it, not the Germans. I’m sat there thinking again with that Boer war myth/ disinformation again still echoing through time.

    • ‘Bob’ was / is right on the Brits being the first with concentration camps during the Boer war. Their (the Brits) acts of incarceration on women and children, and the resultant deaths of 27,000 in concentration camps, are well recorded.
      In today’s world it would be classed as genocide and a crime against humanity.

      • It never fails to amaze me regards the self-flagellation carried out by the ethical latte brigade on seeing a lilly white face in the mirror. That self loathing is championed by peoples who don’t have a stellar record on human rights . So yes its somewhat trendy to berate the European Empires for empire, Imperialism and of course colonialism  where the person throwing the stones knows only too well that anybody who tries to correct the misinformation peddled as historical fact can easily be cnacleed and silenced by playing the race card. Problem for people like you, is I’m not f-ing white and my parents came from a country which was part of the British empire and I have no problem correcting the tosh you lot come out with.
        Regards concentration camps, Gee I wonder where the Romans, Egyptians, Aztecs, The Islamic empire in Spain, the Ottomans , the Chinese, the Japanese and each and every African nation kept their chattel class . For example, my parents came from India and in India there is a caste system which has been in place for thousands of years and to this day the lowest Dalits are treated like dirt and they have to live in their own villages away from everybody else, they are not allowed to mix with higher castes and you know what, you see that caste system at work with the Gurkhas.
        How about how Muslims treat others for example jews and Christians were treated like dirt, in Egypt and Pakistan they have to remain in their own shit pits and carry out the most menial tasks , they were denied the right to an education, denied the right to bare arms (unless they were kidnapped as Children by the Ottomans and with a slip of the knife down below turned into Janissaries) In Egypt Coptic Christians are employed as  rubbish collectors (Aka bin men) any food they find they feed to pigs they keep and Muslims only go near them when they want something done, or they are on a murderous rant over a trumped up charge.
        All of the above have been going on for over 1000 years, yes the Brits kept the Boers in camps , but it wasn’t done maliciously and lasted a total of 3 years (1899-1902) and a total of 27k people died not due to been shoot, put in gas chambers but due to overcrowding and unsanitary conditions which led to outbreaks of disease, with typhoid, malaria, measles and dysentery becoming rife which we can put down to a lack of medical knowledge , such as how British doctors and colonial nurses were shocked by the traditional remedies often employed by the Boers: one supposed cure for typhoid involved placing the warm stomach of a freshly slaughtered sheep on the patient’s chest.
        But if you wish to play devils advocate would you like to comment on how In 1838, (61 years before the second Boer war)  the U.S. Army rounded up members of the Cherokee tribes from the southeast U.S., forcing them into prison camps before relocating them to Oklahoma. Many Native Americans died in these so-called “emigration depots” due to the rapid spread of disease in poor sanitary conditions.
         
        Or how the term concentration camp (Reconcentration policy) was actually invented by the Spanish Captaincy general  of Cuba Arsenio Martínez Campos who had his minion general Valeriano Weyler  to relocate Cuba’s rural population into concentration camps  as a way to separate rebels from the rural populace who occasionally fed and sheltered them. Affected people had eight days to relocate, and all who failed to obey were to be shot. Housing in camps was often decaying, food was scarce, and disease quickly spread through the camps. By 1898, a third of Cuba’s population had been moved into camps and over 400,000 Cubans died due to their subjected conditions.
        So no the British weren’t the first to come up with the concentration camp and neither were they the most deadly. I’m not saying the British are innocent, but when it comes down to the great scheme of things they get left behind by others who never get mentioned 

        • Very well said Sir. Your parents are to be congratulated on raising such a level headed son. It would be my pleasure to buy you a beer or two sometime.
          I’m surprised your reply has not been flagged and deleted!

        • I just answered his post but then read your post that answered it in a much better way and with much more gravitas.

        • BOOOOM!!!! Farouk at his very best. And the latte brigade are utterly silent.
          I’m copying this one.

        • As a member of the latte brigade I do love it when you lot get this triggered so easily.

          But overall I agree, giving something a name is not the same as being the first to do something. Pretending the British invented it requires denying it ever happened to anyone else before then.

          • I’m going to surprise you here by pointing out that my political bent is to the left of the colour spectrum .That came about to my time in Honduras and El Salvador and seeing how such countries laden with riches had such stark differences in wealth.
            For example I used to visit both countries once a fortnight when I was based in Belize and I would be put up in Hotels and be entertained by the Embassies on a night time . In Tegucigalpa I would be picked up around 7pm and return around midnight, I would then be picked up around 5am to be taken to the airport (One of the most dangerous airports in the world for aircraft) for my flight out. I would often see a woman with her 2 boys outside the foyer begging at all those times ,and when you see the same people over a period of a few months , it got me thinking that for the price of 1 nuclear bomb we could alleviate a lot of poverty in 1 country, instead of doing so, many countries aspire to (or to) build more.)

            The point I was making was regards the rise of this cult mindset which sees only white people as oppressive and who blame the West (But in this case the U.K.) as the reason behind everything and anything . So for example when somebody discusses the latest outrage somewhere in the world , we are often regaled to somebody excusing such behaviour by inserting a non sequitur claiming that (In this case) “yeah but the U.K. did this, that or the other. “ they have elevated to cult status this mindset that only white people can be guilty of evil, whilst ignoring the basic fact that predominantly white Christian countries were the ones which promoted “Liberté, égalité, fraternité” for all And in whitewashing intolerance by others (Historically or presently ) all I see happening is the erosion of the social fabric of civilised society which elevated the West and replacing it with the backward societies of the third world which have chained them to the dark ages.

            That is who I meant by my use of the metaphor of “Ethical latte Brigade”

      • No it was not, The actual term ‘concentration camp’ was invented by the Spanish (as campo de concentración or campo de reconcentración) in 1896 – three years before the 2nd Anglo-Boer War (1899 – 1904) started. It originated during The Cuban War of Independence (Guerra de Independencia cubana, 1895–98) was the last of three liberation wars that Cuba fought against Spain.

      • The Spanish were the first , then the Americans then it was the British, so they certainly was not the first. and the British only first set them up to house British refugees from the sackings by the Boer, they changed later by Kitchener to round up boer families which then resulted in disease. It was awful but no families were intentionally murdered so not genocide, so turn down the rhetoric. BTW don’t compare todays standards to then, as that rule applies to every tribe that ever lived almost and all would not measure up.

      • Umm not quite actually you are pushing a myth

        The first use of concentration camps was by Spain in the Cuban War of Independence or Guerra de Independencia Cuba from 1895–98 with the USA being able the Spanish-American War with the British being 3rd to use them

      • I actually doubt Brits were the first. It’s likely the likes of the Romans, Ghengist Khan etc forcibly incarcerated people. It’s incredibly easy to call out history and judge by the standards we adopt today. Obviously those who gave a political agenda tend to be very selective about who use as examples. Isn’t it odd historically it seems only white people are the only ones to have ever done anything nasty according to these people. It’s not just what these people comment on but what they don’t comment on tells us a lot.

      • I think you’ll find the Romans beat us to it. Following Caesar’s campaign through Gaul. He had camps set up to separate the captured men from women and children. Those men that didn’t bend the knee were slain on the spot, those that bent the knee were put into slavery.

        • I forgot to mention that and I’ve read what seems like every book on the Roman Empire. You’re right, Caesar was hardcore and utterly ruthless as the Gauls found, he wiped out hundreds of thousands of them. In fact why isn’t France wanting reparations and a formal apology from Italy, the Italians need to be taught how evil they are and tear down all those statues down in Rome. I say that being sarcastic but I did cheer when the statue of Coulson was taken down in Bristol, so clearly I’m conflicted on this subject and need a lay down.

      • This is incorrect, historically inaccurate, myth and misinformation.

        While the British did use concentration camps against the Boers, they were not the first, “In July 1900, antiwar MP David Lloyd George noted that Britain was in the process of repeating Spanish atrocities in Cuba.” DLG, was refering to CCs from four/five years previously.

        “Newspapers also noted the echoes of the Spanish approach in Cuba, and some of them enthusiastically called on the government to embrace a policy of reconcentration. The Pall Mall Gazette advocated the use of camps and recommended adopting Weyler’s model but stopping just short of starving Boer civilians.” Pitzer, Andrea – One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps (2017) Little, Brown and Company (Chapter 2: Death and Genocide in Southern Africa)

        Before Nazi extermination factories rose in Europe, before the first prisoner entered the Soviet Gulag, before the twentieth century had even begun, concentration camps found their first home in the cities and towns of Cuba.

        A year before Weyler’s arrival, Cuban rebels had declared independence from Spain. While the government in Madrid collapsed in the face of anxiety over yet another war, rebels spent the spring of 1895 harassing Spanish forces, occasionally seizing rifles, bullets, and food.

        It was further reported a week later: “Weyler’s Draconic Laws,” New York Times, February 18, 1896, page 5.

        The British were responsible for numerous atrocities, but since this article is about disinformation, it really would be nice if you didn’t fall into the same trap.

      • No the brits were not consentration camps are as old as war itself you can go back to Roman times when the romans herded people into camps

      • “Bob” was wrong. The first concentration camps were set up by the Spanish in Cuba in 1896 to incarcerate the rural population during the Cuban War of Independence.

        At one time, they held one third of the population, with over 127,000 (10% of the population) dying.

  3. Bob has a blog (linked into his twitter page) and he comes across as somebody who loves to peddle misinformation:

    and here is what he has to say about the Ukraine on the 3rd of Feb 2023:
    Ukraine    

    Well what can I say, but I told you so. Ukraine is on the point of collapse and hopefully with it will also come the beginning of the collapse of NATO which has been a willing participant in the war with Russia. If that happens, it will be the start of a peaceful world as NATO led by the USA has been responsible for virtually all wars on the planet for the last 40 years and they are getting worse with their support for the genocide in Palestine

    And here’s one from Jan 27th:

    Right let’s take Ukraine, ahh you will say, yes Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago. Well, it is not just as simple as that as this started some time before this, and in fact, it started in 2014.

    Now the area in contention is the Donbass area which is mainly Russian speaking and the reason for that is that it is mainly populated by Russian people and has been since the 18th century when Ukraine was part of Russia, which as a comparison is about two thousand years sooner than the Jews claim they were inhabitants in Palestine.

    So getting back to the recent war, which by the way, Russia calls a “special operation” Now in 2014, Ukraine was governed by a pro-Russia government and was by all accounts being governed reasonably well, apart from the corruption which has been endemic in Ukraine for many years. It has now however under Zelenskyy blossomed into an art form.

    Ok, so along comes jolly old Uncle Sam again and sets up various NGOs and ferments unrest. Now there was, since the second world war a very strong following of a guy called Josep Bandera, who was a raving Nazi and this cult is what the unrest was formed around. There was an incident in Kiev in Maiden Square where several protesters were shot, quite possibly arranged by Uncle Sam’s CIA. This started a mini revolution which displaced the government, ending up with Zelensky who started his working life as a comedian, and before long became a property billionaire with property in London and the south of France. 

    Ok so we have a nazi government who are not friendly with Russia which is not surprising as Russia lost 27 Million people to the Nazis in the second world war.

    The Ukraine Government then employed a Nazi battalion called Azov to lay siege to the Donbas area as they had expressed a wish to separate from Ukraine and govern themselves Azov killed 14,000 Donbas residents from 2014 until Russia stepped in to protect them in 2021. Oh one other thing, Ukraine made moves to join NATO and despite previous assurances between America and Russia that there would be no movement further east of NATO, Good Old Uncle Sam reneged on these agreements and prepared to allow Ukraine to join. This would have meant that there would have been nuclear weapons based on Russia’s border which would have been seven and a half minutes from Moscow.

    Anyway, that is not going to happen now as Uncle Sam has had his ass well and truly spanked along with his proxy Ukrainian army and shortly Russia will have achieved its objective which is the de-Nazification and de-militarization of Ukraine. Oh and by the way the Donbas, through a referendum is now part of Russia.

    And heres one from Oct 23:

    Make no mistake, the attack by Hamas over the most impenetrable border on the planet was all planned and it wasn’t all in Gaza, most of it was in Tel Aviv. This is a false flag incident on the level of Gulf of Tonkin incident at the start of the Vietnam War.

    • Yes. The odd fact mixed cleverly and deliberately with misinformation designed to mislead. To me it looks like the efforts of many people trying to weave words to fit a pro-russian and anti-west narrative. I doubt Bob cares one fig about Gaza.

      • Nor should he care about a terrorist enclave. With any luck and good planning, the Israelis will end the “Land for Peace experiment.” Resettling Gaza with Israeli farmers.

        Many British people have quickly forgotten why the IDF had to clean the place out. It’s a measure of how antisemitism has metastasised in our fine country. The antisemitic race riot recently held on Tower Bridge showed where the increase originated. Allegedly, British MP’s are terrified to leave the House of Commons because of the associated intimidation. One even resigned due to death threats because he stood up for a fellow parliamentary democracy with universal suffrage, Israel.

        Remember, the enemy of our enemy is our friend. Militarily we know that. The Five Eyes alliance frequently cooperated with our Israeli allies for the benefit of all. Someone needed to say it because most of our elected plebs have forgotten.
        Go Israel! Go the IDF!

        • George let’s not get carried away. Both sides need to understand that Israel exists and is going nowhere whilst at the same time Israel is surrounded by Arab countries who also are going nowhere. Both sides need to accept that they need to co-exist. Until both populations decide to accept that reality this situation is not going to improve for anyone.

          Nobody cares what the west thinks – we have absolutely no influence. We might be able to help if invited by all the parties but until then it is out of our hands.

          • Your argument is sound. However, I’m not so sure that the West has no influence or right to be involved in the Arab/Israeli fight. It’s as relevant to us as the Russo/Ukrainian squabble, maybe more so. We drew the lines on the map creating most of the countries in question. More importantly, due to immigration (legal or otherwise) the fighting spills over onto our streets. Neither things apply to Ukraine.

            Israel is very much a western style democracy sat in the middle of a alien cultural desert. If we had brought them into NATO, with article 5 protection. Several wars would never have happened. I’m not saying there would be peace between former enemies as we have in Europe because of the barbaric nature of the neighbourhood. But it would be much healthier for all concerned. It’s the half hearted diddling around by the west that has landed everyone in the current mess. Either we bring Israel fully into the fold or we just sit back and let nature do it’s genocidal thing, until invited by both sides. Which incidentally is my solution for Ukraine. Food for thought if nothing else.

          • Israel has adopted a policy of self-reliance which has served it well. Israel is in no need of support nor in my opinion does it want it. The six day war proved that beyond doubt. Yes in theory the US, UK and other countries have backed Israel in the past however Israel continue to look after themselves with the message that “If you mess with Israel you will pay a terrible price”. The US, for example, might wish to exert pressure on Israel but what can it do? To Israelis nothing is more important than their survival.

            Success with Ukraine depends upon NATO continuing it’s current approach. Ukraine can and will succeed by providing it’s own manpower and receiving kit from the west. Eventually it will become part of NATO as will any other stable democracy from around the world. Russia is a failed autocracy trying to recover lost territory. The Russian people will liberate Russia ultimately.

            The people from Gaza will have the homes & businesses rebuilt on the basis they expel Hamas and run their country on a democratic basis guaranteed by a whole swathe of NATO countries. From the ashes will rise a successful country thanks to the rest of the world. It is difficult to say when this will happen but it will happen. The alternative is too horrible for anyone to contemplate.

          • I agree about Israeli motivation and martial prowess. That’s why I admire them so much. Although I suggested them joining NATO, the time for that has passed us by. The alliance would need to toughen up considerably to match Israeli determination. It would be nice if the remaining population of gaza would denounce terrorism, Iranian support and perhaps their religion based antisemitism. However, the likelihood of that happening is less than democracy taking root in Afghanistan. (Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Sudan or Syria.) Lebanon came closest but we know what happened there.

            Israel needs to remove the threat from gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon/Syria before Iran achieves nuclear weapon status and launches against them. Briefly, it is Twelver Shiite religious doctrine to usher in the thirteenth imam and Armageddon. It is their belief that the Jewish people must all be killed or converted to trigger those events. Crazy but true.

            If you are not familiar with that long held primary aim please google it. The Centre for Islamic Studies has a very good description, complete with references and links. I discovered this lesser know doctrine while observing the Iran v Iraq War in the 1980’s. Looking for the motivation behind the mass human wave attacks that Iran employed. It shocked me and coloured my opinion of that branch of islam.

          • George I fully accept that this is a religeous conflict and as such unlikely to reach any kind of a satisfactory resolution. I was astonished that the Good Friday agreement came to pass let alone this …

            This is partly why I feel the West has little if any influence.

            It should perhaps be noted that increasingly the inhabitants of some of those countries you quoted wish to move on. Perhaps that will happen although it might also be true to say that whole region might well be destined for a long and brutal war.

            I am certainly puzzled as to what HMG, or parliament, or the US Government can possibly do which will change anything.

          • All sides involved with the Good Friday agreement were influenced by the western liberal society around them. That in my humble opinion was why the unlikely move towards peace took hold. Peace marches attended by right minded people and a good many concessions by T. Blair behind closed doors, sealed the deal. = The dangerous supporting work done by our security forces cannot be over emphasised. Unsung heroes as always.

            It may have all broken down if not for a number of fortuitous events shortly thereafter. Such as 9/11, the resulting US demand for a war on terror and it’s financiers. (In addition to cessation of certain NORAID contributions, curious Intel bloopers and the US need for British support. Justifying shady events in Iraq and Afghanistan. See the Times story titled: Bidens visit, a timely reminder of the US role in ending the troubles.) I have no wish to unpack that further on UKDJ but I’m sure you have the necessary quotient to extrapolate.

            Returning to safer ground. What can the collective “we” do to help Israel?
            Again, in my humble opinion. Work with them to rid the region of the imminent threat posed by crazy nuclear armed Ayatollahs. Something that would be militarily achievable if it were not for our shameful flight from Afghanistan and subsequent involvement in Ukraine. It’s now extremely difficult thanks to the budding material alliance between Iran and nuclear powers of Russia, N Korea and the ChiComs.

            The timing of the Hamas attack on Israel, was no coincidence. Neither was the Iranian sponsored Houthi involvement. I’m not one for swallowing extraordinary conspiracy theories without equally extraordinary evidence. But neither do I believe in coincidences. That would be unprofessional.

            If the HUMINT grapevine is to be believed, the fateful Hamas attack was brought forward by at least a year to coincide with Russia’s failing invasion of Ukraine. Thereby buying time for Iran’s almost completed nuclear programme. While further stretching NATO armed forces for Russia. Conjointly fermenting unrest in the ever growing, military age male immigrant population of Europe/US. Something of a bonus for Col. Putin the Ayatollahs and General Sec of the CCP Chairman Xi. It’s certainly hard to believe these events are unrelated either by accident or design.

            These are dark days regardless of how one chooses to interpret them. That’s all from me on the subject because it is far too detailed for simple replies. I wish you well Mark.

    • Correction, that would be Stepan Andriyovych Bandera. His followers who joined the SS, were welcomed to GB after WWII as refugees rather than war criminals. (I thought everyone knew that.) Their role in establishing MI6 agents in the USSR (Ukraine) cannot be emphasised strongly enough. Thank you gentleman, you helped win the Cold War (CW) and bring the evil USSR down. That’s partly why there is still a growing Bandera cult today.

      There is a brief precis of the events and timeline minus the CW dirty details, published by Mark Felton on YouTube. Bob C. obviously missed that episode for inclusion in his diatribe. I wonder, would he have embellished and blamed them for stirring up the coup in 2014. Maybe he just dislikes our most valued allies the United States of America.

      Josep must have been Stepan’s long lost brother from a different mother. Perhaps Bob is going senile. 😹

    • George is right on this one: it’s disinformation rather than misinformation. It’s done deliberatly for effect, not idly through neglect.

  4. Devils advocate time. People want “freedom”, so with that comes risks. Personally I do not see the point in “X”. I mean who has the time to sit reading obvious crap? As the vast majority of the population are, to put it in layman’s terms thick, it is no wonder stuff like this happens. Critical thinkers do not trust MSM. Most will garner information from various sources and draw their own conclusions right or wrong. With “freedom” in communication you will always have misinformation. The internet acts as a way for many people with personality disorder, social inadequacies and a plethora of other character defects to have an audience. So governments try to find ways to counter with their own, yes, I will use the term propaganda. And they use the internet for nefarious purposes too. So who believes what? Why do governments want to stop encryption? For myself, I trust nothing other than my own eyes, ears and limited analytical ability. It seems truth nowadays is vanishing, so trusting no one source of information is the best policy. And I prefer the company of my dog to people 😅

    • Tik Tok is Chinese,X/ twitter is owned.by a Russian sympathiser why are we surprised? Social media is a cess pit!

      • Bud, corporations, billionaires and communists. A recipe for disaster. Shame because the internet is one of mans greatest ever accomplishments.

  5. Generally agree with the author but think he is putting the boot into this Costello man a little bit here. Chap is in a t-shirt in his profile picture not uniform. Civilian casualties should be avoided – he is talking the Navy down though so he’s a rotter but we don’t use the stocks any more!

  6. This Costello geezer is a sad, SNP fascist who supports other none democratic fascist organisations such as Putins Russia. He obviously dislikes the very organisation, NATO, which has kept him free and safe to gob off. A typical example of a chip on the shoulder loser who has never attained the heights he deemed he should have. I have no doubt he is currently happy we have the anti semite Galloway winning the Islamic Republic of Rochdale local election.

    • Costello is a rare creature a level headed fool! The chips on both shoulders are the only things keeping him balanced. Stay frosty!

  7. Every Saturday morning as a child I would go to the Odean for Saturday morning Pictures and laugh at Abbot and Costello and their slap,stick humour ,it’s sad too ser Abbot leave the Duo and watch Costello become such a sad man curse the Interweb .We are talking about the same Costello aren’t we ? .Either way their both Clowns

  9. Well done on having having the patience to map out the rabbit hole.

    My logic here starts with the personal brand of the source.

    It’s a bullshit-artist from the deranged end of Scottish Nationalism, with all the usual tells, therefore credibility = zero.

    Therefore ignore.

  10. I contribute to the Hell site on occasion…As George is no doubt aware. I also put my tenp’enth in on Miss-information Bob’s tweet. Being limited to a set number of letters you must be short and succinct when dealing with such tweets.
    I usually switch to my use of colourful language and detailed explanations of their lies and errors which invariably gets me blocked by them.

    Another trend from him is to only answer specific posts from people with a large base following. That way his misinformation is pushed out a lot further and wider.

  11. This is a greater threat than most people realise..it’s not just about a tin hat brigade to be laughed at. There is an underlying weakness in the western world around the us of political warfare..this is just another example of that. China especially looks for individuals to feed narrative’s that sown discord in the west. They are not even particularly interested in any specific agenda they are simply trying to create mistrust in the institutions amongst the population and large splits in which the population will become discontent. China has around 3million individuals active in this political warfare dominate and it’s a domain the west is pretty much incapable of fighting in. It’s also one of the key domains that china thinks it can use to win a war..by effectively turning the west against itself and its leaders..source information for my claims; Dr Ross Babbage “The next Major war. Can the US and it’s allies win against china” 2023.

  12. It should be an offence to make unproven accusations about the UK military if the courts accept that such Comment caused members of the armed forces to be placed in danger or cause unnecessary anxiety to their family and loved ones.Imagine the worry to the families of the crews on that ship if they had read the comment. Punishment should be a period in prison for such offences. Personally I preferred this guy when he was with his mate Abbot, he was almost funny then.

  13. I think you missed the biggest falsehood there that prepares his further lies with an underlying sub conscious message. ‘This is the British military who think it’s good idea to go to war with Russia’. In what warped world is that in anyway in alliance with the truth? Nobody in any position of authority and influence in the military is seeking a conflict with Russia or itching to get into a fight. People like Costello others like Galloway or Corbyn for that matter, simply conflate being prepared for what might become an enforced conflict with actually seeking a conflict. Such figures do so for their own nefarious or delusional ends. It’s as stupid and ridiculous as the claim that disarming will ensure that no one will attack you when in reality as history demonstrates, it makes it far, far more likely that they will when those others gain a benefit in so doing or are deranged or obsessed with power and the need to leave a legacy. .

  14. You’d know if diamond or any other warship got hit, you’d the chancellor and defence secretary running for toilet as they know they can’t afford to replace it

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