IFTAS

https://mastodon.iftas.org/@iftas

⁂ Independent Federated Trust and Safety - We support the people making the Social Web safer by convening and creating best practice, resources and services for open social moderators, community managers, and service admins.

#FediMods #FediAdmins #MastoMods #MastoAdmins #Moderation #TrustAndSafety

About IFTAS: https://about.iftas.org
SW-ISAC Social Web Advisories: https://mastodon.iftas.org/tags/SW_ISAC_ADVISORY
Shared Community Resources: https://about.iftas.org/trust-safety-services/
Support Our Work: https://about.iftas.org/donate/

Public Key

npub1y2r2mwt42zufw0dr9kmfz4sjdcan0f3azekpkpp2qlvf8x39cqsqx2kvzk

NIP-05 Address

iftas_at_mastodon.iftas.org@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsz9p4dh964pwyh8k3jmd532cfxuweh5c73vmqmqs4q0kynngjuqgqprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0d4hhxarj9ecxjmnt874e9h

Publishing to

relay.momostr.pink

Author Public Key

npub1y2r2mwt42zufw0dr9kmfz4sjdcan0f3azekpkpp2qlvf8x39cqsqx2kvzk

Show more details

Last Notes

2026-09-12 16:59:45 UTC

Mastodon and forks allow banning the use of certain usernames at /admin/username_blocks – this will stop emails going out as the username cannot be chosen, but it will stop any and all usernames (including valid requests) containing “bp” – this should be considered a temporary measure.
#bpSpam
https://mastodon-iftas-org.s3.bhs.io.cloud.ovh.net/media_attachments/files/117/259/131/110/178/163/original/d165a0b4854cd41f.png

2026-08-03 21:24:25 UTC

If you haven't yet silenced the following domains, you are potentially federating non-stop pro-Russian state-sponsored spam and slopaganda.
Local timelines make it very clear these services are overrun, abandoned spam factories with 150-300 bot accounts posting 24/7.
https://zirk.us/public/local
https://sigmoid.social/public/local
https://social.roadfm.fr/public/local
todon.ploud.fr (appears to be offline at the moment)
https://truthsocial.co.in/public/local
See https://about.iftas.org/iftas-abandoned-unmanaged-denylist-output/ for suspend vs silence recommendations.

2026-07-29 21:37:33 UTC

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definitely needs to be done better next time, I'll work on making it easier.

2026-07-29 21:08:37 UTC

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hrm, I'll be more explicit next year, the idea is if you put in incoming and outgoing costs they should be comparable. I'll work on ways to simplify that, but for now, fill i tout in any way which makes sense to you.

2026-07-29 20:55:54 UTC

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ach, that's both upsetting and true.
Best I can say is look yourself up on your node file eg https://mastodon.radio/api/v1/instance and search for user_count

2026-07-28 18:44:39 UTC

Only 2 days left to share your voice in our annual #Fediverse survey!
If you run, manage, or moderate a #SocialWeb service, your anonymised and aggregated feedback goes directly to lawmakers and regulators around the world.
If they don’t know our concerns, they can’t write laws that protect our mission.
Help shape the policies that impact us. Take 5 minutes to share your experience:
➡️ https://tally.so/r/81MW6k

2026-07-15 17:51:43 UTC

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depends on the platform, what are you using?

2026-07-15 15:43:14 UTC

A cluster of ~300 WordPress web sites have begun federating over ActivityPub and then bridging to ATProto, all Swedish, mostly blank.
Could be innocuous, could be the beginnings of an ad-farm, could be something more troubling.
We have no idea, but here's a list of domains in case anyone wants to poke around and see if there's anything to be gleaned. Please use all sensible precautions before visiting an untrusted domain.
https://pastebin.com/8PHQg0ZW

2026-07-11 18:15:06 UTC

IFTAS has now observed and reported over 4,000 inauthentic accounts created by the Portal Kombat/Matryoshka disinfo #FIMI team. This number is just the accounts manually observed and verified by humans.
Could be there's twice as many, ten times as many, who knows?
Each account spews non-stop automated slopaganda and inauthentic boosts.
Roughly 65% of our reports are acted on.
In other words, huge volumes of unchecked spam federating around the web.
Learn more: https://about.iftas.org/library/suspected-portal-kombat-accounts/
https://mastodon-iftas-org.s3.bhs.io.cloud.ovh.net/media_attachments/files/116/902/694/675/728/740/original/81333733af29c1e1.png
https://mastodon-iftas-org.s3.bhs.io.cloud.ovh.net/media_attachments/files/116/902/697/344/966/379/original/1d36052dcd77ebcf.png

2026-06-18 14:56:23 UTC

We're seeing a lot of account takeovers of old, unused accounts. If your account has elevated privileges (eg admin or moderator access) we strongly advise you enable multi-factor authentication.
Please boost for visibility.
#FediAdmin #FediMods #MastoAdmin

2026-06-08 21:05:16 UTC

⚠️ #SW_ISAC_ADVISORY
The following domains have been added to the IFTAS Abandoned/Unmanaged Domain denylist with a "Silence" (aka "Limit") recommendation:
mastodon.lithium03.info
zirk.us
https://about.iftas.org/library/iftas-abandoned-and-unmanaged-domain-list/
#Spam #CIB #FIMI

2026-06-03 11:53:39 UTC

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We're at 33 supporters on our "Power of One" campaign.
Keeping our research, open tools, and infrastructure free for the entire ecosystem requires sustainable support.
If you can you spare just 1 euro, dollar, pound a month, 12 a year to help us make sure we can keep the lights on it makes a huge difference.
And if you can't, please spread the word. Sharing our tools and resources is the most helpful thing you can do to support the network.
Join us, support us: https://givebutter.com/iftas-power-of-one

2026-06-03 11:49:37 UTC

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I will be traveling later today to attend the PublicSpaces Conference in #Amsterdam titled "Technology for Democracy" https://conference.publicspaces.net/en to collaborate with others building a safer, independent social web.
If you're attending, let's connect!

2026-06-03 11:46:02 UTC

Every year IFTAS surveys a broad range of community builders to learn what's working and what's not.
As we prepare for our upcoming annual survey, now's the perfect time to look back at the data driving our work. If you want to see the real challenges currently facing server admins, moderators, and community managers, you can read our full 2025 report here:
https://about.iftas.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Social-Web-Trust-Safety-Needs-Assessment-Report-2025.pdf
This data isn't just academic, it shapes what we work on, advocate for, and seek to support.
https://mastodon-iftas-org.s3.bhs.io.cloud.ovh.net/media_attachments/files/116/685/998/370/879/363/original/025efa1f2b3d9815.png

2026-05-30 23:12:21 UTC

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>it would be nice for admins to be made aware - we have reported over 2500 accounts to the admins in question, and published posts and blogs about the issue. 9,000 Mastodon servers to reach, many non-English speaking, it's a complex issue.
>OTOH what’s stopping a bad actor from hosting their own instance and populating it with 50K accounts of pre-slop?
https://fediverse.observer/pravda.me

2026-05-30 17:46:21 UTC

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we believe the intent is not to gain traction on the network, but to provide hundreds of "independent" sources to overwhelm LLM scrapers with the content.
In many ways, it's a perfect solution as because (as you mentioned) the content offers free web hosting for content that is barely visible on the network unless you follow these bots, so there's no major incentive to get rid of it.

2026-05-28 12:28:13 UTC

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If you value this work and want to see our safety resources stay online, independent, and active, please consider joining our Power of One campaign.
We are looking for 500 supporters to contribute just 1 (£, €, $) a month. Small change, big difference.
Support IFTAS here: https://givebutter.com/iftas-power-of-one
https://mastodon-iftas-org.s3.bhs.io.cloud.ovh.net/media_attachments/files/116/652/195/144/385/504/original/488fbba0d7315327.png

2026-05-28 12:23:00 UTC

⚠️ #SW_ISAC_ADVISORY
The following domain(s) are entering the IFTAS Abandoned/Unmanaged Domain (AUD) review process:
mstdn.at
paxation.info
sigmoid.social
zirk.us
These nodes are open registration, are being used by coordinated botnets, and are unresponsive to reports, DMs, and Email communications.
If you have contacts at any of these services, please reach out and let them know we have been trying to contact them for three weeks.
#Spam #FIMI #CIB
https://about.iftas.org/library/iftas-abandoned-and-unmanaged-domain-list/

2026-05-21 14:41:58 UTC

RE: https://masto.ai/@Nonilex/116612907554964438
#MastoAdmin #MastoMods community should be on the alert for hijacked accounts. We have observed some signals of dormant accounts suddenly being used in the past two or three weeks.
#note1s9e…vcv9

2026-05-19 15:46:07 UTC

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the program appears to be attempting to convert times to my local times, but is only getting halfway. I think I have it figured out, but is there a just-show-NL-times option?
https://mastodon-iftas-org.s3.bhs.io.cloud.ovh.net/media_attachments/files/116/602/012/009/544/054/original/c3fc5c9bdb99f3d9.png

2026-05-14 13:45:27 UTC

Spot-the-not-a-bot! One of these profile bios is not a bot, can you tell which one?
Option 1. Born in Cook Islands, moved into Bartender after studying COBOL
Option 2: Graphic Designer focused on cordless with an eye for Aquamarine design
Option 3: Living by the sea, guided by the stars. Moon-minded. Tide-pulled. Alchemist.
Option 4: Low-fi 90's.
#BotWatching

2026-05-06 22:44:10 UTC

Over 2,000 accounts now being tracked on the Russian Botnet infecting the fediverse.
35% of them would be silenced or suspended by the IFTAS AUD list.
More info: https://about.iftas.org/library/suspected-portal-kombat-accounts/
https://mastodon-iftas-org.s3.bhs.io.cloud.ovh.net/media_attachments/files/116/530/016/470/357/104/original/f56ab867af97d389.png
https://mastodon-iftas-org.s3.bhs.io.cloud.ovh.net/media_attachments/files/116/530/023/539/029/651/original/d9e2c55989cba6e0.png
https://mastodon-iftas-org.s3.bhs.io.cloud.ovh.net/media_attachments/files/116/530/037/507/807/109/original/f587b591207899a3.png

2026-04-23 15:38:03 UTC

social.roadfm.fr is hosting 98 state-sponsored Russian propaganda bots, Fediverse welcomes them!
I say welcomes because as the bot controllers know, the Fediverse blindly trusts every other Fediverse instance, bridge, anything that speaks ActivityPub - isn't that cool?
Free web hosting on thousands of hobbyist-run web sites around the world, such a great resource!
social.roadfm.fr is running in second place right now, only one other server that we know of has more of these bots.
cc @npub1l8q…mdhh
https://mastodon.iftas.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/454/741/233/267/107/original/88e48c8615584880.png
https://mastodon.iftas.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/454/734/428/470/705/original/af1696e8059c0b90.png
https://mastodon.iftas.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/454/745/965/133/911/original/82fe707a74adf029.png
https://mastodon.iftas.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/454/761/038/778/799/original/c57031935f9f54b1.png

2026-04-17 13:00:48 UTC

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Observed on 77 domains so far, eg
https://electroverse.tech/directory?local=true&order=new
https://darmstadt.social/directory?local=true&order=new
https://h4.io/directory?local=true&order=new
https://imastodon.blue/directory?local=true&order=new
https://mast.qixto.com/directory?local=true&order=new
https://todon.ploud.fr/directory?local=true&order=new
https://wehavecookies.social/directory?local=true&order=new

2026-04-17 12:58:49 UTC

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...and deeply fingerstache.

2026-04-17 12:51:27 UTC

The following domains have open registration, are being overrun by coordinated LLM bot spam, and are unresponsive to outreach requesting account reviews or refuse to remove these accounts.
These may be added to the Abandoned/Unmanaged Denylist. Anyone with opportunity to help alert these admins please do so.
https://iamveryti.red/directory?local=true&order=new
https://imastodon.blue/directory
https://h4.io/directory?local=true&order=new
https://zirk.us/directory?local=true&order=new
https://mastodon.lithium03.info/directory?local=true&order=new
https://organica.social/directory?local=true&order=new
https://wehavecookies.social/directory?local=true&order=new
#SPAM #CIB #FIMI

2026-04-04 17:56:47 UTC

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The open-registration domain in question was observed as allowing spammers and pro-Russian disinformation contractors in November 2025. Repeated attempts to contact the administrator via email (bounced) and direct message were ignored. The observed accounts are still active, we stopped tracking them in February and added the domain to AUD, there may be more now. Any request to remove the domain from the list must come from admin.

2026-03-31 17:33:06 UTC

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purely an FYI, not a call for any action but in case you're interested - a number of your top ten content sources are known spam services, more info here: https://about.iftas.org/library/known-spam-fediverse-services/

2026-03-09 17:39:39 UTC

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If you haven't blocked the root domain at Hugging Face (hf.space) be aware there is new Pleroma-based activity coming from
saly125-a.hf.space

2026-03-05 09:07:10 UTC

hf.space is a hosting service for "AI Apps" and is currently being used to generate large amounts of #Spam on federated networks. The subdomain seen in use is ali525-q.hf.space - however, numerous spam activities are paused, running, or being stopped by HuggingFace and at this time we recommend suspending federation with the hf.space domain entirely.
ref: https://huggingface.co/ali525/spaces
to report the HF user see https://huggingface.co/content-policy

2026-02-26 18:29:50 UTC

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please untag me from this portion of the thread

2026-02-26 18:19:05 UTC

⚠️ SW-ISAC Advisory
The IFTAS Do Not Interact domain denylist has been updated.
This newly added domain(s) are identified as federating TVEC and explicit content based on human review.
If your service imports the IFTAS DNI denylist, please update accordingly.
https://about.iftas.org/library/iftas-dni-list/
#SW_ISAC_Advisory #TVEC #ExplicitContent

2026-02-25 22:13:03 UTC

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Thanks to our community, these labels and their definitions are also available in other languages. Special thanks to DTSP for re-releasing these labels as Creative Commons, allowing us to solicit translation volunteers.
Français
Português Brasileiro
Scots Gaelic (labels only)
简体字 (Simplified Chinese)

2026-02-25 21:43:38 UTC

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No, I don't see that. I see that in tightly constrained timelines of mutual follows, but I don't see it on fedi writ large.
We are all prisoners of our own chronological bubbles.
Run a few accounts on a few different servers on a few different platforms with a few different denylists, or none.

2026-02-25 21:27:06 UTC

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I'm not saying it fails to deal with anything at all, from your perspective, for your needs. There are a million fediverses, you get to do whatever you want with yours.

2026-02-25 21:13:42 UTC

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it only conflicts if you want to pressure other people to take your approach. You get to do it your way. 40,000 other people get to do it their way.
And I'll add, not all activities need to be reactive, some proactive steps can be helpful, including blocking known bad actors.

2026-02-25 20:38:42 UTC

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im personally a proponent of a standard list so we can share lists. If I share a list with undefined labels, who would ingest it? We have more moderators than Twitter, but without a shared vocabulary we cannot coordinate, collaborate, communicate

2026-02-25 20:33:19 UTC

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I'm biased, we use industry standard terms available under creative commons. These are not IFTAS labels btw, these are DTSP labels.

2026-02-25 20:28:39 UTC

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I was there for the 90s. We are not in that. We are in an interconnected world of 40,000 services sending copies of their content to be stored and hosted by their peers. Some of this content is illegal in most countries. Some of it has caused severe harm to people I've worked with as they melt down. Some of it is appropriate for a given community, some of it is not. Some of it is regulated by some of the countries so e of these services are located in. Welcome to the 2020s.

2026-02-25 19:58:55 UTC

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I disagree. The only servers that should be blocked are those that the operator of the service exposing themselves to the responsibilities and liabilities of hosting user generated content wish to block. Everyone gets to make their decisions, for themselves or for their community. Not me. Not you. Them.
Federation is a privilege, not a right.

2026-02-25 19:40:41 UTC

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let's talk about labels, I believe any nextgen ingestion should use the shared vocabulary to take in blocks by label https://about.iftas.org/library/shared-vocabulary-labels/
Maybe you want to block CSAM, but don't care about copyright infringement... (This way we could run one list instead of five and you choose the harms you want to block, as everything is labelled)

2026-02-25 19:37:17 UTC

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I also believe platforms that offer a "flagship" server should make /their/ denylist available at install, after all, they know a lot more about what they're seeing on the platform than anyone else. "We block these servers, you might want to, too'

2026-02-25 19:33:01 UTC

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/me whispers "independent"

2026-02-25 19:32:32 UTC

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WordPress and BridgyFed offer it as a default option, would love to see more platforms educating their admins as to the basic why-you-might-want-a-denylist and offering recommended options.

2026-02-23 18:09:06 UTC

⚠️ SW-ISAC Advisory
The following domain(s) have been added to the IFTAS Abandoned/Unmanaged List:
social.5th.ro
tty0.social
The following domains are being escalated to the watchlist:
iamveryti.red
https://about.iftas.org/library/iftas-abandoned-and-unmanaged-domain-list/
#SW_ISAC_ADVISORY

2026-02-20 17:37:55 UTC

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there's a lot, it's everywhere, and it's growing.

2026-02-18 19:53:26 UTC

Really happy to see a focus on safety in this new blog post from the @npub163h…mv0n team
https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2026/02/connecting-the-world-through-thriving-online-communities/
https://mastodon.iftas.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/093/378/485/536/210/original/8eee9ae9561781cd.png

2026-02-18 17:31:53 UTC

Decentralised social media isn't just a tech experiment, it's critical infrastructure for a resilient democracy. Bertelsmann Stiftung's latest report explores how open protocols like ActivityPub can break tech monopolies.
How do we scale? The report calls for better usability & lower entry barriers; mandated interoperability via EU policy; public institutions hosting their own instances.
https://www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/de/publikationen/publikation/did/decentralized-social-media-platforms-as-a-path-to-a-more-resilient-information-ecosystem
Thanks to @npub1mf6…g967 and @npub1evt…xdke Clara Ruthardt and Charlotte Freihse

2026-02-17 17:53:52 UTC

⚠️ SW-ISAC Advisory
The following domain(s) have been added to the IFTAS Abandoned/Unmanaged List:
pol.social
social.roadfm.fr
The following domains are being escalated to the watchlist:
social.5th.ro
tty0.social
https://about.iftas.org/library/iftas-abandoned-and-unmanaged-domain-list/
#SW_ISAC_ADVISORY #Spam #CIB

2026-02-10 16:50:57 UTC

⚠️ SW-ISAC Advisory
The domains below are open registration, and are hosting numerous spam accounts including a large number of the pro-Russian spam that we have been monitoring since late last year.
We are still waiting on responses from the relevant admins, and these domains are not being added to the AUD list at this time.
We recommend a mute, limit, or otherwise diminishing federation with these accounts in the meantime.
pol.social
social.roadfm.fr
#SW_ISAC_ADVISORY #Spam #CIB

2026-02-09 02:54:22 UTC

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Hasn't crossed my radar, but I'll poke about and see if anyone else has any insight.

2026-02-09 02:50:35 UTC

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For broader communities, a more diverse moderation team becomes more appropriate to ensure that different perspectives are understood, that marginalised voices are not inadvertently silenced, and that policies are applied fairly across different groups. I'd suggest encouraging communities to think proactively about this balance, consistency and context in smaller spaces, while considering broader representation if scale/complexity increases.

2026-02-09 02:49:50 UTC

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in smaller, tightly-focussed communities, some degree of shared lived experience or context among moderators can help maintain cohesion and clarity of norms. Specialisation in these cases can be a strength, especially where trust is built through long-standing relationships or shared values. For sure, as communities grow or broaden in scope, the risk of blind spots increases.

2026-02-06 18:54:24 UTC

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The web page that contains a link to the file was last updated in November.
The file that page links to was updated yesterday. The file itself is always the latest version.
This page may be more helpful to determine update date: https://about.iftas.org/iftas-dni-latest/
And I'll think about ways to have the parent page show an update if the file link is updated. This is all manual, nothing automated.

2026-02-05 21:31:22 UTC

⚠️ SW-ISAC Advisory
The IFTAS Do Not Interact domain denylist has been updated.
This newly added domain(s) are identified as federating illegal content, based on human review.
If you are a user of the IFTAS DNI denylist, please update accordingly.
https://about.iftas.org/library/iftas-dni-list/
#SW_ISAC_ADVISORY #CSAM

2026-02-05 21:12:59 UTC

⚠️ SW-ISAC Advisory
The following domain(s) have been added to the IFTAS Abandoned/Unmanaged List:
m.pupu.moe
social.sengeis.priv.at
https://about.iftas.org/library/iftas-abandoned-and-unmanaged-domain-list/
#SW_ISAC_ADVISORY #Disinformation #CIB #Spam

2026-01-30 09:13:28 UTC

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is a recording or a transcript available?

2026-01-22 19:03:44 UTC

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https://about.iftas.org/library/denylist-resources/
and
https://about.iftas.org/library/denylist-management-tools/

2026-01-21 21:44:45 UTC

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update the original, thanks!

2026-01-21 21:11:14 UTC

Who moderates the social web?
In the second post of our 2025 report series, we look at the people behind the work, their roles, experience, and how many are burning out.
Now with three years of data, we’re also looking at trends.
https://about.iftas.org/2026/01/26/behind-the-numbers-who-moderates-the-social-web/
#TrustAndSafety #Moderation #FediMods #MastoMods

2026-01-21 20:24:00 UTC

⚠️ SW-ISAC Advisory
The IFTAS Do Not Interact domain denylist has been updated.
The DNI List is an IFTAS-curated list of domains that are highly recommended for defederation. Each domain is labelled using a shared vocabulary label. Each domain is investigated by human review for governance, common content, network and service activities, hosting location and more.
If you are a user of the IFTAS DNI denylist, please update accordingly.
https://about.iftas.org/library/iftas-dni-list/
#SW_ISAC_ADVISORY

2026-01-16 22:58:56 UTC

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I can now only pronounce "IFTAS" as "IFTAHSSS"

2026-01-09 02:08:39 UTC

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Just by the by, Mastodon, Pleroma, Friendica, GoToSocial all have allowlist options for federation as I understand it. Maybe others, maybe Bonfire?

2026-01-08 20:19:03 UTC

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here's what I think might be an illuminating factoid:
The IFTAS CARIAD observatory monitors the domain blocks put in place by the largest servers.
5,868 domains have been blocked by at least one of the observed sources.
Not a single one of those 5,868 instances is blocked by all of them.
Only eight domains are blocked by over 90% of the sources.
I think that speaks volumes about this network's ability to govern itself.

2026-01-08 20:10:18 UTC

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To your second point, I find it odd when people start leaning toward requiring - or wanting to require - others to hear them.
There are already large fractures, eg global north to SE Asia/Japan instances. You have every right to publish your content, and everyone else has every right to see or not have to see it.
This is how civil society, and our freedoms of expression and association work. Those freedoms include the freedom to not express and to not associate.

2026-01-08 20:08:46 UTC

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I can't personally imagine a world where large services go to allowlist, we've not seen them be overly blocky with their denylists, it would be very odd to see any large service move to allowlist.
In general the larger they are, the more permissive they are, I think that's a natural and probably desired result.
Federation is a privilege, not a right.

2026-01-08 19:50:59 UTC

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that is definitely a danger we need to work to avoid, and there's plenty of lessons learned we need to not ignore from email's lifecycle.

2026-01-08 19:46:42 UTC

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there will undoubtedly be pushback to any structural changes, but as the network grows, so do the vectors for harm and conflict.
It's a messy network and we all only see the parts of it we're aware of. As more and more companies, people, services join, some communities will likely seek to shrink their visibility or exposure, I think this is a natural outcome.

2026-01-08 19:39:34 UTC

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I think the point would be that no-one will force /you/ to do it, but some (mostly smaller) communities seem to want it, and that's their choice, just as much as your choice is yours.

2026-01-08 19:24:56 UTC

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thanks for the feedback!
I think as with all things global, some things will work for some, other things for others. A mix of denylist, greylist, and allowlist options would let every community pick what's best for them.
And, even with allowlist, one probable outcome would be "allow what these other servers I trust allow" and greylist everything else - the possibilities are pretty wide.

2026-01-08 17:00:13 UTC

The 2025 Social Web Trust & Safety Needs Assessment Report is now available.
Volunteer moderators are burning out. Spam is rising. Legal threats are growing.
The 2025 Report reveals where things stand, and what must change.
Read it now: https://about.iftas.org/2026/01/08/the-2025-social-web-trust-safety-report-is-here/
#TrustAndSafety #Moderation #FediAdmin #MastoAdmin #Moderators #FediMods #MastoMods
#note1dmk…9v3d

2026-01-07 20:37:59 UTC

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domains are sometimes added as a catch-all for numerous subdomains.
This domain is blocked for spam and DDOS issues; separately CARIAD shows 87.5% of observed sources blocking the domain at this level.

2026-01-07 15:56:43 UTC

⚠️ SW-ISAC Advisory
The IFTAS Do Not Interact domain denylist has been updated.
This newly added domains are identified as serving illegal content, based on human review.
If you are a user of the IFTAS DNI denylist, please update accordingly.
https://about.iftas.org/library/iftas-dni-list/
#SW_ISAC_ADVISORY #CSAM

2026-01-06 22:54:43 UTC

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This domain is an ad farm along the lines of other known fediverse spam servers, with 45 accounts creating 6,500 posts per day leading to ad-laden web pages using content scraped and repurposed as news articles or blog posts.
The Mastodon service in use has hidden any local feeds, profiles, admin contact details, and exists purely to inundate feeds with posts that might lead to ad clicks.
A list of known spam services that federate their content is available at https://about.iftas.org/library/known-spam-fediverse-services/

2026-01-06 21:18:17 UTC

The IFTAS CARIAD Domain Observatory monitors the domains blocked by 51% or more of the observed sources.
Mastodon administrators can browse the database (and compare their blocked domains to the CARIAD database) at https://cariad.fedicheck.iftas.org
Three lists are publicly available in JSON format:
Blocked by 51% or more: https://cariad.fedicheck.iftas.org/api/v1/denylist/domains/by-threshold?threshold=51&api_key=2f8189cc6dbeeb15908c189eb58f4b9450c00b0be85e4a1d52de6be2f0d84f91
Blocked by 66% or more: https://cariad.fedicheck.iftas.org/api/v1/denylist/domains/by-threshold?threshold=66&api_key=2f8189cc6dbeeb15908c189eb58f4b9450c00b0be85e4a1d52de6be2f0d84f91
Blocked by 80% or more: https://cariad.fedicheck.iftas.org/api/v1/denylist/domains/by-threshold?threshold=80&api_key=2f8189cc6dbeeb15908c189eb58f4b9450c00b0be85e4a1d52de6be2f0d84f91
https://mastodon.iftas.org/system/media_attachments/files/115/850/226/337/936/565/original/f63280d3615d5b09.png
https://mastodon.iftas.org/system/media_attachments/files/115/850/228/832/039/291/original/5bda8fc904d5c779.png

2026-01-06 20:00:35 UTC

⚠️ SW-ISAC Advisory
The following domain(s) have been added to the IFTAS Abandoned/Unmanaged List
channels dot im
https://about.iftas.org/library/iftas-abandoned-and-unmanaged-domain-list/
#SW_ISAC_ADVISORY #Spam

2026-01-02 21:01:35 UTC

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IFTAS would be happy to enter into a 30-day caretaker agreement of some kind if that helps.

2025-12-29 19:04:31 UTC

⚠️ SW-ISAC Advisory
The account "oscarolg" continues to proliferate across federated services, with over 50 accounts observed today
#SW_ISAC_ADVISORY #Spam #CIB
https://mastodon.iftas.org/system/media_attachments/files/115/804/399/354/211/422/original/366d685aaaf8fbb3.png

2025-12-28 17:45:16 UTC

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everything we can say publicly is at https://about.iftas.org/2025/10/05/coordinated-pro-russian-propaganda-network-targeting-activitypub-and-atproto-services/
#note1rs0…97et

2025-12-24 18:28:38 UTC

💙 Season’s greetings to all the Fediverse moderators, admins, and community builders.
Thank you for the time, care, and emotional labour you give to keeping online spaces safer, fairer, and more humane.
Your work often goes unseen, but it truly matters.
Wishing you rest, solidarity, and kindness over the holidays and into the new year.
And for everyone else... send your mods a note today! Let them know you appreciate them 💙
https://mastodon.iftas.org/system/media_attachments/files/115/775/945/041/038/096/original/9888f5675fdce92c.png

2025-12-22 13:50:54 UTC

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Thousands of people across the EU are already building exactly this - spaces where people come before algorithms.
You and I are both posting on one right now.
The Commission has shown leadership by joining the people-not-platforms Fediverse. Please consider reflecting that commitment by adding the Mastodon logo to the "Follow Us" section of your public website.
https://mastodon.iftas.org/system/media_attachments/files/115/763/537/071/488/487/original/51affba093d834a2.png

2025-12-17 19:29:59 UTC

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Wow! That looks like a one-click IFTAS DNI list subscription, is that correct?
Thank you for these updates, and for considering the DNI list in your approach, greatly appreciated!

2025-12-17 19:25:54 UTC

⚠️ SW-ISAC Advisory
The following domain(s) have been added to the IFTAS Abandoned/Unmanaged List
vive dot im
https://about.iftas.org/library/iftas-abandoned-and-unmanaged-domain-list/
#SW_ISAC_ADVISORY

2025-12-17 14:30:11 UTC

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The screenshot included above demonstrates a range of often re-used avatar icons, and a general sense of how to identify these accounts. In almost all cases the follows/following will be hidden, the newer accounts will have only the bridgyfed account followed, and newer accounts will sit unused for a number of days.
More information here: https://about.iftas.org/2025/10/05/coordinated-pro-russian-propaganda-network-targeting-activitypub-and-atproto-services/
#note1rs0…97et

2025-12-17 14:23:21 UTC

⚠️ SW-ISAC Advisory
The following domain(s) have been added to the IFTAS Abandoned/Unmanaged List
gs dot leftic dot club
https://about.iftas.org/library/iftas-abandoned-and-unmanaged-domain-list/
#SW_ISAC_ADVISORY
https://mastodon.iftas.org/system/media_attachments/files/115/735/295/375/073/509/original/54da7298a5ec6ecf.png

2025-12-16 14:10:56 UTC

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The article describes a concerted, deliberate attack by a nation state. They are very much interested in these networks, and are using it now, today.
Roughly 40% of all known accounts remain online, follow each other to ensure good federation, and are spamming 100's of posts.
Roughly 5% of servers have blocked the known sources that are unmanaged and now completely dominated by these accounts.
>how a decentralised system will react
Not very well

2025-12-16 00:23:26 UTC

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For reference: https://about.iftas.org/2025/10/05/coordinated-pro-russian-propaganda-network-targeting-activitypub-and-atproto-services/

2025-12-16 00:23:00 UTC

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In possibly related news, many servers saw a massive scraping session over the past week by a known LLM provider. So all those posts have been scraped up and used for training now.
I will not be sending any more reports. I may publish a list of accounts for people to review, and file their own reports or take their own action.
This is really silly, and easily dealt with.
Review the accounts people are creating on your free web hosting services.
Simple as.
Just do that.

2025-12-16 00:21:19 UTC

I just sent the 1,000th report of an account created by a Russian state-sponsored contractor building a network of accounts all across the Fediverse, simply to regurgitate pro-Russian sentiment in the hopes of being scooped up by LLMs to seed their responses when asked about Russia, Ukraine, the US and UK, Israel, and a host of other talking points Russia would like to see swayed in public opinion.
cont'd

2025-12-15 23:29:06 UTC

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J'ai revu les rapports et je confirme que la note habituelle décrivant le problème n'etait pas ajoutée. Desolée pour ca, m'excuser.

2025-12-15 23:24:30 UTC

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merci Renaud, est en plus IFTAS parlent français! Enfin, pas trop bien...
Les comptes j'ai marqué generalement sont pas utilisee pour une semaine environ, il y a encore a lire sur le blog (anglais, desolée)
https://about.iftas.org/2025/10/05/coordinated-pro-russian-propaganda-network-targeting-activitypub-and-atproto-services/

2025-12-15 21:34:52 UTC

social[.]5th[.]ro is a free speech/minimal moderation and SEO advertorial farming business, connected to a WordPress plugin that provides "Auto Boosting" to its customers - which requires third party service accounts.
Be on the lookout for accounts being registered for this purpose by the custom app "Mastodon Account Creator", and accounts created using MX domains 5th[.]ro, advertorialsromania[.]com, e-agentie[.]ro
https://plugin[.]5th[.]ro/en/wiki?page=auto-boost
#SW_ISAC_ADVISORY

2025-12-15 20:00:50 UTC

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I'm the wrong side of a particular border to apply, but I am happy to partner / support any Canadian project where IFTAS can be helpful.

2025-12-15 17:39:30 UTC

⚠️ SW-ISAC Advisory
The following domain(s) have been added to the IFTAS DNI List
parcero[.]casa
tsundere[.]love
https://about.iftas.org/library/iftas-dni-list/
#SW_ISAC_ADVISORY

2025-12-15 15:46:41 UTC

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this is a farming service/SEO ads thing.
social[.]5th[.]ro is a free speech/minimal moderation and SEO advertorial farming endeavour, that is connected to a WordPress plugin that provides "Auto boosting" which requires third party service accounts. Be on the lookout for accounts being registered by a custom app "Mastodon Account Creator", and for accounts registered with emails at the following MX domains: 5th[.]ro, advertorialsromania[.]com, e-agentie[.]ro.

2025-12-15 15:17:18 UTC

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domain will be reviewed for inclusion, thanks for the heads up.

2025-12-09 05:05:20 UTC

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roughly half my spam shows up on SFS, we are a common target for SEO spam that also targets forums. Nothing's perfect, but it's a decent signal for a chunk of the issue.
Now, imagine if we automatically submitted data to to SFS when we suspend for spam, and other instances auto-checked SFS on new account signup...

2025-12-09 02:34:57 UTC

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do you use stopforumspam or anything similar?

2025-12-08 21:28:48 UTC

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yep, looks like 5-10 days it's left blank to see if it's removed, then it gets bridged to Bluesky and left alone again, then it gets connected to the spam firehose. If 1 follow (the bridge) and follow/followers is hidden from public, that's a strong signal.

2025-12-08 18:06:23 UTC

I'm getting a lot of "please use the Mastodon report function to tell us about the Russian disinformation accounts we are hosting".
With all due respect, if you have three or more, I'm not sitting here and clicking through each and every account to create a report, you're going to get a DM or an email.
Today I've spent five hours identifying, tracking, verifying, documenting, and reporting accounts.
Five hours.
If you take five minutes to review new accounts, I don't need to do this.