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1. Embed this notice
   pedro 🍉 (ubik@fedi.turbofish.cc)'s status on Sunday, 31-Aug-2025 22:57:46 JST pedro 🍉

   • Aral Balkan
   • Mastodon.social Staff
   • CadeJohnson

   @CadeJohnson @aral @staff Were any of those accounts confirmed to be legit? Between fraudsters and AI, you have to think ten times before donating to anyone these days.
   I completely agree with the point about this being akin to a zero sum game. There are trucks full of aid waiting at the border, so this famine is being deliberately manufactured. That creates a terrible ethical dilemma for each of us. Donating might save one person, but there's a clear nefarious outcome: the money gets diverted to smugglers and criminals.
   It’s a horrible thing to say, but it feels like you're being forced to choose who lives and who dies, all while funding the very people profiting from the crisis. Do the posts I see break my heart? Fuck yes. But should we be answering these calls for help with money? I'm just not sure. I pretty much despise effective altruism and believe individual people matter, but when all you have is a social media post... it feels like an impossible choice.

   • Embed this notice
     Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Sunday, 31-Aug-2025 22:57:44 JST Aral Balkan

     in reply to

     • Mastodon.social Staff
     • CadeJohnson
     • Aseelsehwel🇵🇸
     • Nouran 🍉

     @ubik @CadeJohnson @staff Yes.

     Two people/families I personally spoke with over video on Signal:

     @Aseelsehwel
     @NouranKhaledGh

     @divya has a group fundraiser for six families.

     Given the state of things, I’m going to be talking with out people/families starting next week and compiling a list.

   • Embed this notice
     Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Monday, 01-Sep-2025 16:33:44 JST Aral Balkan

     in reply to

     • Sabrina Web :privacypride: 📎

     @sabrinaweb71 Thank you 💕

   • Embed this notice
     Sabrina Web :privacypride: 📎 (sabrinaweb71@sociale.network)'s status on Monday, 01-Sep-2025 16:33:45 JST Sabrina Web :privacypride: 📎

     in reply to

     • Aral Balkan
     • Mastodon.social Staff
     • CadeJohnson
     • Aseelsehwel🇵🇸
     • Nouran 🍉

     @aral if you do, please notify me so I can boost them all

     @ubik @CadeJohnson @staff @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @divya

   • Embed this notice
     Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Tuesday, 02-Sep-2025 01:18:34 JST Aral Balkan

     in reply to

     • Mastodon.social Staff
     • CadeJohnson
     • Aseelsehwel🇵🇸
     • Nouran 🍉

     @staff @ubik @CadeJohnson @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @divya Thank you. It means a lot.

     Just fyi:
     https://mastodon.ar.al/@aral/115129386047605948

   • Embed this notice
     Mastodon.social Staff (staff@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 02-Sep-2025 01:18:35 JST Mastodon.social Staff

     in reply to

     • Aral Balkan
     • CadeJohnson
     • Aseelsehwel🇵🇸
     • Nouran 🍉

     @aral @ubik @CadeJohnson @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @divya Generally most of these accounts appear legitimate from our perspective, though we cannot vouch for any specific campaigns. Accounts we close generally use unsolicited mentions, follow bots, and create duplicate or ban-evading accounts.