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Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Friday, 05-Sep-2025 18:27:30 JST Aral Balkan
Announcing Gaza Verified
https://gaza-verified.org
I’ve been having video conversations over Signal with people from Gaza who have Mastodon accounts on the fediverse in an effort to vouch for their authenticity.
This week, I whipped up a site to formalise this and to enable them to add a verified link to their Mastodon bios. Hopefully this will cut down on the amount of time they need to spend proving that their accounts genuinely belong to a person suffering through genocide and famine in Gaza and help them with their fundraisers.
The first four accounts belong to:
• @Aseelsehwel
• @NouranKhaledGh
• @joynewacc
• @mohshbair
If you want to get on the site, please contact me. See the guide for more information: https://gaza-verified.org/guide
Please share and donate to their fundraisers if you can.
Thank you!
💕
CC @palestine
#Gaza #Palestine #FreePalestine #fediverse #mastodon #verification
In conversation about a year ago from mastodon.ar.al permalink
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  Ω 🌍 Gus Posey (gustodon@mas.to)'s status on Friday, 05-Sep-2025 18:45:00 JST Ω 🌍 Gus Posey
  in reply to
  
  @aral This is a remarkable effort.
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Friday, 05-Sep-2025 18:45:00 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  - Ω 🌍 Gus Posey
  @Gustodon Thanks, Gus. It’s nothing; just what little I can contribute in my own small way. Fingers crossed it helps. 💕
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Friday, 05-Sep-2025 18:57:35 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  - Pauli
  @atzetonfree Thank you 💕
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Pauli (atzetonfree@ravenation.club)'s status on Friday, 05-Sep-2025 18:57:41 JST Pauli
  in reply to
  
  @aral omg so good and so important I followed all of them right away, thanks!
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Totts (geri@mastodon.online)'s status on Friday, 05-Sep-2025 18:59:07 JST Totts
  in reply to
  @aral @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @joynewacc @mohshbair @palestine thank you for this great initiative, Aral. I shall follow these people with all my heart xxx
  Update : silly moo me I already was
  #freepalestine
  Tomorrow, I am going to a big demo in London with my bf in support of #Palestine Action. We will be thinking of you xxx
  Stay safe, stay strong
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Friday, 05-Sep-2025 18:59:07 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  @Geri @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @joynewacc @mohshbair @palestine You’re very welcome. And thank you and your boyfriend for going out there and protesting and facing arrest.
  💕
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Friday, 05-Sep-2025 19:17:05 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  @Geri @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @joynewacc @mohshbair @palestine It’s brave and necessary. You’re on the right side of history. And thank you :)
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Totts (geri@mastodon.online)'s status on Friday, 05-Sep-2025 19:17:06 JST Totts
  in reply to
  @aral @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @joynewacc @mohshbair @palestine time has come
  I thought the only criminal record I'd ever have was a very dodgy album by Micheal Jackson. Xx
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Friday, 05-Sep-2025 19:18:38 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  @arendleejessurun @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @joynewacc @mohshbair @palestine You’re very welcome. Fingers crossed it helps :)
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Arend (they/them) (arendleejessurun@musicians.today)'s status on Friday, 05-Sep-2025 19:18:39 JST Arend (they/them)
  in reply to
  @aral Thank you for doing this, Aral.
  @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @joynewacc @mohshbair @palestine
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Friday, 05-Sep-2025 19:20:39 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  @seharinsights @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @joynewacc @mohshbair @palestine You’re very kind but really, it’s nothing. 💕
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Sehar Irfan (seharinsights@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 05-Sep-2025 19:20:40 JST Sehar Irfan
  in reply to
  @aral @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @joynewacc @mohshbair @palestine You are doing a great job
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Friday, 05-Sep-2025 19:21:12 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  - Ciara
  @CiaraNi 💕
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Ciara (ciarani@mastodon.green)'s status on Friday, 05-Sep-2025 19:21:13 JST Ciara
  in reply to
  
  @aral Thank you
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Friday, 05-Sep-2025 22:20:03 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  @gimulnautti @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @joynewacc @mohshbair @palestine 💕
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Toni Aittoniemi (gimulnautti@mastodon.green)'s status on Friday, 05-Sep-2025 22:20:04 JST Toni Aittoniemi
  in reply to
  @aral @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @joynewacc @mohshbair @palestine great work! 🫶
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Friday, 05-Sep-2025 22:22:36 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  @joynewacc @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @mohshbair @palestine Thank you. Here’s to the day when we won’t need any of this any longer because you will be free.
  💕
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Joy (joynewacc@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 05-Sep-2025 22:22:37 JST Joy
  in reply to
  @aral @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @mohshbair @palestine
  I'm so proud of you. Thank you for saving our struggling from being exploited by scammers. And thank you for making it easier for our generous donors.
  💗💗
  #FreePalestine
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Friday, 05-Sep-2025 22:23:25 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  - Orla de Díez
  @orladediez 💕
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Orla de Díez (orladediez@mastodon.ie)'s status on Friday, 05-Sep-2025 22:23:27 JST Orla de Díez
  in reply to
  @aral @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @joynewacc @mohshbair @palestine
  Excellent Aral !!!!!
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Friday, 05-Sep-2025 22:27:40 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  @NouranKhaledGh @Aseelsehwel @joynewacc @mohshbair @palestine Think nothing of it. Here’s hoping it helps 💕
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Nouran 🍉 (nourankhaledgh@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 05-Sep-2025 22:27:41 JST Nouran 🍉
  in reply to
  @aral @Aseelsehwel @joynewacc @mohshbair @palestine
  Very helpful and supportive initiative ❤️ thank you for your efforts Aral
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Friday, 05-Sep-2025 22:31:07 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  @Sarahw @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @joynewacc @mohshbair @palestine 💕
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Sarah W (sarahw@mastodon.green)'s status on Friday, 05-Sep-2025 22:31:09 JST Sarah W
  in reply to
  @aral @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @joynewacc @mohshbair @palestine
  Thank you for this excellent work. I want to help but struggle with verifying which are genuine accounts and which are scammers. This gives me reassurance.
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Saturday, 06-Sep-2025 00:03:23 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  - the buff who fell to earth
  @buffyleigh I hope it will make a difference. Here’s to the day we won’t need such things. 💕
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  the buff who fell to earth (buffyleigh@mas.to)'s status on Saturday, 06-Sep-2025 00:03:24 JST the buff who fell to earth
  in reply to
  
  @aral What an amazing thing to do, thank you for this. 🙏🏻
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Saturday, 06-Sep-2025 00:04:15 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  - katzenberger
  @katzenberger I’ll add a note about this to the site. I originally had a longer piece of text but I’m trying to keep it short.
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  katzenberger (katzenberger@tldr.nettime.org)'s status on Saturday, 06-Sep-2025 00:04:16 JST katzenberger
  in reply to
  @aral
  A much welcome initiative. Tying it to the Mastodon verification feature is an excellent move.
  A little suggestion: the website just states "I verify that their accounts are genuine".
  Could you make a more specific assertion of what that statement means, to you? At the moment, I could think of all, or some of the following:
  - Verified there is a person that looks like the avatar
  - Verified that the person lives in Gaza
  - Verified that the persons mentioned in their fundraiser stories exist
  - Verified that the facts in the fundraiser stories are correct. (This is just an example. I believe that verification may easily transgress into the territory of humiliation, when taken to far.)
  So what does "Gaza Verified" specifically mean, from your perspective?
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Saturday, 06-Sep-2025 00:06:36 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  - 😈 Sat 🐱
  @tfed Indeed. Why not? It could help :)
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  😈 Sat 🐱 (tfed@infosec.exchange)'s status on Saturday, 06-Sep-2025 00:06:37 JST 😈 Sat 🐱
  in reply to
  
  @aral I got an idea by accident, when was reading the "Gaza Verified" phrase...
  Why dont we have a website that compares products, companies, etc. to have some knowledge what impact they may have on Gaza.
  It's just a thought, i have no idea how hard would it be to build and maintain such website
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  😈 Sat 🐱 (tfed@infosec.exchange)'s status on Saturday, 06-Sep-2025 00:06:37 JST 😈 Sat 🐱
  in reply to
  
  @aral like these companies may have positive impact on Gaza: "Gaza Supportive"
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Saturday, 06-Sep-2025 01:19:40 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  - Jaime Herazo
  - Teacher-Lolo2025
  @jherazob @lolorenad Thanks so much for the heads up, Jaime. I’ve contacted Lolo to try and set up a time to have a quick video chat so we can hopefully add them to Gaza Verified :)
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Jaime Herazo (jherazob@mastodon.ie)'s status on Saturday, 06-Sep-2025 01:19:42 JST Jaime Herazo
  in reply to
  - Teacher-Lolo2025
  @aral
  I've received follow requests from accounts asking for donations and had put them on standby until i could verify them, some have been deleted in the meanwhile (scams i guess), but two remain, one you already mentioned and have approved and will donate as soon as possible (Nouran), but another one is not on the list, \@lolorenad, who last posted on August 29 and seems real
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Saturday, 06-Sep-2025 15:46:46 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  @peach @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @joynewacc @mohshbair @palestine Thank you 💕
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  David Peach (peach@phpc.social)'s status on Saturday, 06-Sep-2025 15:46:48 JST David Peach
  in reply to
  @aral @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @joynewacc @mohshbair @palestine this is incredible. Literally "being the change you want to see in the world"
  Will donate as soon as I can. 💚
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Saturday, 06-Sep-2025 15:53:07 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  - Lydia Conwell
  @lydiaconwell I’m just a monkey with a typewriter. But here’s hoping it helps :)
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Lydia Conwell (lydiaconwell@todon.nl)'s status on Saturday, 06-Sep-2025 15:53:08 JST Lydia Conwell
  in reply to
  
  @aral You are brilliant. Truly brilliant.
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Sylvain Mailler (s_mailler@piaille.fr)'s status on Saturday, 06-Sep-2025 15:58:19 JST Sylvain Mailler
  in reply to
  
  @aral
  Amazing job, this was so necessary ! !
  #Gaza #Palestine #FreePalestine #fediverse #mastodon #verification
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Shatha Mohammed (shathamohammed123@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 06-Sep-2025 15:58:23 JST Shatha Mohammed
  in reply to
  
  @aral
  We cannot find the words to thank you enough for everything you do to support and help Palestinians 🙏🇵🇸.
  As a mother of three children, one of them with a disability, we suffer from hunger, displacement, and destruction every single day 💔.
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Saturday, 06-Sep-2025 17:29:41 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  @crazyeddie @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @joynewacc @mohshbair @palestine Thanks, appreciate the suggestion, but I’m not convinced it would add much real-world value at the moment given how niche it is. Trying to keep things simple :)
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  derptron (crazyeddie@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 06-Sep-2025 17:29:42 JST derptron
  in reply to
  @aral @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @joynewacc @mohshbair @palestine You could design a certification program around this using verifiable credentials (https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model-2.0/) that would allow you to give them something you've signed and contains stuff like maybe a link to an interview video or something that they can display as an emote or something--probably best if the video is embedded in the cert in case you get shut down and there's no place to put it. Or put it in a torrent in p2p land.
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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    Verifiable Credentials Data Model v2.0
    
    Credentials are a part of our daily lives; driver's licenses are used to assert that we are capable of operating a motor vehicle, university degrees can be used to assert our level of education, and government-issued passports enable us to travel between countries. This specification provides a mechanism to express these sorts of credentials on the Web in a way that is cryptographically secure, privacy respecting, and machine-verifiable.
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Saturday, 06-Sep-2025 17:31:51 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  - Shatha Mohammed
  @shathamohammed123 Shatha, thank you for your kind words but please think nothing of it; I wish there was more we could do.
  I’ll send you a message now so we can hopefully get you on the site.
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Saturday, 06-Sep-2025 17:43:03 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  - Sylvain Mailler
  @s_mailler 💕
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Saturday, 06-Sep-2025 18:27:41 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @mohshbair @palestine A quick announcement that I’m very excited about: @joynewacc and I are going to run Gaza Verified together now and we’ll both be present during the video chats.
  I’ll update the site as soon as I can to reflect this.
  Thank you so much for volunteering to help in the middle of everything else, Joy. You’re amazing :)
  💕
  #GazaVerified #Gaza #Palestine #FreePalestine #fediverse #mastodon
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Joy (joynewacc@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 06-Sep-2025 18:36:59 JST Joy
  in reply to
  @aral @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @mohshbair @palestine
  Glad to be part of your amazing team. you are so welcome Aral
  ♥
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Saturday, 06-Sep-2025 18:36:59 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  @joynewacc @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @mohshbair @palestine As much your team as mine; so glad to have you on board :) 💕
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Daniel Supernault (dansup@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 06-Sep-2025 18:37:01 JST Daniel Supernault
  in reply to
  @aral @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @joynewacc @mohshbair @palestine This is such a powerful and practical use of the fediverse and your following.
  Thank you for creating a clear, trusted way for us to directly support and amplify voices from Gaza.
  A truly vital initiative. We're so lucky to have people like you on the #fediverse. Much love. ❤️
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Saturday, 06-Sep-2025 18:40:04 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  @dansup @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @joynewacc @mohshbair @palestine That’s very kind of you to say, Dan. Thank you. Here’s hoping it helps 💕
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  :awesome:🐦‍🔥nemo™🐦‍⬛ 🇺🇦🍉 (nemo@mas.to)'s status on Saturday, 06-Sep-2025 19:26:30 JST :awesome:🐦‍🔥nemo™🐦‍⬛ 🇺🇦🍉
  in reply to
  @aral @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @joynewacc @mohshbair @palestine
  Hi @shathamohammed123 I see you seem to have a new account, without verification I don't know if your account is legit. Aral abi created this service, feel free to let your account be verified and welcome to the fediverse :) 👍
  And big thx to Aral for this service :) 👍
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Saturday, 06-Sep-2025 19:26:30 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  @nemo @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @joynewacc @mohshbair @palestine @shathamohammed123 I don’t know about the “abi”, just Aral is enough ;)
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Sunday, 07-Sep-2025 00:24:09 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  @globcoco @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @joynewacc @mohshbair @palestine Sorry, that looks like one of the scam accounts. I believe it has already been removed.
  Good way to check: has the person just joined (eg. Today) and do they already have lots of posts (eg. Over a hundred).
  Variations of this account have been popping up on various servers yesterday/today and one even added a to link to gaza-verified.org to their account (of course it didn’t look verified).
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Coralie Renée (globcoco@mamot.fr)'s status on Sunday, 07-Sep-2025 00:24:10 JST Coralie Renée
  in reply to
  @aral @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @joynewacc @mohshbair @palestine
  Is it possible to verify this one account please?
  https://ioc.exchange/@helpmahmoudfamily0
  🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Sunday, 07-Sep-2025 00:25:53 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  @andre123 @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @joynewacc @mohshbair @palestine You’re very welcome :) 💕
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Andre123 :tux: :gnu: (andre123@snowfan.masto.host)'s status on Sunday, 07-Sep-2025 00:25:55 JST Andre123 :tux: :gnu:
  in reply to
  @aral @Aseelsehwel @NouranKhaledGh @joynewacc @mohshbair @palestine thank you for doing that!
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Sunday, 07-Sep-2025 00:26:34 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  - ΞVΞ🌸
  @eve 💕
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  ΞVΞ🌸 (eve@evenyc.com)'s status on Sunday, 07-Sep-2025 00:27:12 JST ΞVΞ🌸
  in reply to
  - Mastodon
  @aral This is gold. Thank you
  Loading...
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Sunday, 07-Sep-2025 00:52:36 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  - Daniel
  @helmet91 @palestine What are you taking about? There is no “verification video.” Which account are you talking about and what is this proof you purport to have?
  I’ve *personally* had video chats over Signal with all four of the people verified on the site currently and I am in touch with them daily.
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Daniel (helmet91@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 07-Sep-2025 00:52:37 JST Daniel
  in reply to
  
  @aral @palestine While I appreciate the initiative and the intent behind it, I must point out, that there's at least one account in the list that is proven to be using AI-generated footage for their verification video. This raises doubts about the methodologies used for proving authenticity before accepting anyone on this website.
  I'd like to encourage everyone to prefer trusted organizations for donations, such as the Global Sumud Flotilla or UNRWA or others.
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Daniel (helmet91@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 07-Sep-2025 01:14:59 JST Daniel
  in reply to
  
  @aral Video in Nouran's pinned post: shadows are inconsistently cast in every direction in the ruins in the background - one of the hallmarks of AI imagery. In the AI era I'm afraid, video calls on their own are no proof anymore.
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Sunday, 07-Sep-2025 01:14:59 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  - Daniel
  @helmet91 I know Nouran uses ChatGPT for translations. I’ve chatted to her and her brother *live* over video on Signal.
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Sunday, 07-Sep-2025 01:25:46 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  - Daniel
  @helmet91 And her older brother, Yousef, has an English Literature degree and was just recently asking me if I could help him find work. Does that sound like a scammer to you?
  https://mastodon.ar.al/@aral/115062517821183778
  I really think you’re jumping to conclusions here.
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Sunday, 07-Sep-2025 19:23:07 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  - Aseelsehwel🇵🇸
  - Solène de Montmarin 🇲🇲💚🇵🇸🫏
  @SolenedeM @Aseelsehwel Yes, she said they would not have a connection while on the road. Still, I’m worried too.
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Solène de Montmarin 🇲🇲💚🇵🇸🫏 (solenedem@piaille.fr)'s status on Sunday, 07-Sep-2025 19:23:09 JST Solène de Montmarin 🇲🇲💚🇵🇸🫏
  in reply to
  - Aseelsehwel🇵🇸
  @aral
  Je suis inquiète de nouveau. Je n'ai pas de nouvelles non plus. (Que j'ai normalement en dehors de Mastodon/Fedivderse) Espérons que ce soit juste un problème de connexion à internet... 😥🤞🏼
  @Aseelsehwel
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Sunday, 07-Sep-2025 19:23:10 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  - Aseelsehwel🇵🇸
  - Solène de Montmarin 🇲🇲💚🇵🇸🫏
  @SolenedeM @Aseelsehwel Not yet :(
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Solène de Montmarin 🇲🇲💚🇵🇸🫏 (solenedem@piaille.fr)'s status on Sunday, 07-Sep-2025 19:23:11 JST Solène de Montmarin 🇲🇲💚🇵🇸🫏
  in reply to
  - Aseelsehwel🇵🇸
  @aral Hello.
  Do you have any news from @Aseelsehwel ?
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  jnuyttens (jnuyttens@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 07-Sep-2025 23:26:07 JST jnuyttens
  in reply to
  
  @aral thank you
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Sunday, 07-Sep-2025 23:26:07 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  - jnuyttens
  @jnuyttens 💕
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Sep-2025 15:22:15 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  @amirbkhan @tech4palestine @paulbiggar I wasn’t, thanks for the heads up. Hey Paul, @joynewacc and I have just set up Gaza Verified (https://gaza-verified.org). If you have any thoughts, please do let me know :)
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Amir Khan (amirbkhan@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Sep-2025 15:22:16 JST Amir Khan
  in reply to
  - Paul Biggar
  - Tech For Palestine
  @aral are you familiar with the
  @tech4palestine set up by @paulbiggar ? What youre doing is something they would certainly appreciate and maybe even help support.
  Also look up UpScrolled. An instagram alternative they’ve build to help Palestine. It’s really quite impressive 🍉🇵🇸
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Daniel (helmet91@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 12-Sep-2025 19:05:01 JST Daniel
  in reply to
  
  @aral I mean, they're not supposed to use anything but a camera for a video that is meant for proving their authenticity.
  This was more than a year ago: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/02/deepfake-scammer-walks-off-with-25-million-in-first-of-its-kind-ai-heist/
  AI is evolving rapidly, it's only becoming easier to pull off such scams. This is why I cannot recommend video calls as proof.
  I do have ideas for validation that could be implemented before you accept Gazan profiles, but none of them would be 100% scam-proof either. Some strengthening wouldn't harm, nonetheless.
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
  Attachments
  1. Domain not in remote thumbnail source whitelist: cdn.arstechnica.net
    
    Deepfake scammer walks off with $25 million in first-of-its-kind AI heist
    
    from @benjedwards
    
    Hong Kong firm tricked by simulation of multiple real people in video chat, including voices.
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Friday, 12-Sep-2025 19:05:01 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  - Daniel
  @helmet91 These people are literally faced with genocide and famine and you’re out here acting like a dollar-store Sherlock Holmes.
  I’ve told you several times now that I’ve had live video conversations over Signal with Nouran and her brother Yousef.
  I don’t know what your problem is but what you’re doing by spreading this FUD is deplorable. I just saw that you wrote this blog post also: https://helmet91.com/post/how-not-to-get-scammed
  Congratulations, you are slandering people who are trying to survive genocide and famine.
  Please think long and hard about what you’re doing here.
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Monday, 15-Sep-2025 18:29:41 JST Aral Balkan
  in reply to
  - Chris Morgan
  - Joy
  @chris Thank you so much for your support. And I couldn’t do it without @joynewacc; we hold the video chats together, her from Gaza, me from Ireland :)
  💕
  
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  Chris Morgan (chris@mastodon.mihalis.net)'s status on Monday, 15-Sep-2025 18:29:42 JST Chris Morgan
  in reply to
  
  https://gaza-verified.org/ by
  @aral
  makes it so easy to donate to help people in Gaza. Aral verifies each account. I just donated a small amount to each of the accounts listed and it's easy. They are mostly gofundme or chuffed.org
  In conversation about a year ago permalink
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  2. Domain not in remote thumbnail source whitelist: d1ueir2rcqs7wj.cloudfront.net
    
    Chuffed
    
    Chuffed is a crowdfunding platform for socially-conscious projects. We support individuals, not-for-profits, social enterprises and community groups to run awesome crowdfunding campaigns, all 100% free.

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