Claims extracted
22
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
9%
2 of 22 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
59/100
Times of India's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
7
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Israeli digital advertising agency Discover-Tech used a sprawling network of online ads to identify and track internet users and help hack their devices, Canadian cyber watchdog Citizen Lab and New York advertising security firm Confiant said on Thursday.
asserted
Lab → use → Thursday
Its services gave Israeli spyware firm Candiru and other surveillance companies access to ad platforms run by Google, Comcast, Yandex and others.
asserted
services → give → Google
The reports said the online advertising industry, already under scrutiny over privacy, could serve as a channel for extensive espionage.
uncertain
industry → say → espionage
Discover-Tech's ads, often promoting ordinary products such as phones or earpods, reached more than 120,000 websites and 75,000 apps through its partnerships, Citizen Lab said.
asserted
Lab → promote → partnerships
Users visiting sites or using apps carrying the malicious ads could be identified and tracked by Discover-Tech, which sometimes tried to extract phone numbers from smartphone users, researchers said.
uncertain
researchers → visit → users
The ads only had to load for the surveillance to occur.
asserted
surveillance → have → ?
Some also helped install Candiru spyware on devices, although Confiant said these made up a tiny fraction of Discover-Tech's volume.
asserted
these → help → volume
Confiant co-founder Jerome Dangu said Discover-Tech distributed at least 10 million ads daily worldwide and used data-sharing arrangements known as cookie matching to track people beyond their reach.
asserted
Tech → say → reach
"Very likely hundreds of millions of people would have been touched by Discover-Tech," Dangu said.
asserted
Dangu → touch → Tech
Discover-Tech, founded in 2020, did not respond to messages, while attempts to reach chief executive Dekel Boni and Candiru's owners were unsuccessful.
asserted
attempts → found → Boni
US commerce department blacklisted Candiru in 2021, alleging it supplied spyware used to maliciously target govt officials, journalists, activists and academics.
asserted
it → blacklist → officials
Citizen Lab said Candiru spyware delivered through Discover-Tech ads compromised 45 Windows devices at Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera between 2024 and 2025.
asserted
spyware → say → 2024
It said it confirmed the attacks using network logs shared by the broadcaster.
asserted
it → say → broadcaster
Al Jazeera did not respond.
asserted
Jazeera → respond → ?
Dangu said malicious ads appeared on hundreds of networks in sensitive categories, including Pentagon, International Atomic Energy Agency and International Criminal Court.
asserted
ads → say → Pentagon
He said Palestinian territories were particularly saturated, adding: "You go to almost any site in Palestine - any site - you find a Discover-Tech ad.
asserted
you → say → ad
It gives them a very complete visibility on the digital activities of an entire country," he said.
asserted
he → give → country
Citizen Lab said it had similar evidence that the ads were shown to people in UN, Nato, European Commission and more than a dozen national govts.
asserted
ads → say → UN
They also appeared on networks of chip companies including Nvidia, Sandisk, Broadcom and Micron, and unidentified media organisations in Mexico, Israel and Europe.
asserted
They → appear → Mexico
Google said it had worked with both investigators and removed Discover-Tech from its ad platforms "for systematically violating our policies."
asserted
it → say → policies
IAB Europe suspended it from its approved-vendor list after an audit, while Comcast subsidiary Beeswax removed it from its platform.
asserted
Beeswax → suspend → platform
Yandex did not respond.
asserted
Yandex → respond → ?
The Aporia
