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mastodon - Collegamento all'originale

Announcing Gaza Verified

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: gaza-verified.org/guide

Please share and donate to their fundraisers if you can.

Thank you!

💕

CC @palestine

#Gaza #Palestine #FreePalestine #fediverse #mastodon #verification

Gaza Verified

I’ve personally had video conversations on Signal with the people from Gaza whose Mastodon accounts on the fediverse are listed here and I verify that their accounts are genuine. – Aral Balkan
gaza-verified.org
#mastodon #fediverse #Palestine #freepalestine #gaza #verification @palestine group @Aseelsehwel🇵🇸 @Nouran 🍉 @Mohammed Shobair from Gaza 🍉 @Joy
in reply to Aral Balkan

Ω 🌍 Gus Posey
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Ω 🌍 Gus Posey
• •
This is a remarkable effort.
in reply to Ω 🌍 Gus Posey

Aral Balkan
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Aral Balkan
• •
@Gustodon Thanks, Gus. It’s nothing; just what little I can contribute in my own small way. Fingers crossed it helps. 💕
@Ω 🌍 Gus Posey
in reply to Aral Balkan

Amir Khan
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Amir Khan
• •

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 🍉🇵🇸

@Paul Biggar @Tech For Palestine
Questa voce è stata modificata (1 settimana fa)
in reply to Amir Khan

Aral Balkan
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Aral Balkan
• •
@amirbkhan @tech4palestine @paulbiggar I wasn’t, thanks for the heads up. Hey Paul, @joynewacc and I have just set up Gaza Verified (gaza-verified.org). If you have any thoughts, please do let me know 😀

Gaza Verified

I’ve personally had video conversations on Signal with the people from Gaza whose Mastodon accounts on the fediverse are listed here and I verify that their accounts are genuine. – Aral Balkan
gaza-verified.org
@Paul Biggar @Tech For Palestine @Amir Khan @Joy
in reply to Aral Balkan

Totts
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Totts
• •

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 #PalestineAction. We will be thinking of you xxx

Stay safe, stay strong

#freepalestine #PalestineAction
Questa voce è stata modificata (2 settimane fa)

palestine group reshared this.

in reply to Totts

Aral Balkan
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Aral Balkan
• •

@Geri You’re very welcome. And thank you and your boyfriend for going out there and protesting and facing arrest.

💕

@Totts

reshared this

in reply to Aral Balkan

Totts
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Totts
• •

time has come

I thought the only criminal record I'd ever have was a very dodgy album by Micheal Jackson. Xx

palestine group reshared this.

in reply to Totts

Aral Balkan
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Aral Balkan
• •
@Geri It’s brave and necessary. You’re on the right side of history. And thank you 😀
@Totts

palestine group reshared this.

in reply to Aral Balkan

David Culley
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
David Culley
• •

This is such a great idea! As all great ideas, totally obvious in hindsight, but I myself had never thought of doing it.

Looking forward to the impact it will have in making their lives a bit easier.

in reply to Aral Balkan

Sarah W
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Sarah W
• •
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.

palestine group reshared this.

in reply to Aral Balkan

Joy
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Joy
• •
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
#freepalestine

palestine group reshared this.

in reply to Joy

Aral Balkan
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Aral Balkan
• •

Thank you. Here’s to the day when we won’t need any of this any longer because you will be free.

💕

palestine group reshared this.

in reply to Aral Balkan

Joy
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Joy
• •
One day , me and the friends from gaza will be💪🏻

palestine group reshared this.

in reply to Aral Balkan

Kiloku
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Kiloku
• •
Apparently accounts have already started being created to pretend to be verified. Users unfamiliar with the link verification system might end up not realizing that the link needs to be green with a checkmark.
Here's an example: techhub.social/@m7moodfamily10…

Help mahmoud Family 🍉 (@m7moodfamily10@techhub.social)

@Kiloku@burnthis.town We live in constant fear as bombs explode nearby 💣. Children cannot sleep and cry from hunger 😢. Our future feels lost, but your help can save us. Please donate if you can 🤲. https://www.gofundme.
TechHub
in reply to Kiloku

Harriet Monkhouse
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Harriet Monkhouse
• •
@Kiloku I'm getting "You don't have permission to view this page" when I click on that link, so I'm not quite clear whether it was an example of a fake verified account or a genuine verified account.
@Kiloku
in reply to Harriet Monkhouse

Kiloku
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Kiloku
• •
@HarrietMonkhouse It looks like the account has been banned from the instance it was created in.
(It was an example of a fake, btw)
@Harriet Monkhouse
Questa voce è stata modificata (1 settimana fa)
in reply to Kiloku

Aral Balkan
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Aral Balkan
• •

@Kiloku @HarrietMonkhouse Please see mastodon.ar.al/@aral/115162421…

Aral Balkan

2025-09-07 09:58:19

mastodon - Collegamento all'originale

Folks, just a quick heads up: I’m in touch over Signal with Mahmoud from the “Help Mahmoud Family” accounts you might have seen contacting you.

Like you, I was hugely suspicious of them due to the many accounts and automated spam-like messages (I also reported and had one of them taken down as a scam).

It’s looking to me now like this was more of a misguided (and understandably, given the circumstances) desperate attempt to get help.

I ask that we keep an open mind and offer Mahmoud and his family the benefit of the doubt.

Here are the steps we’ll be taking with Mahmoud going forward to try and fix this and give him a proper introduction to Mastodon and the fediverse and hopefully rebuild trust:

1. Joy and I will meet Mahmoud for a video chat next week.

2. Once we’re happy, I will contact a friend who runs a Mastodon server to ask that Mahmoud is allowed to set up his one (and only Mastodon account there). This way, we will also know that the account will be safe in the future.

3. Mahmoud has already agreed not to use automated messages in the future.

I will update you about the state of things next week, after our video conversation.

mastodon.ar.al/@aral/115162189…

#Gaza #fediverse #Mastodon


Aral Balkan (@aral@mastodon.ar.al)

@Helpmahmoudfamilia100@troet.cafe @rififi54@pouet.chapril.org OK, I understand and I am, of course, willing to give you the benefit of the doubt.
Aral’s fediverse server

@Kiloku @Harriet Monkhouse
in reply to Aral Balkan

Nouran 🍉
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Nouran 🍉
• •
Very helpful and supportive initiative ❤️ thank you for your efforts Aral

palestine group reshared this.

in reply to Aral Balkan

🍉🌻Tiny Dot in the Universe🚀
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
🍉🌻Tiny Dot in the Universe🚀
• •

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 reply to Aral Balkan

Dark and and Stormy
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Dark and and Stormy
• •

@tfed There's that #BDS supporting mobile app/browser extension #Boycat.
boycat.io/

They seem to be expanding a lot these days, creating an "ethical marketplace", guess that's kinda the same idea.
buycat.shop/store

Maybe they could expand their activites to the Fediverse aswell?


BoyCat - Ethical Shopping & Secure VPN Services

Search brands, scan products, and make ethical shopping choices with confidence. Plus secure VPN services for private browsing.
BoyCat
#bds #boycat @🍉🌻Tiny Dot in the Universe🚀
in reply to Aral Balkan

Martin
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Martin
• •
Actually, I really needed this.
I'm very mistrustful because of the scams.
in reply to Aral Balkan

katzenberger
glitchsoc - Collegamento all'originale
katzenberger
• •

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 reply to katzenberger

Aral Balkan
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Aral Balkan
• •
@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.
@katzenberger
in reply to Aral Balkan

esanikerruzegibat
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
esanikerruzegibat
• •

EU: 7,5 milioi* esker!
EN: 7.5 million* thanks!

*Hau da, gizaki guztion partez. Kopuru bariazio handiak egon litezke.
*I mean on behalf of all human beings. Figures may very much vary.

in reply to Aral Balkan

Jaime Herazo
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Jaime Herazo
• •
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
@Teacher-Lolo2025
in reply to Jaime Herazo

Aral Balkan
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Aral Balkan
• •
@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 😀
@Jaime Herazo @Teacher-Lolo2025
in reply to Aral Balkan

crazyeddie
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
crazyeddie
• •
You could design a certification program around this using verifiable credentials (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.

Verifiable Credentials Data Model v2.0

A verifiable credential is a specific way to express a set of claims made by an issuer, such as a driver's license or an education certificate.
www.w3.org
in reply to crazyeddie

Aral Balkan
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Aral Balkan
• •
@crazyeddie 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 😀
@crazyeddie
in reply to Aral Balkan

Shatha Mohammed
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Shatha Mohammed
• •
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 reply to Shatha Mohammed

Aral Balkan
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Aral Balkan
• •

@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.

@Shatha Mohammed
in reply to Aral Balkan

Shatha Mohammed
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Shatha Mohammed
• •
Thank you so much for your support and kindness. I really appreciate it and will look out for your message
in reply to Aral Balkan

Ma’moun
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Ma’moun
• •
@arabiccola Related to what you were working on.
@arabiccola
Questa voce è stata modificata (2 settimane fa)
in reply to Aral Balkan

Aral Balkan
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Aral Balkan
• •

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

#mastodon #fediverse #Palestine #freepalestine #gaza #gazaverified @Joy

reshared this

in reply to Aral Balkan

Joy
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Joy
• •
Glad to be part of your amazing team. you are so welcome Aral
♥
in reply to Joy

Aral Balkan
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Aral Balkan
• •
As much your team as mine; so glad to have you on board 😀 💕
in reply to Aral Balkan

Solène de Montmarin 🇲🇲💚🇵🇸
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Solène de Montmarin 🇲🇲💚🇵🇸
• •
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
@Aseelsehwel🇵🇸
in reply to Aral Balkan

dansup
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
dansup
• •

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. ❤️

#fediverse
in reply to dansup

Aral Balkan
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Aral Balkan
• •
@dansup That’s very kind of you to say, Dan. Thank you. Here’s hoping it helps 💕
@dansup
in reply to Aral Balkan

Boud
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Boud
• •

@dansup
Just to get this on to this thread: there's this toot:

troet.cafe/@m7moodfamily/11515…

from @m7moodfamily

which has a profile link to gaza-verified.org but does *not* have a green tick.

Maybe @m7moodfamily is waiting for @aral to verify?

Help Mahmoud Family 🙌🍉🍉 (@m7moodfamily@troet.cafe)

@boud@framapiaf.org Explosions shake our homes while silence follows every scream we hear. Only your compassion today can save lives tomorrow. You can be the reason someone survives — click now 🙏💞 https://www.gofundme.
troet.cafe - Mastodon
@Aral Balkan @dansup
in reply to Aral Balkan

n816 Life
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
n816 Life
• •
avoid using signal, under surveillance. Use matrix instead.
in reply to n816 Life

David Culley
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
David Culley
• •
@elchorten Please consider the target audience: non-technical people in Gaza being shot at by tanks and soldiers, weak from famine. Do you think they have the time or nerves to fiddle around with Matrix?
@n816 Life
in reply to Aral Balkan

Aral Balkan
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Aral Balkan
• •
@davidculley @elchorten Also if you know that Signal is somehow compromised, it is your duty to publicly disclose this with proof. Otherwise, please don’t spread FUD.
@n816 Life @David Culley
in reply to Aral Balkan

Dark and and Stormy
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Dark and and Stormy
• •

👆 Great 👆

Hope the people on "Free Free Palestine!" are seeing this too.
freefree.ps/about

@jmcnaughton
@Farid
@Prgauthier
@Abdullahawwad
@loulatea
@AlBatish_Family

And thanks to @pixelfed for boosting this and making me aware of it!


Free Free Palestine!

Free Free Palestine! A space for activists and Palestinians to connect and amplify their efforts for the liberation of Palestine. Promote Palestinian solidarity events, or document and share here.
Mastodon hosted on freefree.ps
@pixelfed @jmcnaughton @لارا @Prgauthier @فريد 🇵🇸🍉🔻 @Dr.Abd RASMI @AlBatish_Family
in reply to Aral Balkan

Coralie Renée
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Coralie Renée
• •

Is it possible to verify this one account please?

ioc.exchange/@helpmahmoudfamil…

🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

in reply to Coralie Renée

Aral Balkan
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Aral Balkan
• •

@globcoco 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).

@Coralie Renée
in reply to Aral Balkan

Coralie Renée
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Coralie Renée
• •

Thank you so much for having checked it out.

It looks suspicious because of the same toot send 5 times.

💖💖💖

Unknown parent

Aral Balkan
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Aral Balkan
• •

@helmet91 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.

Unknown parent

Aral Balkan
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Aral Balkan
• •
I know Nouran uses ChatGPT for translations. I don’t know what they used for the videos they posted. But I do know I’ve chatted to her and her brother *live* over video on Signal.
Questa voce è stata modificata (2 settimane fa)
in reply to Aral Balkan

Aral Balkan
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Aral Balkan
• •

@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?

mastodon.ar.al/@aral/115062517…

I really think you’re jumping to conclusions here.

Aral Balkan

2025-08-20 18:31:28

mastodon - Collegamento all'originale

Hey everyone, Yousef, @NouranKhaledGh’s brother in Gaza, is looking for remote work:

“Before the war, I was working as a copywriter in English and Arabic. I managed to get dozens of projects done successfully and I got a top-rated badge on Upwork.”

He wasn’t able to work during the war. In January, during the ceasefire, he was able to get short-term projects. He goes to a dedicated workplace every day even now, in the middle of an ongoing genocide, to have electricity and a working Internet connection to look for work but has been getting rejections on Upwork, likely because he’s based in Gaza.

“I just want to get back to work because I don’t want to lose everything in my life.”

This is his Upwork account:

upwork.com/freelancers/~018cc9…

How can we help?

Please share + talk to people you know who might benefit from Yousef’s expertise.

Thank you!

@palestine

#Palestine #Gaza #GetFediHired #FediHire #copywriter #english #arabic


Unknown parent

Aral Balkan
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Aral Balkan
• •

@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: helmet91.com/post/how-not-to-g…

Congratulations, you are slandering people who are trying to survive genocide and famine.

Please think long and hard about what you’re doing here.


How not to get scammed

Give yourself a chance before you become a prey.
helmet91
in reply to Aral Balkan

Chris Morgan
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Chris Morgan
• •

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

Gaza Verified

I’ve personally had video conversations on Signal with the people from Gaza whose Mastodon accounts on the fediverse are listed here and I verify that their accounts are genuine. – Aral Balkan
gaza-verified.org
@Aral Balkan
in reply to Chris Morgan

Aral Balkan
mastodon - Collegamento all'originale
Aral Balkan
• •

@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 😀

💕

@Chris Morgan @Joy
⇧