Twitter bot tracks dictators’ travel through Geneva

[A Twitter bot tracks planes that are publicly registered by 20 authoritarian governments. Photo: AFP/Getty Images]

Dictators hoping to make a discrete visit to Geneva might have their plans foiled thanks to a sneaky Twitter bot. The GVA Dictator Alert tracks aircraft that are registered to authoritarian governments and then shares arrival and departure times on Twitter.

Journalist François Pilet says he started the project as a way to add a bit of exposure to “a very secret world.”

“I think every time that we see a plane from, say Equatorial Guinea, we should think about it,” Pilet tells the Verve. “Why is the guy coming here? Is the guy coming here for diplomatic reasons, because his country’s representatives are having political debates? Or are they coming just to hide the money they stole from their people?”

The project stemmed from an article Pilet wrote about the leader of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. Pilet would track frequent trips Mbasogo made to Geneva, many of which were sometimes on an Equatorial Guinean airline that has been prohibited from European airspace.

Working with his cousin, a former Google engineer, Pilet created a device that can scan antenna signals around Geneva on an hourly basis. Whenever a marked plane enters its airspace, the bot automatically posts the details to Twitter.

The bot now tracks planes that are publicly registered by 20 authoritarian governments, including Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Qatar, Russia, and Saudi Arabia.

Pilet intends to expand the bot to other European airports as well as different transport vehicles, like private boats and yachts.

“When they come in a private jet to Geneva, they think they are hidden,” Pilet says. “And I think it’s a cool idea to know that every time the front wheel of their plane touches the tarmac in Geneva, there’s a tweet saying ‘hi, you are here, and now it’s public.’”