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Securing Democracy Dispatch
Our Takes “NATO has a different place in the Russian psyche” than the EU, Acting Manager for Europe and Fellow Etienne Soula tells DW News. Russia objects more to Ukraine’s NATO membership than its EU accession because Russia does not view the EU as a “serious military problem” without US operational support. Hamilton 2.0 Analysis Russian diplomats and state media focused on two main narratives this week: SCO Summit: Russian propaganda outlets celebrated Russia’s success in supposedly rebalancing global power at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China. Sputnik International described the meeting of Russian, Indian, and the People’s Re
Securing Democracy Dispatch
Our Takes Last week, the Trump administration announced it would close the Foreign Malign Influence Center, the last remaining US federal organ dedicated to tracking and analyzing foreign interference targeting US institutions, elections, and society. This decision is a “blow to US national security and a gift to America’s adversaries, who have no interest in slowing down” such operations, Managing Director David Salvo writes in Just Security. Hamilton 2.0 Analysis Russian diplomats and state media focused on two main narratives this week: USAID Interference in Moldova’s Elections: Russian propaganda outlets spread claims that Samantha Power, a former head of the Unite
What Just Happened? Dismantling the Intelligence Community’s Foreign Malign Influence Center
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard recently announced that the functions of the intelligence community’s Foreign Malign Influence Center (FMIC) would be reduced and absorbed into other parts of the U.S. intelligence community. In doing so, Gabbard has dismantled the last remaining U.S. federal government organ dedicated to tracking and analyzing State-sponsored efforts to interfere in U.S. institutions, elections, and society. After the Trump administration shut down related units at the State Department, Department of Homeland Security, FBI, and Department of Justice earlier this year, Gabbard’s announcement is a particular blow to U.S. national security and a gift to A
Shifting the Blame: How Russia is Preparing for a Peace-Negotiations Stalemate
Though Russian news media celebrated an "upcoming victory" after the US-Russian summit in Anchorage, Alaska, state-backed media and Russian officials laid the informational groundwork to shift blame to Ukraine and Europe if negotiations stall, go in an unfavorable direction, or fall apart. This suggests that Moscow is prepared for and ready to take advantage of a failure to secure a peace deal with Washington and Kyiv. Blaming Ukraine and Europe Following the Alaska summit, TASS reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin expects that Ukraine and Europe will not “create obstacles to the emerging progress” to settle the “Ukrainian crisis”. However, Deputy Chairman of the Securi
Securing Democracy Dispatch
Reactions to the News Gabbard to dissolve Foreign Malign Influence Center: US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard plans to dissolve the Foreign Malign Influence Center (FMIC)—an intelligence agency that analyzes and counters foreign influence campaigns targeting Americans—criticizing its alleged role in the assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 election and calling its work redundant, amid broader restructuring of her department. See what our experts think below: Managing Director David Salvo: “In dismantling the FMIC, Gabbard has effectively shut down the last US federal-government organ dedicated to tracking and analyzing state-sponsored efforts to inter
Putin “Still Calling the Shots” After Trump-Zelenskyy Meeting, David Salvo Writes
As details of the US administration’s position became clearer following the August 15 summit in Alaska, it became evident that—as feared—the face-to-face meeting with US President Donald Trump gave Russian President Vladimir Putin the advantage. Putin seemingly convinced Trump again that a ceasefire could not precede a comprehensive peace, and that a comprehensive peace should look mostly as Russia desires it, including, among other things, keeping Ukrainian land it took by force and removing sanctions and other isolating measures against Russia. Now, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sitting beside Trump in the Oval Office, the optics in the room mirrored the dynamic bet
Securing Democracy Dispatch
Our Takes It is hard to see “much that’s going to change the decision-making calculus in Moscow” about the war in Ukraine given that Russian President Vladimir Putin “sees cracks in Western unity” and that Russia’s “whole economy is propped up to fight this war”, Managing Director David Salvo tells Background Briefing with Ian Masters. Hamilton 2.0 Analysis Russian diplomats and state media focused on two main narratives this week: US-Russia Summit: Russian officials and state media celebrated the upcoming meeting between the American and Russian presidents in Anchorage, Alaska, and warned about purported Ukrainian attempts to undermine the summit. Russia’s s
Securing Democracy Dispatch
Our Takes RT’s and Sputnik’s English-language accounts largely supported US President Donald Trump’s immigration and border policies, casting migrants as “dangerous” and characterizing the crackdown as a necessity. Their Spanish-language counterparts, however, present a different narrative, expressing criticism and calling out the policies’ repercussions on human rights, in yet another display of how the Kremlin messengers play audiences on both sides of contentious issues to advance their geopolitical agenda, Research Analyst Krystyna Sikora writes. As tensions in the Baltic Sea increased this spring over Russian vessels’ destabilizing behavior, Russian state messaging k
Cross-Border Communication: How Russian State Media Sends Mixed Signals on Trump’s Border Policies in English and Spanish
Since his first day returning to office, US President Donald Trump has pushed forward on campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration and secure the southern US border. Trump’s tough stance on immigration has been contentious among Americans and foreign audiences, particularly those in Spanish-speaking countries. It is well documented that Russian influence actors play audiences on both sides of controversial issues to exacerbate divisions. This malleability is also noticeable in different regional and language-specific versions of Russian state media outlets, where, depending on the target audience, Russian messengers offer differing, if not entirely contradictory, views on w
Securing Democracy Dispatch
Announcements Research on information operations rarely extends beyond single-language textual analysis, neglecting “the critical role visuals play in spreading influence.” ASD’s Information Laundromat now contains an automated reverse image detection feature that “allows researchers and policymakers to quickly trace how visual narratives are propagated through complex networks”, Senior Investigative Research Officer Peter Benzoni explains. Our Takes Russian state media has used image-reuse strategies to continue to launder content to regions of geopolitical interest, including “Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Africa, and parts of Asia”, Benzoni finds using this new to