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Securing Democracy Dispatch
Our Takes “No one in the political spectrum is happy with where we are from an information standpoint. Everyone looks at our current information system as failing us”, Senior Fellow Bret Schafer told WXXI’s Connections with Evan Dawson in a conversation about US polarization and foreign authoritarian actors’ use of AI. Hamilton 2.0 Analysis Russian diplomats and state media focused on two main narratives this week: Nuclear Testing: Russian officials and state media defended the country’s development of nuclear weapons and criticized the United States’ stated intentions to resume nuclear testing. Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that Russia does not threate
Authoritarian Governments Using AI to Undermine Democracies, Bret Schafer Tells WXXI’s Connections with Evan Dawson
Senior Fellow Bret Schafer joined WXXI's Connections with Evan Dawson to discuss how authoritarian governments have harnessed AI to supercharge the spread of false or polarizing information online to destabilize democracies. [fusion_button link="https://www.wxxinews.org/show/connections/2025-11-04/ai-propaganda-and-the-future-of-democracy" title="" target="_self" link_attributes="" alignment_medium="" alignment_small="" alignment="" modal="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" color="default" button_gradient_top_color_hover="" hue="" saturation="" lightness="" alpha="" button_gradient_top_color="" button_gradie
Securing Democracy Dispatch
Hamilton 2.0 Analysis Russian diplomats and state media focused on two main narratives this week: US Sanctions Against Russian Oil Companies: Russian officials and state media outlets condemned US sanctions against Lukoil and Rosneft, two Russian oil companies, and threatened a reciprocal response against the West. Russian President Vladimir Putin promised that these sanctions “will not significantly affect the economic well-being of Russia” yet warned that “ prices will surge” across the world, including in the United States. TASS cited European Commission Spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, who cautioned that these sanctions may “partially affect” the EU’s energy securi
Securing Democracy Dispatch
Our Takes Public and private actors who work to counter foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) face a proliferating number of state and nonstate actors, new threat vectors, and increasing hostility toward counter-FIMI efforts. Civil servants and civil society must continue collaboration and efforts to change the terms of public debate over how these operations affect democratic freedoms, Managing Director David Salvo tells the London FIMI Forum. Hamilton 2.0 Analysis Russian diplomats and state media focused on two main narratives this week: Possible US-Russia Summit in Budapest: Russian officials and state media accused the West, but especially the EU, of un
David Salvo Discusses Countering Foreign Information Threats at London FIMI Forum
Managing Director David Salvo discussed ways to combat foreign information manipulation and interference in a changing global landscape at the fifth annual London FIMI Forum, hosted by the EU Delegation to the United Kingdom. [fusion_button link="https://youtu.be/RPRGlX0BU_I?si=lX-9dIjQ9tmv2zhs" title="" target="_self" link_attributes="" alignment_medium="" alignment_small="" alignment="" modal="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" color="default" button_gradient_top_color_hover="" hue="" saturation="" lightness="" alpha="" button_gradient_top_color="" button_gradient_bottom_color_hover="" button_gradient_bo
Securing Democracy Dispatch
Hamilton 2.0 Analysis Russian diplomats and state media focused on two main narratives this week: Tomahawk Missiles for Ukraine: Russian officials strongly denounced news of a possible transfer of US Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that the use of these weapons without the US military’s direct participation would be impossible and warned that their delivery would mark another phase of escalation between Russia and the United States. Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova blamed Ukraine for plotting terror attacks against Russia with Tomahawks and accused the West of “deliberately prolonging the conflict”. A
Securing Democracy Dispatch
Hamilton 2.0 Analysis Russian diplomats and state media focused on two main narratives this week: Blame Game over Ukraine: Russian messengers last week continued to cast blame on Europe for prolonging the war in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the “responsibility for the continuation of the conflict in Ukraine lies with Europe” and alleged that “the West does not care about” Ukrainians, instead believing that “all nations must be serfs to the lords of power”. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov remarked that the momentum for peace after the Alaska summit has been “exhausted” due to Western Europe’s desire to fight to “the last Ukrainian�
Securing Democracy Dispatch
Our Takes Until recently, US-funded media outlets provided an alternative to Russian state propaganda in Moldova. But now, after the Trump administration’s funding cuts, trusted US-funded broadcasters “are slowly but steadily receding from view”, crippling media pluralism ahead of Moldova’s pivotal parliamentary election last week “to the seeming benefit of Russian propagandists”, Senior Fellow Bret Schafer and Open-Source Intelligence Analyst Larissa Doroshenko find in new analysis. Hamilton 2.0 Analysis Russian diplomats and state media focused on two main narratives this week: False-Flag Provocations Against NATO: Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) ac
Rising and Falling Tides: How Russia Has Benefited from Cuts to US Government-Funded Media in Moldova
Moldovans return to the polls on Sunday to vote for their parliamentary representatives in an election whose outcome could determine whether the country continues its path towards EU membership or pivots back toward closer relations with Moscow. Given the geopolitical stakes, observers have alleged that the Kremlin is once again attempting to interfere in the election through information operations, vote buying, and incitement of “mass riots”, in what former GMF colleague Laura Thornton has argued should be considered a “multi-vector war” rather than an “influence operation”. Although much of the Kremlin’s malign activities in Moldova are conducted covertly, the Russian go
Securing Democracy Dispatch
Our Takes American conservatives frequently criticize social-media companies for their content-moderation policies and the EU for its social-media regulations, alleging they infringe on freedom of speech. However, the lack of regulation further imperils online speech, leaving it subject to whichever way the political winds blow, Managing Director David Salvo and Senior Fellow Bret Schafer write. The decline of local news and changing ways that Americans receive information have created more pathways “for bad actors to infiltrate spaces to spread a specific narrative”, Senior Fellow Bret Schafer told WFAE 90.7’s Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins. Hamilton 2.0 Analysis Russia