A comprehensive, weekly recap of the news and events that define ASD’s work and mission.
This week, FBI officials warned of potential interference from Russia and China in the upcoming midterms, providing a timely reminder that what happens in our elections doesn’t just matter here in the United States. According to reporting, the FBI b [...]
Announcements We’ve launched a special US midterm newsletter! Each week leading up to the November elections, we’ll share the latest analysis on disinformation and election security, and take a deep dive into the state of play in a battleground sta [...]
In a recent poll, “threats to democracy” was the top concern among voters, beating out “cost of living” for the number one spot. Early data from our Midterm Monitor indicated some agreement across party lines that democracy is under threat, though t [...]
Announcement Milwaukee friends: Join ASD’s Bret Schafer tonight at 7:00 p.m. CDT for a conversation in partnership with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the University of Milwaukee Institute of World Affairs on how mis- and disinformation are sha [...]
Announcements Just launched! ASD and the Brennan Center for Justice are excited to share the Midterm Monitor, an interactive tool designed to capture voting and election messaging from a select group of candidates, US media, and foreign state-backe [...]
Announcement Milwaukee friends: Join ASD’s Bret Schafer on Thursday, September 22, at 7:00 p.m. CDT for a conversation in partnership with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and University of Milwaukee Institute of World Affairs on how mis- and disinfo [...]
Our Take Mock elections can be a valuable tool in testing new election processes and building public trust, Pima County Elections Director Constance Hargrove told ASD’s David Levine on the latest episode of Ballots & Bagels. The Taiwan Policy [...]
Our Take China’s comprehensive sanctions regime against Lithuania underlines the grave need for Europe to bolster its resilience to economic coercion—but the EU’s new Anti-Coercion Instrument won’t be enough, China Affairs Analyst Bryce Barros and [...]
Our Take After spiking at the beginning of Russia’s war in Ukraine, engagement with Russia’s Spanish-language media accounts is consistently declining, in part due to platform bans, Research Analyst Joseph Bodnar explains in his latest. But Ahí les [...]
Announcements We’re recruiting for our fall 2022 paid internships! The research intern will assist our fellows with research on autocratic actors’ endeavors to undermine democracy, and the communications intern will work with our external affairs t [...]
Announcements We’re recruiting for our fall 2022 paid internships! The research intern will assist our fellows with research on autocratic actors’ endeavors to undermine democracy, and the communications intern will work with our external affairs t [...]
Announcements Pennsylvania friends: Join us in Pittsburgh tonight, July 26 and in Westmoreland County tomorrow, July 27 for in-person events with ASD’s Deputy Director David Salvo and Head of External Affairs Rachael Dean Wilson on disinformation [...]
Announcements Pennsylvania friends: Join us in Pittsburgh on July 26 and in Westmoreland County on July 27 for in-person events with ASD’s Deputy Director David Salvo and Head of External Affairs Rachael Dean Wilson on disinformation and potential [...]
Our Take State and local entities must leverage their community resources, funding, and experienced leaders to retain election officials and protect them from bad faith actors seeking to undermine trust in democracy, Elections Integrity Fellow Davi [...]
Our Take Russian and Chinese propagandists diverged in their messaging around the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, with Russia playing into culture war narratives and China seeking to undermine US leadership on human rights, Program Assistant Krys [...]
Announcements Tomorrow is the last day of the German Marshall Fund’s Brussels Forum. Tune into Brussels Forum here starting at 9:00am CET/3:00am ET and watch past panels here. The Brussels Forum ASD-led panel “Rebuilding Trust in our Elections” fe [...]
Our Take China leverages the digital stack—network infrastructure, devices, applications, content, and governance—to influence five countries in the Global South, ASD’s Bryce Barros, Nathan Kohlenberg, and Etienne Soula explain in a new report with [...]
Announcement We recently launched the Yandex Dashboard, a tool that catalogs the information and sources Russian speakers in Russia, Ukraine, the United States, Poland, and Estonia encounter as part of their news consumption on Yandex. Try it out h [...]
Announcement We’ve just launched the Yandex Dashboard, a tool that catalogs the information and sources Russian speakers in Russia, Ukraine, the United States, Poland, and Estonia encounter as part of their news consumption on Yandex. Try it out he [...]
Our Take China has been exploiting search results on Google, Bing, and YouTube to spread state narratives and disinformation about Xinjiang and COVID-19, ASD’s Bret Schafer and Elen Aghekyan find in a new report with the Brookings Institution. The [...]
Our Take Finland and Sweden joining NATO will make the Baltic Sea region and all of Europe safer with new capabilities, closer coordination, and faster decision-making, Senior Fellow Kristine Berzina writes for GMF. While presidential elections are [...]
Our Take As Finland and Sweden apply for NATO membership, Russia is likely to retaliate with cyber operations and disinformation to try to destabilize government institutions and societal cohesion, Deputy Director David Salvo writes on ASD’s Interf [...]
Our Take Opting out of debates is a trait of autocracies, not healthy, advanced democracies that promote a contest of ideas, Director Laura Thornton argues in The Hill. The rubber stamp election of Hong Kong’s Chief Executive-designate John Lee hig [...]
Our Take Introducing Ballots and Bagels: Conversations with Trusted Election Sources, a new series from ASD where Elections Integrity Fellow David Levine discusses the successes and lessons learned from the 2022 U.S. primaries with the people who p [...]
Our Take Despite their free access to information, some Americans have fallen susceptible to the same Kremlin lies about the war in Ukraine that have traction in Russia, Director Laura Thornton writes in The Hill. As the world unites around Ukrain [...]
Our Take The EU should extend harsh sanctions to most or all of the largest Russian banks, including the one that plays a central role in Russia's financial system, Sberbank, Non-Resident Fellow Josh Kirschenbaum and Nicolas Veron argue for the Pet [...]
Our Take The struggle between democracy and autocracy is based not on geographic delineations but on values and ideas held by people everywhere, Director Laura Thornton writes in The Atlantic. Even after the EU banned Russian state media outlets RT [...]
Announcements We’re recruiting for our summer 2022 internships! Research interns will assist our fellows with research on autocratic actors’ attempts to undermine democracies, and the communications intern will work with the external affairs team t [...]
Announcements Tune in on Tuesday, April 5 at 9:00 a.m. EDT/3:00 p.m. CEST as Director Laura Thornton moderates a Global Democracy Coalition discussion on the written commitments countries have made since the Summit for Democracy. Learn more here. [...]
Our Take Russia has lost the information war in Ukraine, but the Kremlin will likely continue to carry out information manipulation campaigns to try to break the West’s unified response, Senior Fellow Bret Schafer said on the Chicago Council on Glo [...]
Announcement GMF has established the GMF Hope Fund to provide urgent assistance, including funds for emergency evacuation and relocation support, to our civil society grantees, fellows, and alumni who have become victims of the conflict and who req [...]
Announcement How can Ukraine win the disinformation war against Russia? Join ASD and GMF on Wednesday, March 9 for a discussion with Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko, Head of the East Stratcom Task Force Martyna Bil [...]
Announcements The German Marshall Fund of the United States condemns in the strongest possible terms Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Read the full statement from GMF President Heather Conley here. We’ve launched a Ukraine-focu [...]
Announcements Last week we launched the French Elections Dashboard, an interactive, open-source tool that will provide summary analysis of narratives promoted by influential foreign and domestic actors during this year’s presidential election in Fr [...]
Our Take Rather than question the legitimacy of future elections, pro-democracy supporters should focus on how to ensure the successful counting of ballots and certification of elections going forward, Elections Integrity Fellow David Levine argues [...]
Our Take The recent U.S. warning that Russia was planning to use a fake video to frame Ukraine for starting a war was credible and effective–despite the U.S. government’s poor job explaining the accusation, Research Assistant Joseph Bodnar writes o [...]
Our Take For months, Russian propagandists have been preparing for a potential war by framing Ukraine and the West as aggressors. We compiled Hamilton 2.0 data to shine a light on how Russian officials and state media have messaged around the crisi [...]
Our Take The West will not, and cannot, meet Putin’s demands to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine, Senior Fellow Kristine Berzina said on BBC News. Until Mesa County, Colorado Clerk Tina Peters demonstrates a commitment to free and fair electio [...]
Our Take The United States should enlist domestic and international nonpartisan election monitors to help restore public trust in the election process, Director Laura Thornton argues in The Fulcrum. Early this month, Russian diplomats and state me [...]
Our Take Democracies need to reckon with the fact that their internal systems can hinder real progress in curbing strategic corruption, Malign Finance Fellow Josh Rudolph writes in Foreign Policy. Whether the United States can adequately administer [...]