The coronavirus pandemic is creating an opportunity for foreign actors who seek to undermine Western democracies to advance their goals. From weekly reports that track messaging from Russian and Chinese state-backed media and diplomatic actors, to pieces that analyze the geopolitical impact of crisis, ASD’s work on coronavirus can be found here.
20 for 20: 20 Ways to Protect the 2020 Presidential Election
ASD’s Elections Integrity Fellow David Levine and the Bipartisan Policy Center's Director of the Election Project Matthew Weil identify 20 ways states could further protect the 2020 presidential election with additional funding. Introduction At t [...]
Hamilton Weekly Report: May 9-15, 2020
Russia Toplines The coronavirus, while still the most prominent topic in the Russian media ecosystem last week, continued to decline in prominence for the third week in a row. At the same time, World War II Victory Day messaging predictably reached [...]
Triad of Disinformation: How Russia, Iran, & China Ally in a Messaging War against America
When Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian began tweeting about the origins of the coronavirus in March, it marked a significant turning point in China’s social media disinformation operations. While China has long deployed widespread ce [...]
Laura Rosenberger Discusses How Authoritarian Regimes Have Taken Advantage of the Coronavirus Crisis with the Henry Jackson Society
Director Laura Rosenberger joined the Henry Jackson Society for a webinar discussion entitled "When the World Wasn't Looking: How Authoritarian States Have Taken Advantage of the COVID-19 Crisis." "Covid-19 has left a trail of destruction everywher [...]
Laura Rosenberger and Julie Smith on How China is Using the Coronavirus to Cozy up to Europe in Newsweek
ASD Director Laura Rosenberger and GMF Asia Program Director Julie Smith argue that as the U.S. has abdicated its leadership role during the coronavirus pandemic, China has moved to crown itself the de facto global leader. China has provided assista [...]
To Ensure a Healthy Election in a Pandemic, First Prepare the Information Space
State and local leaders, in partnership with social media platforms, must prepare the information space for the onslaught of disinformation that epidemic-necessitated changes to the election process could generate. New York democrats may not be cast [...]
Lindsay Gorman and Elsa B. Kania on the U.S. Response to China’s Intellectual Property Theft in Foreign Policy
Instead of restricting Chinese students from U.S. academic and scientific research, U.S. concerns and policy responses should focus on how to counter the tactics and mechanisms that China’s party-state exploits for tech transfer, Emerging Technologi [...]
Hamilton Weekly Report: May 2-8, 2020
Russia Toplines The coronavirus remained an important topic in the Russian media ecosystem last week, though its margin of prominence again declined as compared to the previous week. Most pandemic content relayed basic news updates; although, critic [...]
Nad’a Kovalcikova Talks Disinformation in Europe with Alliance4Europe
Program Manager Nad'a Kovalcikova joined an Europe's Day webinar panel hosted by the Alliance4Europe entitled "True or false? How disinformation divides, and what can bring us together." The panel was part of the Citizens Take Over Europe program. [...]
Laura Rosenberger on Countering Chinese and Russian Digital Influence Operations with CNAS
Director Laura Rosenberger joined a panel of experts convened by the Center for a New American Security for a webinar discussion entitled "Countering China and Russian Influence Operations." [...]
Hamilton Weekly Report: April 25-May 1, 2020
Russia Toplines Coronavirus maintained its position as the most prominent topic for the Russian media ecosystem last week, though its dominance declined from the previous week. Much of this coverage focused on basic news updates, with some emphasis [...]
Ensuring Safe Elections: Federal Funding Needs for State and Local Governments During the Pandemic
ASD’s Elections Integrity Fellow David Levine joined with experts from the Brennan Center, Pitt Cyber, and R Street to produce a new report that provides an in-depth look at the equipment, staffing, supplies, and other costs of administering electi [...]