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.
Laura Thornton in Civil Georgia: Perilous Choice: Georgia’s COVID Elections
Georgia’s local elections scheduled for October represent more than choosing important mayoral and sakrebulo (local council) positions. The political stakes are higher, than what the local elections usually entail. Based on the EU-negotiated agreeme [...]
Hamilton Toplines: August 16–August 22, 2021
Russia Last week, Russian state media and diplomats continued to focus on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, highlighting chaotic scenes on the ground, criticizing the Biden administration’s efforts, and amplifying confusion and tension between t [...]
Mandatory Vaccinations, Covid-19 Origin, and A National Holiday: July’s Top Findings from the 2021 German Elections Dashboard
July saw a continuation of foreign actors’ active engagement in German online political discourse through state-backed media and diplomatic accounts. As in previous months, Russian actors put a particular emphasis on disseminating anti-vaccination n [...]
Hamilton Toplines: August 9–August 15, 2021
Russia Last week, Russian state media and diplomats focused heavily on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s campaign to seize control of the country. Alongside coverage of the unfolding chaos and humanitarian crisis, Russian accoun [...]
Hamilton Toplines: August 2 – August 8, 2021
Russia Last week, Russian state media and diplomats continued to focus heavily on the Tokyo Olympics, celebrating Russian successes and amplifying President Putin’s claim that the ban of Russia’s name, flag, and anthem for violating anti-doping rule [...]
Hamilton Toplines: July 26-August 1, 2021
Russia As with most international media outlets, Russian state media outlets focused heavily on coverage of the Tokyo Olympics last week, a topic discussed in more detail in a recently published ASD blog post. They also continued to stoke vaccine sk [...]
Politics, Patriotism, and Propaganda: How Russia, China, and Iran Are Covering the Tokyo Olympics
Authoritarians have long used international sporting competitions as a platform for advancing political and geopolitical agendas, from using the successes of their athletes to boost national pride to opportunistically leveraging the global spotlight [...]
Ten Principles for a Healthier Information Space Across the Atlantic
ASD's Nad’a Kovalčíková and Globsec's Dominika Hajdu and Miroslava Sawiris present the Alliance for Healthy Infosphere's Ten Transatlantic Principles for a Healthy Online Information Space. The U.S. Capitol attack on January 6, 2021, fueled by dis [...]
Top 5 German Election Dashboard Takeaways
Germany’s upcoming federal election in September is not only important for the German people but can be an alluring target for foreign and domestic actors seeking to influence the future trajectory of the country or seeking to undermine democratic p [...]
Hamilton Toplines: July 12-18, 2021
Russia In coverage of the anti-government protests in Cuba, Russian state media amplified calls to end the U.S. embargo on the country and Cuban officials’ accusations that U.S.-funded mercenaries are fomenting the protests. The Russian Foreign Mini [...]
Between Messaging and Manipulation: How Russia, China, Turkey, and Iran Engaged in German Political Discourses in June 2021
What We’re Seeing on the 2021 German Elections Dashboard In June, as in previous months, foreign state-backed media and diplomatic accounts actively engaged in online German political discourses, at times manipulating information. Russian actors con [...]
Hamilton Toplines: July 5-11, 2021
Russian state media and diplomats extensively covered the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan last week, with Afghanistan ranking as the third most mentioned country and “Taliban” as one of the top 10 key phrases by monitored accounts. Notable narrativ [...]