Authoritarian regimes and their proxies use social media, other online information platforms, and traditional media to attempt to shape global and domestic narratives; to sow chaos and confusion in democracies; and to undermine democratic processes. Find ASD’s work on the many ways malign actors manipulate information to interfere in democracies, including by spreading disinformation, on this page.
Hamilton Toplines: November 9–15, 2022
Hamilton 2.0 is an interactive tool that monitors the outputs of Chinese and Russian state media and government officials across a range of social media platforms. The weekly report provides a summary analysis of the most salient topics and narrativ [...]
The Midterms Avoided the Worst-Case Outcomes but Vigilance Is Still Needed
Despite fears of political violence and deepening societal divisions, the United States appears to have avoided the worst-case scenarios in the lead-up to and immediately following the midterm elections. Election officials and local law enforcement [...]
Hamilton Toplines: November 2–8, 2022
Russia Monitored Russian accounts tweeted 17,045 times from November 2 to November 8, earning 185,885 retweets and 539,333 likes. Kremlin-linked Twitter accounts did not conduct a large-scale messaging push around the US midterm elections. Even on t [...]
What to Watch: ASD at GMF Experts Weigh in on US 2022 Midterms
Tomorrow’s midterm elections will be a benchmark for the state of American democracy. As early voting surges, people around the country (and the world) are watching to see what happens in what is perhaps the most important midterm election in recent [...]
Midterm Monitor Analysis: Election Denial and English vs. Spanish Language Social Media Conversations
Using our interactive tool to examine social posts, we found numerous false claims of election fraud and differences in the online conversations in English versus Spanish. The Midterm Monitor is a joint project of the Alliance for Securing Democracy [...]
Midterm Monitor Report: What Candidates are Saying about Big Tech and Election Denialism
The Midterm Monitor is an interactive tool that provides a snapshot of social media messages and narratives shaping the conversation around voting and election administration in the leadup to the 2022 midterm elections. The Midterm Monitor tracks so [...]
Not Just Dance Videos: How Candidates are Using TikTok in the US Midterms
Amidst an already mixed and muddled information morass, this election cycle, a new social media platform has joined the US political information environment: Chinese-owned viral video app TikTok. Despite years of warnings from researchers and lawmak [...]
David Levine Breaks Down Foreign Interference in Elections with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems
Is the public discussion in our democracies an open dialogue, or do malicious actors manipulate the debate for their own purposes? META (the owners of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) published a report in September 2022 about “Coordinated Inauthen [...]
Hamilton Toplines: October 19–25, 2022
Russia Monitored Russian accounts tweeted 17,602 times from October 19 to October 25, receiving 209,202 retweets and 619,552 likes. “Dirty bomb” was the most used key phrase in tweets by Russian diplomats and state media for three days after Defe [...]
Hamilton Monthly Report: September 2022
This report highlights and analyzes key trends and takeaways from data collected on the Hamilton 2.0 Dashboard during the previous month. Unlike ASD at GMF’s weekly Hamilton reports, which analyze the main topics and themes promoted by monitored Rus [...]
Midterm Monitor Report: October 20–26, 2022
The Midterm Monitor is an interactive tool that provides a snapshot of social media messages and narratives shaping the conversation around voting and election administration in the leadup to the 2022 midterm elections. The Midterm Monitor tracks so [...]
Midterm Monitor Analysis: Information Silos and Election Denial
Using our interactive tool, we examined posts by candidates for secretary of state and other offices. We found vanishing common ground when it comes to sources of information. The Midterm Monitor is a joint project of the Brennan Center and the Alli [...]