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: August 30–September 5, 2021
Russia Last week, Russian state media and diplomats continued to focus on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s takeover of the country; although, the amount of coverage declined slightly from previous weeks. Kremlin-linked Twitter [...]
Germany is Vulnerable before the Elections but Can Still Escape Interference Attempts
Sooner or later harmful trends observed in the United States often take hold in Germany. They might not be at the scale of what Americans confront, but the telltale signs are evident even in Germany’s strong democracy. That especially applies to ele [...]
Hamilton Toplines: August 23–29, 2021
Russia Last week, Russian diplomats and state media continued to provide extensive coverage of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the associated fallout. Russian Twitter accounts monitored on Hamilton 2.0 mentioned Afghanistan more than any ot [...]
Targeting Baerbock: Gendered Disinformation in Germany’s 2021 Federal Election
On April 19, 2021, Annalena Baerbock was announced as the German Green Party candidate for chancellor. With this nomination, Baerbock became the only woman in the race to succeed Angela Merkel. However, her nomination was undermined from the outset [...]
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 [...]
Kristine Berzina Discusses Disinformation in the Lead Up to Germany’s Federal Elections with NZZ
Disinformation, especially coming from Russia, is a growing problem. The goal: destabilize democracy. Explore the German Election Dashboard. [...]
Lindsay Gorman with NBR: China’s Data Ambitions
Lindsay Gorman details China’s data ambitions with a particular eye to how they relate to emerging technology goals associated with AI. She then discusses how these efforts complicate democratic values in cyberspace and analyzes options for how demo [...]
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 [...]
A Post-Merkel German Foreign Policy: A Look Into the Parties’ Election Agendas
Why It Matters After 16 years of government under Chancellor Angela Merkel and 8 years in a so-called “grand coalition” between the CDU/CSU and the SPD, it is all but certain that the federal elections in September will bring a change in government [...]
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 [...]