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: April 5-11, 2021
Amid heightened tensions in eastern Ukraine, Russian state media and diplomats last week reupped their usual narratives about the conflict: blaming Ukraine for the situation, suggesting that Russia poses no threat (but hinting that Russia could inte [...]
Nad’a Kovalčíková Discusses NATO’s Shifting Strategic Concept at Atlantic Forum
Program Manager and Fellow Nad’a Kovalčíková joined the Atlantic Forum's Spring Conference for a panel entitled "An Alliance Bound to Lead: Converging Towards 2030." Kovalčíková, Benedetta Berti, Professor Sven Biscop, and moderator Shary Mitidiery [...]
Jessica Brandt Discusses Russia, China, and Iran’s Information Strategies in the Vaccine Contest with NDN
Head of Policy and Research Jessica Brandt joined NDN to discuss the great power race between the United States/the West and authoritarian countries to vaccinate the world and be the ones to defeat the coronavirus. Related Reading: Influence-enza: [...]
Hamilton Toplines: March 29-April 4, 2021
Last week, Russian state media—and in one instance the Russian Foreign Ministry—continued to hammer the United States over the migrant crisis at the southern border, characterizing the situation as a humanitarian disaster and highlighting reports of [...]
Brad Hanlon in The Hill: Congressional CEO Grillings Can’t Solve Disinformation. We Need A Public Interest Regulator
Last Thursday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee held yet another hearing to grill social media CEOs about the mis- and disinformation on their platforms. While much of the hearing consisted of members soliciting soundbites from the executives [...]
Hamilton Toplines: March 22-28, 2021
Russian state media last week hammered the United States over its response to the migrant crisis at the southern border, suggesting that the Biden administration is intentionally downplaying and concealing the poor conditions. State media amplified [...]
Defending 2020: What Worked, What Didn’t, and What’s Next
Executive Summary The 2016 presidential election served as a wakeup call to the threat of authoritarian interference, and in the years since, many segments of American society—from the federal government to private companies and civil society gro [...]
Hamilton Toplines: March 15-21, 2021
Following the publication of the U.S. intelligence community’s assessment of foreign interference in the 2020 election, Russian state media last week highlighted predictable backlash and denials from Russian government figures, with a small amount o [...]
David Salvo on Russia’s Motivations for Attempting to Interfere in the U.S. Elections
Acting Director David Salvo joined Julie Mason to discuss Russia’s tools, tactics, and motivations for attempting to interfere in the U.S. elections. Related reading: Leaks, Lies, and Altered Tape: Russia’s Maturing Information Manipulation Playbook [...]
Nad’a Kovalčíková Discusses the Impact of Disinformation in Poland, the Balkans, and the EU with the Geremka Foundation
Program Manager and Fellow Nad’a Kovalčíková joined the Geremka Foundation to discuss information manipulation in Europe and possible policy measures to better address it, with a focus on EU, Poland and Western Balkans. Disinformation is currently [...]
Messaging Authoritarianism: China’s Four Messaging Pillars and How ‘Wolf Warrior’ Tactics Undermine Them
A messaging strategy is only as good as the goal it serves; as Xi Jinping has made clear, China is seeking to make the world safer for its brand of authoritarianism by reshaping the world order. An analysis of messaging from China’s diplomats, state [...]
Nad’a Kovalčíková on Visegrad Countries’ Efforts to Combat Coronavirus Disinformation in Euractiv
Just as the other EU countries, the Visegrad states are endangered by the amplification of manipulated information, and the coronavirus pandemic has only contributed to the problem. Combatting disinformation is a whole society effort that requires a [...]