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: September 5–13, 2022
Russia Toplines Monitored Russian accounts over the past nine days tweeted 23,348 times, generating 259,630 retweets and 848,122 likes. As the Ukrainian military recaptured large amounts of territory in the country’s northeast and south, Kremlin-lin [...]
Bret Schafer in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Extreme Partisanship Threatens Our Democracy, and the Problem is Us. We Also are the Solution
In response to a recent poll showing that roughly 40% of Americans believe a civil war is at least somewhat likely in the next 10 years—a figure that jumps to more than half among those who identify as “strong Republicans”—one Chinese diplomat tweet [...]
Ukraine’s Successful Counteroffensive Around Izyum: What News Is Yandex Showing?
Over the past few days, the Ukrainian military launched a successful counteroffensive to regain control of the city of Izyum and other territory in the northwestern Kharkiv region from Russian occupying forces. The Alliance for Securing Democracy ra [...]
Hamilton Toplines: August 29-September 4, 2022
Russia Monitored Russian state media and diplomatic accounts last week posted 16,757 tweets, generating 159,855 retweets and 489,526 likes. Russia-linked accounts last week carried the Kremlin’s statement that it would not fully resume gas supplies [...]
Laura Thornton on Information Wars at the Tbilisi International Conference 2022
Panelists Jamie Fly, President, RFE/RL Shota Gvernia, Non-Resident Fellow, EPRC Laura Thornton, Director and Senior Fellow, Alliance for Securing Democracy Brian Whitmore, Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council Stefan Meister, Head of Program, [...]
Moldova in the Crosshairs: The Top 4 Russian Narratives
In July, Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița said she feared that Russia could target Moldova next as it continues to wage its devastating war in Ukraine. From her statement, it seems likely that Moldova could become an increasingly significan [...]
Bryce Barros, Nathan Kohlenberg, and Etienne Soula Discuss China and Tech in the Global South on China in the Americas
In this episode, Rasheed Griffith talks to Bryce Barros, Nathan Kohlenberg, and Etienne Soula about their report about China’s influence over the digital information environment outside of its borders. Related Reading: China and the Digital Informat [...]
Hamilton Toplines: August 22–28, 2022
Russia Russian state media and diplomats last week tweeted 16,941 times, generating 191,154 retweets and 575,694 likes. Kremlin-affiliated accounts last week barely mentioned a Russian bomb that killed at least 22 Ukrainians and injured 50 more at a [...]
David Levine Assesses the Implications of Voting Laws and Disinformation on US Democracy on Newsy
ASD Elections Integrity Fellow David Levine joined Newsy for a news special on the 2022 US midterms on Sunday, August 28, 2022. David shared his thoughts on the state of US democracy, the implications of new voting laws, and the impact of mis- and d [...]
Hamilton Toplines: August 15–21, 2022
Russia Monitored Russian accounts last week tweeted 16,366 times, generating 161,117 retweets and 518,932 likes. Kremlin-affiliated accounts last week claimed that Ukraine and its “US handlers” were preparing to frame Moscow for an attack on the R [...]
Bryce Barros and Nathan Kohlenberg in The Diplomat: China’s Digital Inroads in the Global South
Earlier this month, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman announced while on a tour of the Pacific Island states that U.S. President Joe Biden “is looking forward to welcoming” Pacific Leaders in September 2022. Although the exact date of thi [...]
Hamilton Toplines: August 8–16, 2022
Russia Monitored Russian accounts tweeted 15,740 times last week, generating 154,030 retweets and 468,791 likes. “Trump” and “FBI” were the fourth and sixth most frequently used key phrases by Russian propagandists on Twitter last week as they criti [...]