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.
Interference Matters
Shifting the Blame: How Russia is Preparing for a Peace-Negotiations Stalemate
Hamilton Toplines: January 24–30, 2022
Russia Russian diplomats and state-directed media last week continued to claim that Russia does not want to go to war in Ukraine, where the Kremlin has perpetuated a conflict since 2014. “If it depends on Russia, there will be no war,” Foreign Minis [...]
How is Russia Covering the Crisis in Ukraine?
For months, Russian propagandists have been preparing for a potential war by framing Ukraine and the West as aggressors. We compiled data from our weekly Hamilton 2.0 reports to shine a light on how Russian officials and state media have messaged ar [...]
Chinese Disinformation in the Black Sea Region and Western Balkans
Speakers: Laura Thornton Director & Senior Fellow – Alliance for Securing Democracy (GMF) Sorin Ioniță Analyst & Civic Leader – Expert Forum Stefan Vladisavljev Author - China Observers Moderator: Alexandra Martin Rethink.CEE Fellow – GMF Di [...]
Joseph Bodnar in Inkstick: Russia’s Pursuit of Pretext in Ukraine
Russia’s campaign to justify an increasingly likely invasion of Ukraine became more blatant over the past few weeks. Moscow has used diplomacy, disinformation, and cyber operations to set the stage for a Kremlin-directed provocation that could be de [...]
Hamilton Toplines: January 17–23, 2022
Russia Russian officials and state media last week framed the West as being solely responsible for increasing the chance of war in Ukraine. RT, Sputnik, and others closely followed shipments of Western military aid to the country. Foreign Ministry s [...]
Hamilton Toplines: January 10–16, 2022
Russia Russian officials and state media last week focused on three rounds of high-level diplomatic meetings between Russia and the West. Kremlin-linked accounts gave live updates of U.S.-Russia talks in Geneva on January 10. State media complained [...]
ASD Hamilton Data Covered Exclusively in Foreign Policy: Russian Propagandists Zero In on Kazakh Crisis
Intense interest by diplomats and state media underscores the significance of Russia’s intervention. Russian propaganda accounts on Twitter went into overdrive this month as troops from a Russian-led regional security organization were dispatched t [...]
Are Russia and China Teaming Up Against America in a Global Information War? Yes and No.
The Kremlin and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), as constant critics of the United States, naturally converge in the information space. The themes and narratives they disseminate about the United States and Western democracies show remarkable cons [...]
Hamilton Toplines: January 3–9, 2022
Russia Last week, Russian diplomats and state media launched a high-volume propaganda campaign around protests in Kazakhstan, which were started by anger over fuel prices and suppressed with the help of Russian troops. Kremlin-backed messengers refe [...]
Hamilton Toplines: December 20, 2021–January 2, 2022
Russia For the past two weeks, Russian diplomats and state media continued to focus most of their attention on the conflict in Ukraine. On December 30, U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin exchanged warnings over the Ukraini [...]
Hamilton Toplines: December 13–19, 2021
Russia Last week, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs published two draft treaties—one for NATO and the other for the United States—that listed a series of demands that would limit the alliance’s presence in Eastern Europe. The recommended agreemen [...]
Foreign Interference Conspiracies Can Do More Damage Than Foreign Interference
Earlier this month, the Congressional committee investigating the Capitol insurrection said former President Donald Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows turned over a PowerPoint titled, “Election Fraud, Foreign Interference & Options for 6 JAN.” [...]