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: May 17-23, 2021
Last week, Russian state media continued to highlight incidents of police brutality during the protests in Colombia and related human rights concerns, though the volume of such content continued to taper off from its peak the first week of May. (On [...]
Kristine Berzina Speaks to RND About Russia’s Disinformation Operations in Germany
Senior Fellow Kristine Berzina spoke to German outlet RND about our new German Election Dashboard and Russia's information manipulation operations in Germany around the election and the coronavirus. Please click the link below to read the full artic [...]
Hamilton Analysis: Chinese Propaganda Uses Latest Israeli-Palestinian Violence to Criticize United States
Overview Over the past ten days, renewed violence in Israel and the Palestinian Territories has become a major story in the global news cycle. Russia, China, and Iran have each devoted significant coverage to the situation, but Chinese diplomats and [...]
Laura Thornton Discusses Democratic Backsliding with Caucasian Journal
Alexander KAFFKA, editor-in-chief of Caucasian Journal: Dear Laura, it is always a pleasure to meet you – virtually for the time being, but maybe also in person before long: I know that you are planning to be back to Georgia soon. You have worked i [...]
Hamilton Toplines: May 10-16, 2021
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict was a major story for Russian state media last week, with #Palestine the most frequently used topical hashtag by Russia’s Twitter accounts tracked on Hamilton, and Israel tied with Russia for the most-mentioned count [...]
Bret Schafer Discusses Russia’s Covid-19 Vaccine Disinformation on ‘The Inoculation’
Media and Digital Disinformation Fellow Bret Schafer joined "The Inoculation" to discuss Russia's disinformation and mal-information campaign around Western Covid-19 vaccines. Bret, the hosts, and other guests take a look at how the Russian governm [...]
Maurice Turner Talks the Future of Democracy with USC
In this episode of the Election Cybersecurity Initiative Podcast, host Adam Clayton Powell III speaks with Maurice Turner, Cybersecurity Fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy. They discuss the latest developments in cybersecurity such as Ar [...]
Hamilton Toplines: May 3-9, 2021
Russian state media predictably used the Facebook Oversight Board’s ruling to uphold the company’s previous decision to ban former President Trump from the platform to advance its usual Big Tech censorship narrative and amplify Trump’s anti-Big Tech [...]
Introducing the German Election Dashboard
On May 11, ASD Media and Digital Disinformation Fellow Bret Schafer presented the new German Election Dashboard at a GMF Berlin event. The Dashboard is an interactive, open-source tool that allows users to track messaging from influential foreign an [...]
Introducing the 2021 German Elections Project
Germany’s federal election in September this year will mark a critical change not only for Germany but for Europe as a whole. Chancellor Angela Merkel has led Europe’s largest country and economic powerhouse since 2005, long before the specter of th [...]
Nad’a Kovalčíková on Building Societal Resilience with STRATPOL
Program Manager and Fellow Nad'a Kovalčíková joined StratPol (Strategic Policy Institute) for a panel titled “Civil Engagement and Participation in Defence.” Participants discussed why societal resilience is important for national security and defen [...]
Jessica Brandt and Bret Schafer: Using the Truth to Tell A Lie: Authoritarian Covid-19 Vaccine Mal-Information Strategies
Over the past year, the regimes in Russia, China, and Iran have used a combination of public diplomacy, propaganda, and overt and covert disinformation campaigns to portray their respective responses to the pandemic as superior to those of the West. [...]