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.
Information Manipulation
Thinning the ICE: Russian and Chinese Messaging on the Los Angeles Protests
Hamilton Analysis: Chinese State Propaganda Apparatus Tests Boundaries in Australia
Overview On November 30, 2020, local time, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Information Department Deputy Director General and spokesperson Zhao Lijian tweeted a doctored photo of an Australian Defence Force Special Forces (ADF) soldier slitting [...]
Nad’a Kovalčíková and Ariane Tabatabai: What Should Be Done Next to Counter the COVID-19 Infodemic?
As governments and citizens around the world have struggled with the novel coronavirus, the information space has turned into a battleground. Authoritarian countries, including Russia, China and Iran, have spread disinformation on the causes of and [...]
Hamilton Analysis: China Uses New Trade Pact for Geopolitical Signaling
Overview On Sunday, November 15, 15 Asia-Pacific nations signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) via video conference. Comprising China, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states, Japan, South Korea, Aust [...]
Nad’a Kovalčíková on the Coronavirus Infodemic: Using and Abusing Information Space
DROG interviewed Fellow and Program Manager Nad'a Kovalčíková about China's role in the coronavirus infodemic as part of its crash course on coronavirus disinformation. [...]
Huawei, the 2020 U.S. Elections, and Transatlantic Messaging
As the votes were counted in the 2020 U.S. election, blacklisted China-registered technology company Huawei positioned itself on Twitter as a steadfast vendor in European markets regardless of the election results. The common narrative within these [...]
Hamilton Toplines: November 14-20, 2020
In last week’s post-U.S. election coverage from Russian state media, two major topics were the pro-Trump demonstrations in DC the weekend of November 14, in which accounts of violence directed at pro-Trump demonstrators and the size of the rally wer [...]
Foreign Amplification of Voter Fraud Narratives: How Russian, Iranian, and Chinese Messengers Have Leveraged Post-Election Unrest in the United States
Overview The aftermath of the U.S. presidential election has seen a tidal wave of false and misleading information about the validity of the election results as well as the legitimacy and security of the voting process. Narratives related to ballot [...]
Bret Schafer Discusses Parler’s Growing User Base on Newsy
The app's main draw is its hands-off content moderation approach. Experts worry that can lead to harmful false information spreads on other platforms. Parler, the social media platform marketed as a “free speech social network” with a hands-off appro [...]
Hamilton Toplines: November 7-13, 2020
Last week’s U.S. election coverage from Russian state media continued to feature familiar themes, including claims of fraud, criticism of mainstream media coverage of the election, and condemnation of social media platforms for election-related issu [...]
Bret Schafer Discusses Information, Disinformation, and Distortion on ‘Cityforum Podcast’
Fake news, disinformation and distortion seem to be everywhere. Is this the end of civilization? How much does it all matter and what can we do about it? Listen to this podcast discussion involving: Carl Miller, Research Director at DEMOS and Author [...]
Hamilton Toplines: October 31-November 6, 2020
Last week, Russian state media devoted substantial coverage to the U.S. elections. During election week (prior to the presidential race being called for Biden), the outlets continued to showcase various themes characteristic of their coverage of the [...]
Bryce Barros and Brad Hanlon Discuss Russia, China, and Election Disinformation on ‘SpyCast’
Fact vs. Fake. Truth vs. Lies. Information vs. Disinformation. For voters trying to choose between competing parties and candidates the distinction between them would seem to be central. But is it still possible to tell which is which? In this week’ [...]