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.
Clint Watts on Deepfakes and American Democracy in the Washington Post
ASD Non-Resident Fellow Clint Watts co-authored a piece on deepfakes and their impact on American democracy with Tim Hwang of the University of Texas at Austin in the Washington Post. [...]
Hamilton Toplines: August 29-September 4, 2020
As with most major dates in World War II, Russian diplomatic and government accounts last week put out a spate of messaging marking the Nazi invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 and, more significantly, the recently changed date Russia recognizes [...]
Hamilton Analysis: A Tale of Two Protest Movements: Russian, Iranian, and Chinese Coverage of Protests in Belarus vs. the United States
Overview On August 9, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko declared a landslide victory in an election widely regarded to be neither free nor fair, sparking widespread protests across the country. Since that time, Russian, Chinese, and Iranian [...]
Clint Watts Joins a Panel On NBC’s Meet the Press to Discuss Disinformation and the 2020 Election
ASD Non-Resident Fellow Clint Watts joined Michael Waldman and Janai Nelson in a panel discussion on voting access and disinformation on NBC's Meet the Press. [...]
Jennifer Gurev and David Levine on Holding Safe Elections Under Coronavirus
ASD Junior Fellow Jennifer Gurev and Elections Integrity Fellow David Levine discuss election integrity during the threat of coronavirus, and explore examples like the elections in Poland and the cyber attacks in North Macedonia. [...]
Hamilton Toplines: August 21-27, 2020
The major through-line in messaging from Russia, China, and Iran last week was a focus on police brutality, racial justice protests, and violence and unrest in the United States, following a pattern established earlier this year in their respective [...]
Zack Cooper and Bret Schafer Discuss Election Preparedness at The City Club of Cleveland
ASD Director Zack Cooper and Media and Digital Disinformation Fellow Bret Schafer joined Girma Parris of Case Western Reserve University on a panel at The City Club of Cleveland to discuss the United States' disinformation and election security prep [...]
Laura Rosenberger on Confidence in the 2020 Elections on KERA ‘Think’
Laura Rosenberger went on KERA "Think" to discuss Russian and Chinese interference and Americans' confidence in the 2020 election. [...]
Laura Rosenberger Discusses Progress Made Since 2016 on CFR’s Why It Matters Podcast
ASD Director Laura Rosenberger sat down with Gabrielle Sierra of the Council on Foreign Relations to discuss efforts the United States has taken since 2016 to secure the integrity of our political system on CFR's Why It Matters Podcast. [...]
Hamilton Toplines: August 15-21, 2020
Major news events covered last week by the Russian, Chinese, and Iranian networks monitored on the Hamilton dashboard included the Democratic National Convention, past and present geopolitical developments in the Middle East, the alleged poisoning o [...]
Bret Schafer and David Levine on Voting during Coronavirus in the Annual State of Black America Report
ASD Media and Digital Disinformation Fellow Bret Schafer and Elections Integrity Fellow David Levine authored a piece on the intersection of disinformation and safe voting during the coronavirus pandemic as part of the National Urban League's annual [...]
Laura Rosenberger on Fortifying U.S. Democracy in The Dallas Morning News
Director Laura Rosenberger explains the need to fortify U.S. democracy to offer an alternative to authoritarianism being spread by Russia and the People's Republic of China in The Dallas Morning News. As anti-racism protests erupted across the co [...]