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
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 [...]
Hamilton Toplines: August 8-14, 2020
Iranian, Russian, and Chinese state media and government accounts focused on an array of major developments last week. Iranian accounts continued to cover the aftermath of the Beirut explosion—including continued accusations of U.S. and Israeli invo [...]
Hamilton Analysis: The Vaccine Race: Russia’s Coverage of the Sputnik V Announcement
Overview On August 11, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia had approved the world’s first coronavirus vaccine, which it dubbed Sputnik V in reference to the Soviet Union’s famous orbital satellite—the world’s first in 1957. [...]
Hamilton Toplines: August 1-7, 2020
Heavy coverage of the explosion in Beirut was substantial enough to break through the coronavirus news cycle, reflected in the fact that #Beirut was the third most-used hashtag by Russian, Iranian, and Chinese state media and government accounts las [...]
Hamilton Analysis: How Russia and China Covered the TikTok Ban
Overview President Trump’s executive order last week outlining plans to effectively ban Chinese short-form video app TikTok from the U.S. market triggered a predictable backlash from China’s state media and government officials, who accused the U.S. [...]
Laura Rosenberger Discusses Open and Closed Societies and Fighting Misinformation on the ‘Diplomates Podcast’
Director Laura Rosenberger appeared on the "Diplomates Podcast" to discuss the escalating threat of foreign interference, whether social media giants are doing enough to prevent misinformation, if Tiktok should be banned, what democracies must do to [...]
Hamilton Toplines: July 25-31, 2020
Russian, Chinese, and Iranian state media and government accounts once again took aim at the United States last week, with the most pointed commentary coming from China and Iran. On July 31, a series of tweets from the Supreme Leader of Iran’s many [...]
Five Authoritarian Pandemic Messaging Frames and How to Respond
Summary As the coronavirus pandemic has spread around the world, authoritarian actors have engaged in robust information-manipulation campaigns. China—where the virus originated and spread due to the government’s initial cover up and mismanagement [...]
Laura Rosenberger on Russian and Chinese Disinformation on CNN
Director Laura Rosenberger joined CNN's "GPS" to break down how Russian and Chinese disinformation aims to undermine democracy and touts authoritarianism. [...]