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 Weekly Report: July 11-July 17, 2020
Overview Coronavirus coverage was again the primary through line in messaging from Russia, Iran, and China last week, with Russian state media and diplomats touting an alleged breakthrough in the country’s development of a vaccine (a claim boosted b [...]
Ariane Tabatabai on the Spread of Conspiracy Theories to Iran in Foreign Policy
Restart, a fringe Iranian dissident group, shows how conspiracy spreads—and what that means for U.S. politics, Middle East Fellow Ariane Tabatai writes in Foreign Policy. QAnon entered the mainstream U.S. political lingo in 2017, when its followers [...]
Nad’a Kovalčíková Discusses New Challenges and Old Pitfalls Facing the European (Dis)information Sphere with Globsec
Fellow and Program Manager Nad’a Kovalčíková joined Globsec's For Chat's Sake series to discuss new challenges and old pitfalls facing the European (dis)information sphere. [...]
Hamilton Weekly Report: July 4-July 10, 2020
Overview The United States and its allies were, once again, the primary targets of negative messaging from Russia, China, and Iran’s diplomats and state media last week. Kremlin-funded media hammered the Baltic states for a second straight week afte [...]
Hamilton Weekly Report: June 27-July 3, 2020
Overview Besides the ubiquitous coverage of the coronavirus, Russia, China, and Iran’s state media and government messengers last week hit on familiar themes for each of their respective countries. For Russia, that meant elevating claims of “Russoph [...]
Bret Schafer Discusses China’s Messaging on George Floyd Protests on VOA Chinese
Digital Media and Disinformation Fellow Bret Schafer explained that for the first time with the George Floyd protests, we’ve seen China aggressively messaging on an issue that doesn’t directly relate to its own interests. China has been trying to pa [...]
David Levine and Bret Schafer on Social Media and Foreign Interference on the 2020 Elections at the Secure Elections Network
Elections Integrity Fellow David Levine and Media and Digital Disinformation Fellow Bret Schafer discuss social media and foreign interference in the upcoming 2020 election in an online discussion with the Secure Elections Network. [...]
Hamilton Weekly Report: June 13-19, 2020
Overview For the first time since the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, coverage of racism, police brutality, and related protests did not feature among the top ten hashtags or key phrases (in aggregate) used by Russian, Chinese, and Iranian d [...]
Bret Schafer Talks Online Threats to U.S. Elections on ‘Press Pool with Julie Mason’
Media and Digital Disinformation Fellow Bret Schafer spoke to Julie Mason about the online threats to the U.S. election, including disinformation, "cheapfakes," and information leaks. [...]
Laura Rosenberger on Chinese Information Operations on ‘The Lawfare Podcast’
On this episode of Lawfare's Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Alina Polyakova and Quinta Jurecic spoke with ASD Director Laura Rosenberger about Chinese information operations. When it comes to information operations, most Americans pro [...]
A Note on Coming Updates to the Authoritarian Interference Tracker
The Alliance for Securing Democracy’s Authoritarian Interference Tracker maps and catalogs over 400 instances of Russian state-sponsored efforts to undermine democracy in over 40 countries. The Tracker documents five tools authoritarian regimes use [...]
Ariane Tabatabai on Iran’s Push of False Coronavirus, Protest Info in Effort to Lift Sanctions on Newsy
Middle East Fellow Ariane Tabatabai spoke to Newsy about how Iran is using its social media presence to spread messages about the U.S.' handling of the coronavirus pandemic and racial justice protests. For years, Iran has been ramping up its online [...]