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.
Beware the Aftermath – The Threat of Foreign Interference Won’t End on Election Day
Government officials and tech titans could be excused for breathing a huge, collective sigh of relief if next week’s midterms come to pass without evidence of widespread foreign manipulation. But if recent U.S. elections are any indication, the thre [...]
Target USA: Key Takeaways from the Kremlin’s “Project Lakhta”
On October 19, the Department of Justice announced charges against Elena Khusyaynova, a St. Petersburg-based accountant, for working as part of a conspiracy to wage “information warfare against the United States of America.” According to the FBI, Kh [...]
Key Takeaways from the Kremlin’s Recent Interference Offensive
On October 4, officials in the Netherlands and U.K. revealed a joint counterintelligence operation that led to the arrest and expulsion of four Russian military intelligence (GRU) officers in April for attempting to hack the Organization for the Pro [...]
Kavanaugh, Twitter, and Facebook in hot seat this week
ASD Director Laura Rosenberger joined the Morning Joe crew to discuss Twitter and Facebook's testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. After executives from Twitter and Facebook testified before Congress on Wednesday, Lau [...]
Sweden — Preparing for the Wolf, not Crying Wolf: Anticipating and Tracking Influence Operations in Advance of Sweden’s 2018 General Elections
Since early 2017, the Swedish government has been training citizens, media, and civil services to be on alert for foreign influence operations, especially from the Russian government, aimed at undermining the September 9 parliamentary elections. Thi [...]
Laura Rosenberger’s Oral Statement at SSCI’s Hearing on Foreign Influence Operations on Social Media
Thank you Chairman Burr, Vice Chairman Warner, and Distinguished Members of the Committee. I submitted my full statement for the record, but let me highlight key points on the national security context of these activities and steps we need to take [...]
Foreign Influence Operations and their use of Social Media Platforms
ASD Director Laura Rosenberger testified at the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence's hearing about "Foreign Influence Operations and their use of Social Media" on August 1, 2018. Rosenberger's complete written statement that was submitted to t [...]
Helsinki Summit: Time for Trump to Establish Real Deterrents
WASHINGTON, DC — In The Federalist 68, Alexander Hamilton described “the desire in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils,” as “one of the most deadly adversaries of republican government.” As President Trump meets with Russian [...]
Twitter Release Reveals the Kremlin’s News Impersonation Game
On June 18, Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee releasedaround 1,100 names of Twitter accounts linked to the Internet Research Agency (IRA), which is the official name of the Russian troll farm indictedby Special Counsel Robert Mueller for [...]
From Nord Stream to Novichok: Kremlin Propaganda on Google’s Front Page
On May 24, an international team of investigators from the Netherlands, Australia, Malaysia, and Ukraine announced that a Russian anti-aircraft missile was directly responsible for the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 (MH17). The following da [...]
The Syria Swarm: How pro-Kremlin Accounts Influence Western Public Opinion
As the United States, Britain, and France launched targeted airstrikes against suspected chemical weapons sites in Syria on April 13, U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis predicted that there would be “a significant disinformation campaign over th [...]
The “European Approach” to Fighting Disinformation: Lessons for the United States
The European Commission published a communication on April 26 to the European Council and Parliament outlining the “European Approach” to combatting disinformation. The Commission’s report was the result of a several month process including consulta [...]