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.
It’s Not Just Facebook: Countering Russia’s Social Media Offensive
Russian influence operations exploit the vulnerabilities of social media platforms to disseminate false narratives and amplify divisive content in order to undermine democracies, divide societies, and weaken Western alliances. In conducting these o [...]
So What Did We Learn? Looking Back on Four Years of Russia’s Cyber-Enabled “Active Measures”
Americans continue to investigate, deliberate, and wallow in the aftermath of Russia’s rebirth of “Active Measures” designed to defeat their adversaries through the “force of politics rather than the politics of force.” Kremlin interference in the 2 [...]
Online Information Laundering: The Role of Social Media
Want to combat disinformation? Borrow a page from the anti-money laundering handbook. Russia’s ability to successfully conduct hybrid warfare is predicated on the creation of a fog of ambiguity between the Kremlin’s actions and the Kremlin itself. [...]
Can Congress Tackle Digital Disinformation?
WASHINGTON — Earlier this week, representatives from Facebook, Google, and Twitter appeared before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary to answer questions about the use of their platforms in the dissemination of Russian disinformation before [...]
Extremist Content and Russian Disinformation Online: Working with Tech to Find Solutions
Statement Prepared for the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism A decade ago, al Qaeda in Iraq littered YouTube with violent videos. A few years later, Twitter became a playground for al Shabaab’s violent tir [...]
Insinuation and Influence: How the Kremlin Targets Americans Online
The objective of Kremlin influence operations, part of a larger set of tactics and strategies known as active measures, is to make the target population more amenable to Kremlin wants and desires. They achieve this either by gaining a sympathetic he [...]