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.
Hamilton Toplines: October 19–25, 2022
Russia Monitored Russian accounts tweeted 17,602 times from October 19 to October 25, receiving 209,202 retweets and 619,552 likes. “Dirty bomb” was the most used key phrase in tweets by Russian diplomats and state media for three days after Defe [...]
Hamilton Monthly Report: September 2022
This report highlights and analyzes key trends and takeaways from data collected on the Hamilton 2.0 Dashboard during the previous month. Unlike ASD at GMF’s weekly Hamilton reports, which analyze the main topics and themes promoted by monitored Rus [...]
Midterm Monitor Report: October 20–26, 2022
The Midterm Monitor is an interactive tool that provides a snapshot of social media messages and narratives shaping the conversation around voting and election administration in the leadup to the 2022 midterm elections. The Midterm Monitor tracks so [...]
Midterm Monitor Analysis: Information Silos and Election Denial
Using our interactive tool, we examined posts by candidates for secretary of state and other offices. We found vanishing common ground when it comes to sources of information. The Midterm Monitor is a joint project of the Brennan Center and the Alli [...]
Hamilton Toplines: October 12-18, 2022
Russia Monitored Russian accounts tweeted 17,461 times from October 12 to October 18, receiving 237,059 retweets and 694,525 likes. Between October 12-18, monitored Russian accounts continued to exploit unrest over high energy prices and rising cost [...]
British Commentators Promote Pro-Russian Conspiracy Theories on Iranian State-Backed Media
Prominent British pundits David Miller and Chris Williamson have parlayed accusations of antisemitism into media careers on Tehran’s top English-language propaganda channel. “In this episode of Palestine Declassified, we’ll trace the national origin [...]
Midterm Monitor Report: October 13–19, 2022
The Midterm Monitor is an interactive tool that provides a snapshot of social media messages and narratives shaping the conversation around voting and election administration in the leadup to the 2022 midterm elections. The Midterm Monitor tracks so [...]
How Yandex Has Featured the Bombing of the Bridge to Crimea
Russia has blamed Ukrainian intelligence for the October 8 blast that partially collapsed the Kerch Bridge that connects Crimea to the Russian mainland. Russian President Vladimir Putin called it a “terrorist attack” and promised swift reprisals. Tr [...]
Hamilton Toplines: October 5–11, 2022
Russia Monitored Russian accounts tweeted 11,856 times from October 5 to October 11, generating 200,189 retweets and 626,538 likes. Russian state media and diplomats last week provided extensive coverage of the Crimean bridge explosion on October 8, [...]
Laura Thornton Breaks Down the State of US Democracy and Foreign Policy on Background Briefing with Ian Masters
Background Briefing with Ian Masters · October 13, 2022 - Norman Ornstein | Adele Stan | Laura Thornton An Analysis of Today's Final House January 6 Committee Hearing | Who Did Liz Cheney Have in Mind When She Said "We Have Enough Information For [...]
Laura Thornton Analyzes Backsliding Democracies and Rising Autocracies in Europe with the National Committee on American Foreign Policy
In its 2022 Nations in Transit report, Freedom House observed an ongoing 18-year decline of democracies in Central Europe and Eurasia. With the electoral victories of the Brothers of Italy and the Sweden Democrats, both far-right parties with neo-fa [...]
Laura Thornton in Foreign Policy: Kremlin Talking Points Are Back in the US Debate
When Tesla chief executive Elon Musk tweeted his support for Russia’s dismemberment of Ukraine, he used some highly revealing language. Crimea should be Russian, he tweeted, because of “Krushchev’s mistake”—a reference to Soviet leader Nikita Krushc [...]