ASD contributes long and short form research products and analysis to inform and engage our audience on a range of issues related to malign foreign interference. In addition, we develop policy recommendations and strategies to close vulnerabilities and safeguard institutions from authoritarian threats.
Influence-enza: How Russia, China, and Iran Have Shaped and Manipulated Coronavirus Vaccine Narratives
Introduction When Vladimir Putin announced last August that Russia had granted regulatory approval for Sputnik V, the world’s first coronavirus vaccine, it signaled—albeit perhaps prematurely—not only a potential turning point in the fight to end th [...]
Securing Democracy Dispatch
Our Take A network of obscure, English-language "news sites" spread disinformation alleging that Ukrainian soldiers died after testing an experimental U.S. coronavirus vaccine. This narrative benefited one entity above all others: the Kremlin, Non- [...]
24 Group: How Obscure News Sites Selectively Spread Pro-Kremlin Disinformation
In July 2020, fact-checking and news organizations across Europe and the United States picked up on an emerging disinformation campaign that alleged Ukrainian soldiers died after testing an experimental U.S. COVID-19 vaccine. The story, which was de [...]
Securing Democracy Dispatch
Announcement Join GMF and the Slovak Embassy in the United States on Thursday, February 25 for a discussion on Slovak and U.S. efforts to strengthen democracy and combat corruption and kleptocracy with Slovakian Justice Minister Mária Kolíková, GMF [...]
Treasury Should Publish a National Corruption Risk Assessment
Summary Recommendation Within the first 100 days of the Biden administration, the U.S. Treasury Department should publish its first-ever National Corruption Risk Assessment about the financial networks of oligarchs and kleptocrats, reviewing case st [...]
Securing Democracy Dispatch
Our Take To combat corruption and kleptocracy, the Biden administration should push for a landmark international agreement to end offshore financial secrecy everywhere, Malign Finance Fellow Josh Rudolph said on “The Power Vertical.” Artificial int [...]
Securing Democracy Dispatch
Announcements Today we expanded the Authoritarian Interference Tracker to include activities by China’s government to undermine democratic states and institutions in the transatlantic community since 2000. In addition to tracking acts of Russian in [...]
Here and Now: Chinese Interference in the Transatlantic Space
For several years, the Alliance for Securing Democracy (ASD) has been monitoring and cataloging instances of authoritarian interference in the transatlantic space. In 2018, ASD launched the Authoritarian Interference Tracker, an online database that [...]
‘Wolf Warriors’ Go After U.K.’s Immigration Scheme for Hong Kong
Overview On January 31, 2021, a new immigration route for British National (Overseas) (BNO) passport holders came into force in the United Kingdom. The BNO was a document created for Hong Kong citizens who wanted to maintain ties with the U.K. after [...]
Russia’s Affront on the News: How NewsFront’s Circumvention of Social Media Bans Demonstrates the Need for Vigilance
There has been a sizable public- and private-sector effort to rid the United States’ social media ecosystem of Kremlin disinformation since Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. But what happens to one of those Russian outlets when so [...]
Securing Democracy Dispatch
Our Take President Biden should establish a Presidential Commission on Election Resilience and Trust to identify best practices and make recommendations to ensure that more Americans believe our elections are legitimate, Elections Integrity Fellow [...]
Iran’s Supreme Tweeter
Was Ayatollah Khamenei behind a now-banned Twitter account that threatened to assassinate former President Trump? Recently, Twitter permanently suspended an account—@Khamenei_site–following a tweet that was widely interpreted as a thinly veiled thr [...]