Russia has long been waging operations against democracies using all of the asymmetric tools ASD tracks—information manipulation, cyberattacks, malign finance, civil society subversion, and state economic coercion. The Kremlin’s geographic scope in conducting operations to undermine democracy continues to expand and its tactics continue to evolve. Find ASD’s work on Russia’s attempts to interfere in democracies on this page.
David Salvo Discusses Recent Ukraine Negotiations on DW News
Co-Managing Director David Salvo joined DW News to discuss recent negotiations around the war in Ukraine held in Saudi Arabia and what might come of them. The views expressed in GMF publications and commentary are the views of the author alone. [...]
Media Vassalage: How Venezuela’s TeleSUR Acts as Russia and China’s Information-Laundering Front
After a contested July presidential election in which Nicolás Maduro claimed victory with 51% of the vote—amid allegations of irregularities, limited oversight, and too few international observers—Venezuela was thrown into turmoil. The Carter Center [...]
Kinetic Operations Bring Authoritarian Violence to Democratic Streets
Foreign interference, or what the EU now calls FIMI (foreign information manipulation and interference), has a multifaceted toolkit. In addition to information manipulation, ASD has identified cyber operations, economic coercion, malign finance, and [...]
No Bahn on RT: How RT Deutsch Stays on Track Despite Content Bans
This is part two of a two-part series on how RT Deutsch content is evading domain bans and sanctions published in partnership with the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. Find part one here. Germans head to the polls on Sunday not only to decide who [...]
The State(s) of Foreign Information Operations: A State-by-State Look at Foreign Information Manipulation in the United States
Introduction It is easy to dismiss foreign information operations as playing out at the national level, designed to influence federal policymakers and Beltway insiders. But these threats transcend the “Beltway Bubble”. Increasingly, foreign nation [...]
What is TV BRICS? The Sanctions-Linked, Russia-Backed Influence Broker
TV BRICS, a Russian-registered media outlet dedicated to covering the founding BRICS+ countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), as well as BRICS+ candidate states, has largely flown under the radar of Russian media analysts. TV BRI [...]
David Salvo Interviewed on DW News about Russia-China Relations
Co-Managing Director David Salvo was interviewed on DW News about how Russia-China ties will be impacted by the change in leadership in the United States. watch here The views expressed in GMF publications and commentary are the views of the aut [...]
Russia: Stand Firm or Capitulate
Russian President Vladimir Putin is counting on the incoming US administration to do his bidding by pushing for a settlement to the Ukraine war largely on the Kremlin’s terms, even if this does not happen, as Donald Trump has promised, on his first [...]
Inflaming Divides: Russian Narratives on the California Wildfires
Last week, devastating wildfires ignited across Los Angeles County in what is one of the most destructive natural disasters in US history. But as firefighters continue to battle the flames, false and misleading information about the disaster has spr [...]
Keep the US Government Focused on Combating Foreign Interference Operations
The US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) detailed charges against Iranian operatives involved in the plot to assassinate Donald Trump during the recent presidential campaign should dispel any skepticism about US national security threats emanating from [...]
Bret Schafer Interviewed on CBS News about Suspected Russian Threats Against US Polling Places
Senior Fellow Bret Schafer joined CBS News to discuss faux bomb threats at US polling places that originated from Russian domains. watch here The views expressed in GMF publications and commentary are the views of the author alone. [...]
The Moldovan Testing Ground? What the United States Can Learn from Russian Interference in Moldova
The Kremlin is known for testing disinformation strategies in its “backyard” before applying them globally. Last week in Moldova, the presidential election and constitutional referendum on EU membership presented Russia with such an opportunity. Rus [...]