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.
Interference Matters
Catch Me If EU Can: How RT and Sputnik Evade EU Content Bans
Hamilton Toplines: March 22-28, 2021
Russian state media last week hammered the United States over its response to the migrant crisis at the southern border, suggesting that the Biden administration is intentionally downplaying and concealing the poor conditions. State media amplified [...]
Jessica Brandt in Lawfare: Washington Needs a Plan for Pushing Back on Autocratic Advances
Head of Policy and Research Jessica Brandt details the threats these authoritarian states pose and how the Biden administration should respond. The United States and other liberal democracies are engaged in a persistent, asymmetric competition with [...]
Kristine Berzina: V4 Should Be More Ambitious in Digitalization and Draw Inspiration from the Baltic
The V4 countries are only a political decision away of improving their digital infrastructure; they should be more ambitious, Senior Fellow Kristine Berzina said in an interview with EURACTIV Czech Republic. The European countries are not united w [...]
Hamilton Toplines: March 15-21, 2021
Following the publication of the U.S. intelligence community’s assessment of foreign interference in the 2020 election, Russian state media last week highlighted predictable backlash and denials from Russian government figures, with a small amount o [...]
David Salvo on Russia’s Motivations for Attempting to Interfere in the U.S. Elections
Acting Director David Salvo joined Julie Mason to discuss Russia’s tools, tactics, and motivations for attempting to interfere in the U.S. elections. Related reading: Leaks, Lies, and Altered Tape: Russia’s Maturing Information Manipulation Playbook [...]
Hamilton Toplines: March 8-14, 2021
Prior to President Biden’s address to the nation last Thursday, Russian state media covered speculation and reported concerns about Biden’s lack of press conferences, at times questioning his physical and/or mental health. They also highlighted an i [...]
The Kremlin’s Propagandists Come to Clubhouse: Malign Influence Descends on Silicon Valley’s Newest Unicorn
Every few years gives rise to a novel social media app that takes smartphone users by storm. Clubhouse, the invite-only, audio-based app that feels like TED Talks meets 1980s radio call-in show, has rapidly grown in recent months, offering a platfor [...]
Hamilton Toplines: March 1-7, 2021
Last week, a prominent theme in Russian messaging around coronavirus vaccines targeted the prospect of Sputnik V’s approval in the EU, with the vaccine’s Twitter account calling for the EU’s European Medicines Agency to review and approve it (the ap [...]
Nad’a Kovalčíková Speaks to Euractiv about How Visegrad Countries Can Combat Coronavirus Disinformation
Russia and China, as well as Iran to a certain extent, have used the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to interfere into democratic discourse and to present themselves as internationally responsible actors, while at the same time undermining de [...]
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 [...]
Bret Schafer on Information Warfare and How Social Media Disrupts Democracy on the Jist
Media and Digital Disinformation Fellow Bret Schafer joined Josh Hamilton on The Jist. Bret and Josh first spoke three to discuss the weaponization of information and the threat to democracy. Now, three years later, things have unfortunately not gott [...]
Hamilton Toplines: February 22-28, 2021
Last week, Russian state media seized on a story involving “leaked” U.K. Foreign Office documents that allegedly revealed the “UK government's covert operations aimed at tarnishing Russia's image.” The outlets used the story to accuse both the U.K. [...]