Iran is ramping up its fight against the United States. "Despite the crippling toll of the pandemic," Middle East Fellow Ariane Tabatabai and Colin P. Clarke write in Vox, "Tehran has continued to work tirelessly to eject the last remaining US force [...]
Both Russia and increasingly also China have been amplifying divisive narratives about EU and NATO member states, and transatlantic allies, during the coronavirus pandemic, Program Manager Nad'a Kovalcikova said on this European Liberal Forum webina [...]
Beijing is using new methods to spin the coronavirus pandemic to its advantage. “As it began to contain the outbreak within its own borders, Beijing launched an assertive external information campaign aimed at sculpting global discussion of its hand [...]
Introduction “For our friends, we produce fine wine. Jackals, we welcome with shotguns.” - Ambassador Gui Congyou, 2019Edward Lucas. “Sweden’s China Problem.” CEPA, January 7, 2020. This was how a Chinese ambassador warned Sweden of potential con [...]
Since February of this year, as the coronavirus pandemic has swept the globe, China has been engaging in what media commentators are calling “mask diplomacy”—the sale or donation of medical supplies to countries battling the terrible disease. Russia [...]
At the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, Iranian officials were playing it down. They were dealing in conspiracy theories and disinformation and blamed the United States for spreading the virus, Middle East Fellow Ariane Tabatabai explained on [...]
The spread of the coronavirus has exacerbated tensions within the governmental system and between the system and the population, Middle East Fellow Ariane Tabatabai said on CSIS's podcast "Babel." Iranian state-backed media has been pushing the narr [...]
On April 15, the French ministry of foreign affairs summoned the Chinese ambassador in Paris. After weeks of incendiary rhetoric from the Chinese delegation, French authorities were incensed by an article on the embassy’s website falsely claiming th [...]
Russia Toplines For the thirteenth consecutive week, coronavirus coverage dominated the Russian media ecosystem last week, though to a slightly lesser extent than in previous weeks. As usual, much of this output consisted of basic news updates on th [...]
As China works to control a resurgence of the coronavirus, U.S. intelligence officials warn that it’s continuing to spread misinformation about where the virus originated and the country’s response to the pandemic. The goal is to make people doubt t [...]
The most recent coronavirus stimulus package signed into law includes $400 million in funds to support state and local government efforts to prevent the coronavirus from impacting the elections process. While more funding will be needed to address t [...]
Director Laura Rosenberger joined George W. Bush Institute to discuss the impact the coronavirus is having on political freedom and democratic institutions around the world. [...]
Russia Toplines As has been the case for about three months now, coverage of the coronavirus dominated the Russian media ecosystem last week. Like usual, much of the coronavirus content relayed basic news updates on various aspects of the pandemic. [...]
ASD Senior Fellow Kristine Berzina, EEAS East Stratcom Task Force Head Anneli Ahonen, and GMF Senior Fellows Noah Barkin and Peter Chase discussed foreign authoritarian interference in Europe during the coronavirus pandemic in this interactive webin [...]
In the past few weeks, the Chinese Communist Party has shown how adept it is at weaving narratives that distract from its own failures in handling the coronavirus outbreak, China Analyst Matthew Schrader said on Lawfare’s “ChinaTalk” podcast. [...]
Russia Toplines For the eleventh week in a row, coverage of the coronavirus dominated the Russian media ecosystem last week. As has become the norm, much of this content relayed basic news updates on various aspects of the pandemic. However, one imp [...]
Over the past three weeks, American and Chinese officials have employed escalating rhetoric in efforts to blame one another for the global coronavirus pandemic. High-ranking U.S. administration officials frequently and pointedly referred to the viru [...]
Even as Beijing endeavors to promote itself as a responsible global player with an attractive governance model that renders it capable and willing to be a go-to provider of public goods during the coronavirus pandemic, China's leaders are increasing [...]
Alliance for Securing Democracy experts Bret Schafer, Laura Rosenberger, Zack Cooper, and Axios’ Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian discussed narratives and long-term trends in China’s information manipulation efforts, including shifts in messaging and disinf [...]
The coronavirus outbreak has opened up a new chapter in the global information contest between autocrats and democrats. In recent weeks, China has employed increasingly assertive tactics in its efforts to shape perceptions of the crisis. Data collec [...]
In recent months, China has significantly expanded its official presence on western social media platforms and moved toward a "Russian style" of spreading disinformation. CBS News' Olivia Gazis looked at some of ASD's preliminary findings from the e [...]
For the tenth consecutive week, the coronavirus was by far the top story in the Russian media ecosystem. As usual, much of this coverage focused on basic news updates related to the pandemic. Amid this coverage, messaging about Russia’s medical aid [...]
THE ALLIANCE FOR SECURING DEMOCRACY EXPANDS HAMILTON 2.0 DASHBOARD TO INCLUDE CHINA Interactive tool tracks official Chinese messaging and information manipulation on topics like COVID-19 Contact: Rachael Dean-Wilson or Kayla Goodson, press@securing [...]
Malign foreign actors have been using social media to spread coronavirus disinformation, but their efforts go beyond Facebook and Twitter to less visible platforms, like text messages and Facebook groups, Emerging Technologies Fellow Lindsay Gorman [...]
Disinformation is a regular part of our information ecosystem, but major political events, such as the coronavirus pandemic, are flashpoints for disinformation agents of all types, Head of Research and Policy Jessica Brandt said on War on the Rocks' [...]
The global coronavirus pandemic has also spawned an epidemic of online disinformation, ranging from false home remedies to state-sponsored influence campaigns. In the confusing environment, false medical theories have even found accidental legitimiz [...]
The Chinese Communist Party understands the geopolitical importance of having control of supply chains in this moment, China Analyst Matt Schrader explained on a European Values webinar panel. He also noted that the CCP's disinformation apparatus ha [...]
Director Laura Rosenberger explained that the Chinese party-state's information manipulation tactics in the past few weeks have diverged from what we've seen in the past in Axios. She pointed out three main tactics that Beijing has applied in its co [...]
While the EU is struggling to form a common strategy to combat the coronavirus, China has launched several initiatives across Europe to paint itself as a generous and reliable leader. “Good will and global cooperation in battling the virus are essen [...]
Our Take Beijing appears to be capitalizing on weaknesses in the U.S. response to the coronavirus, using it to emphasize fissures in the transatlantic relationship, Head of Policy and Research Jessica Brandt said to The Hill. Brandt told The Sydney [...]
Last week, for the ninth week in a row, the coronavirus was predominant in the Russian media ecosystem. The majority of this coverage featured basic news updates, but some articles pushed back on claims that Russia is spreading virus-related disinfo [...]
On a CyberPeace Institute panel, Director Laura Rosenberger explained that China's propaganda apparatus is evolving and taking lessons from Russia. While China used to be much more focused on internal narrative creation and control, now it is sowing [...]
Director Laura Rosenberger joined a group of experts to discuss disinformation in the time of the coronavirus on a webinar organized by the CyberPeace Institute. [...]
As COVID-19 has spread around the world, the Chinese party-state’s international propaganda apparatus has swung into action. The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) propaganda outlets are using declining numbers of COVID-19 sufferers inside China to por [...]
“China in particular is using the coronavirus crisis to its advantage in the information domain,” Jessica Brandt told The Sydney Morning Herald. She explained that Chinese diplomatic officials and news outlets are now promoting the conspiracy theory [...]
Technology companies' response to coronavirus "shows what aggressively confronting a disinformation challenge actually looks like and what our big tech platforms can do when there is a strong will to act,” Emerging Technologies Fellow Lindsay Gorman [...]
Head of Research and Policy Jessica Brandt told The Hill that the battle over the coronavirus narrative amounts to an “information contest.” She explained that China is using its media to promote their country’s response to coronavirus, aid to Europ [...]
Last week, for the eighth consecutive week, the coronavirus was the predominant topic in the Russian media ecosystem. Coronavirus' dominance in the coverage increased, likely reflecting rising attention globally. The vast majority of this coverage c [...]
On this episode of Deep State Radio, Director Laura Rosenberger explained that malign foreign actors do not only spread disinformation around elections; information manipulators take advantage of many topics, including coronavirus, to build audience [...]
Beginning in late January, when news emerged of a “novel coronavirus” spreading through China, Beijing’s propaganda apparatus shifted into overdrive. The epidemic has also been heavily covered in externally-directed Russian state-backed media outlet [...]