Microsoft’s Brad Smith on digital resilience during geopolitical volatility

Microsoft’s vice chair & president Brad Smith joins Atlantic Council and ACTech for a timely #ACFrontPage conversation on maintaining trust and promoting competitiveness in a time of trade and geopolitical volatility.

Explore the pravda network

DFRLab’s groundbreaking investigations , in collaboration with Check First, uncover how the Russian Pravda network leverages cross-platform, multilingual influence operations and manipulates Wikipedia, large language models, and X to amplify pro-Kremlin narratives.

Latest PUBLICATIONS

June 2025

Unveiling the Russian infrastructure supporting the Moldova24 TV channel

by Victoria Olari

A newly created Moldovan broadcaster claims to be independent. We uncovered a web of connections to Russian state media.
More
May 2025

Banned, yet broadcasting: Sanctioned Belarusian state media influencing the Polish elections

by Givi Gigitashvili, Martyna Hoffman, Saman Nazari

Belarusian state media uses digital platforms to promote candidates and shape narratives within Poland ahead of the 2025 presidential elections.
More
May 2025

Online network with French ties promotes election interference claims in Romania

by Valentin Châtelet

A Romanian news aggregator amplifying claims of Simion’s victory is tied to a France-based company that also targeted Africa and Asia
More
Supporters watch Leader of the radical right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) George Simion speak on a screen following the exit poll results during the Romanian presidential election, outside the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) headquarters in Bucharest, Romania
May 2025

From Bucharest to Chisinau: How pro-Kremlin networks shaped Romania’s 2025 election

by Victoria Olari

Russia-aligned actors in both Romania and Moldova consolidate support for George Simion in final days of campaign.
More
May 2025

Pro-Kremlin actors exploit USAID scrutiny to destabilize Moldova’s pre-election landscape

by Eto Buziashvili, Victoria Olari

Multiple apparent influence campaigns using USAID cuts to promote election denialism and push for criminalization of Moldova’s ruling party
More
May 2025

South African influencers-for-hire attack Zelenskyy for declining Victory Day ceasefire

by Iryna Adam

Multiple South African X accounts linked to paid influencer marketplace also participated in previous campaign that advanced pro-Russian narratives.
More
May 2025

How a misleading viral video fueled a Canadian election fraud hoax

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Tracing how a viral hoax falsely linked election workers to ballot box fraud
More
May 2025

The evolving role of AI-generated media in shaping disinformation campaigns 

by Ali Chenrose, Max Rizzuto

A methodological examination of how malicious actors exploit visual generative models
More
April 2025

How social media shaped the 2025 Canadian election 

by Layla Mashkoor

Platform enforcement gaps, AI-generated spam, and foreign interference concerns converged during high-stakes political contest.
More
April 2025

Bot-like activity targets Canadian political parties and their leaders ahead of election

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Canadian federal election subject to spam messaging from automated X accounts.
More
April 2025

Narrative and provocation: What Telegram had to say about the February attack on Chornobyl nuclear plant

by Iryna Adam, Samuel Rothbardt

Russian media and Telegram channels shifted blame onto Ukraine for the recent attack on the Chornobyl nuclear power plant and amplified narratives of potential nuclear escalation.
More
April 2025

Russia’s Pravda network in numbers: Introducing the Pravda Dashboard

by Valentin Châtelet and Amaury Lesplingart

The Pravda Dashboard reveals how Russia’s global network circumvents sanctions on prohibited content
More
April 2025

Russia expands its strategic footprint in occupied Abkhazia 

by Sopo Gelava, Valentin Châtelet

The reopening of the decades-closed Sukhumi Babushara Airport and a test flight from Moscow demonstrate Russia’s push for control over occupied Abkhazia
More
March 2025

How Azerbaijani media and politicians endorse Georgia’s shift away from the West 

by Givi Gigitashvili

Politicians and pro-government media in Azerbaijan packages Georgia’s anti-Western rhetoric and political shift for a domestic audience, reinforcing the narrative of Western decline.
More
March 2025

Cross-platform campaign sows anti-Europe division in Moldova

by Victoria Olari

Campaign utilized a primary Telegram channel and thousands of Facebook accounts to post comments critical of Moldova’s pro-European stance
More
March 2025

Japan’s technology paradox: the challenge of Chinese disinformation

by Dylan J. Plung and Kenton Thibaut

Japan serves as an important case study to illustrate an unappreciated aspect of fostering information resilience against malign influence
More
March 2025

An existential threat: Disinformation ‘single biggest risk’ to Canadian democracy 

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

The DFRLab reviews Canada’s 2025 Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference
More
March 2025

Connecting the other half of humanity is the deal of the century

by Jochai Ben-Avie, Kenton Thibaut

China is investing billions in global internet infrastructure through its Digital Silk Road Initiative, advancing its interests over the US
More

Upcoming & Recent Events

Democracy + Tech Initiative

The Democracy + Tech Initiative creates policy practices that align global stakeholders toward tech and governance that reinforces, rather than undermines, open societies.

Cyber Statecraft Initiative

The Cyber Statecraft Initiative works at the nexus of geopolitics and cybersecurity to craft strategies to better inform and secure users of technology.

Cyber Statecraft Initiative

Digital Sherlocks Training Program

Combatting disinformation can’t be done alone; ultimately it requires a growing movement of individuals taking the lead around the world and in their own communities. It’s these #DigitalSherlocks who are at the heart of our movement.

About DFRLab

Digital Sherlocks in Brussels 2022

The Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research leads the study of information to promote transparency and accountability online and around the world.


Never miss an update

Subscribe to the DFRLab’s newsletter The Source