Latest PUBLICATIONS

October 2024

Doppelganger websites persist one month following US government seizures

by Esteban Ponce de León

The fake website operation deployed by the Kremlin continues maintain its online presence, publishing new content at rates similar to pre-seizure levels
Read More
October 2024

Mysterious cross-border influence campaign sparks election controversy in Moldova

by Victoria Olari

The campaign posed as Ukrainians and portrayed the Moldovan government as enforcing censorship
Read More
October 2024

Analysis: five online takeaways from the ongoing Mideast conflict

by Mark Scott

The one-year anniversary of the Israel-Hamas war is a bellwether moment for how offline and online violence have now become different sides of the same coin 
Read More
Georgia’s ruling party released a video with comparisons between Russia-bombed Ukrainian and “peaceful” Georgian cities. (Source: ქართული ოცნება/Georgian Dream via Facebook)
October 2024

Georgian Dream promotes images of bombed Ukrainian cities as an electoral fearmongering tactic

by Eto Buziashvili, Sopo Gelava

Bombed Ukrainian cities displayed on street banners and promoted online across Georgia are an attempt to mobilize voters against Western support
Read More
October 2024

The challenges of identifying deepfakes ahead of the 2024 Brazil election

by Beatriz Farrugia

The proliferation of deepfakes will be difficult to measure as Brazil prepares for municipal elections in October 2024
Read More
October 2024

Analysis: a brave new reality after the UN’s Global Digital Compact

by Konstantinos Komaitis

Resident Senior Fellow Konstantinos Komaitis describes global internet governance negotiations as “convoluted” and “out of reach”
Read More
September 2024

FIMI 101: Foreign information manipulation and interference targeting the 2024 US general election

by Dina Sadek

Foreign state and non-state actors are targeting Americans with false and misleading narratives to sow divisions ahead of the US election
Read More
September 2024

Crypto-scam hosts pop-up livestream featuring a deepfaked Elon Musk 

by Max Rizzuto

‘Traveling Circus’ livestream raked in $50,000 over the course of two hours by featuring a deepfake of Musk to solicit investments
Read More
September 2024

How pro-Kremlin influencers spread unfounded connections between Ukraine and a would-be Trump assassin

by Sopo Gelava, Ruslan Trad

Ryan Routh’s support for Ukraine quickly became online fodder for conspiracy theories
Read More
September 2024

How the Venezuelan regime weaponized video and messaging apps to persecute dissidents

by Daniel Suárez Pérez, Iria Puyosa

Maduro promotes app that encourages users to report critics of the regime amid widespread demands for election transparency
Read More
September 2024

Doppelganger: How Russia mimicked real news sites and created fake ones to target US audiences

by Roman Osadchuk, Andy Carvin

Malign Russian information operation created websites posing as the Washington Post and FOX News as well as niche sites targeting US audiences
Read More
AI generated image of Swift and Trump.
September 2024

Fake it off: AI-generated Taylor Swift pics spark controversy

by Dina Sadek, Beatriz Farrugia

Viral fake Taylor Swift footage circulated on social media following a fake endorsement posted by Trump and Swift’s real endorsement of Harris
Read More
September 2024

Explainer: US catches Russia red-handed attempting to manipulate 2024 presidential election

by Dina Sadek, Graham Brookie

US government agencies outlined significant actions taken against Kremlin-sponsored efforts to interfere with the election
Read More
US government seizure notice
September 2024

Explainer: the Russian influence operations targeting the 2024 US elections

by Roman Osadchuk, Eto Buziashvili

The September 2024 deplatforming of Operation Doppelganger demonstrates how US voters are being targeted by Russian influence operations
Read More
September 2024

Mythical Beasts and Where to Find Them: Data and Methodology

by Jen Roberts, Trey Herr, Nitansha Bansal, and Nancy Messieh, with Emma Taylor, Jean Le Roux, and Sopo Gelava

Learn more about the methodology and dataset behind Mythical Beasts and Where to Find Them: Mapping the Global Spyware Market and its Threats to National Security and Human Rights
Read More
September 2024

Mythical Beasts and Where to Find Them: Mapping the Global Spyware Market and its Threats to National Security and Human Rights

by Jen Roberts, Trey Herr, Nitansha Bansal, and Nancy Messieh, with Emma Taylor, Jean Le Roux, and Sopo Gelava

The Mythical Beasts project pulls back the curtain on the connections between 435 entities across forty-two countries in the global spyware market.
Read More
September 2024

Mythical Beasts and Where to Find Them

by Jen Roberts, Trey Herr, Nitansha Bansal, and Nancy Messieh, with Emma Taylor, Jean Le Roux, and Sopo Gelava

Mythical Beasts and Where to Find Them: Mapping the Global Spyware Market and its Threats to National Security and Human Rights is concerned with the commercial market for spyware and provides data on market participants.
Read More

Want to stay up to date with the DFRLab’s latest?

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.