spotlight
Wednesday, July 16 | 10:00 AM ET
Digital occupation: Inside Russia’s Telegram battle in Ukraine
A new report—launched in partnership with the Digital Forensic Research Lab, Eurasia Center, and OpenMinds—uncovers how thousands of fake Telegram accounts were used in a covert Russian influence campaign targeting Ukrainians in occupied territories.
Latest PUBLICATIONS
July 2025
AI-generated news channels spread election fraud and separatist narratives in Canada
Highly partisan AI-generated news reached millions before being removed by YouTube
July 2025
Digital occupation: Pro-Russian bot networks target Ukraine’s occupied territories on Telegram
New analysis of 3,634 automated accounts spreading pro-Russian propaganda on Telegram channels used by Ukrainian populations in occupied territories shows Russia’s attempts to extend its occupation into digital spaces.
July 2025
Pro-Kremlin actors push multilingual biolab hoax targeting Armenia
Fabricated claims about the United States operating biolabs in Armenia were spread through a coordinated campaign across Telegram, fringe sites, and social media
June 2025
Grok struggles with fact-checking amid Israel-Iran war
An analysis of over 100,000 posts on X reveals Grok’s inaccurate and conflicting verifications in responses regarding the Israel-Iran war
June 2025
Deepfake video of Canadian Prime Minister reaches millions on TikTok, X
Even after removal and debunking, the video’s claims gained traction via high-profile accounts.Â
June 2025
Kremlin-affiliated outlets find digital ally in Colombia’s oldest guerrilla group
US-designated terrorist organization ELN oversees a vast digital operation that promotes pro-Kremlin and anti-US content
June 2025
Konstantinos Komaitis’ statement to the UN Informal Interactive WSIS stakeholder consultation
Konstantinos Komaitis’ statement regarding the progress and challenges of implementing the goals from the World Summit on the Information Society.
June 2025
Unveiling the Russian infrastructure supporting the Moldova24 TV channel
A newly created Moldovan broadcaster claims to be independent. We uncovered a web of connections to Russian state media.
May 2025
Banned, yet broadcasting: Sanctioned Belarusian state media influencing the Polish elections
Belarusian state media uses digital platforms to promote candidates and shape narratives within Poland ahead of the 2025 presidential elections.
May 2025
Online network with French ties promotes election interference claims in Romania
A Romanian news aggregator amplifying claims of Simion’s victory is tied to a France-based company that also targeted Africa and Asia
May 2025
From Bucharest to Chisinau: How pro-Kremlin networks shaped Romania’s 2025 election
Russia-aligned actors in both Romania and Moldova consolidate support for George Simion in final days of campaign.
May 2025
Pro-Kremlin actors exploit USAID scrutiny to destabilize Moldova’s pre-election landscape
Multiple apparent influence campaigns using USAID cuts to promote election denialism and push for criminalization of Moldova’s ruling party
May 2025
South African influencers-for-hire attack Zelenskyy for declining Victory Day ceasefire
Multiple South African X accounts linked to paid influencer marketplace also participated in previous campaign that advanced pro-Russian narratives.
May 2025
How a misleading viral video fueled a Canadian election fraud hoax
Tracing how a viral hoax falsely linked election workers to ballot box fraud
May 2025
The evolving role of AI-generated media in shaping disinformation campaignsÂ
A methodological examination of how malicious actors exploit visual generative models
April 2025
How social media shaped the 2025 Canadian electionÂ
Platform enforcement gaps, AI-generated spam, and foreign interference concerns converged during high-stakes political contest.
April 2025
Bot-like activity targets Canadian political parties and their leaders ahead of election
Canadian federal election subject to spam messaging from automated X accounts.
April 2025
Narrative and provocation: What Telegram had to say about the February attack on Chornobyl nuclear plant
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.
Upcoming & Recent Events
Digital occupation: Inside Russia’s Telegram battle in Ukraine
A new report—launched in partnership with the Digital Forensic Research Lab, Eurasia Center, and OpenMinds—uncovers how thousands of fake Telegram accounts were used in a covert Russian influence campaign targeting Ukrainians in occupied territories.
Why the UN’s Internet Governance Forum still matters twenty years on
Hosted by the Democracy + Tech Initiative, this conversation brings together experts to explore the importance of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and the role it has played for the past twenty years.
Microsoft’s Brad Smith on digital resilience during geopolitical volatility
AN #ACFRONTPAGE EVENT—Brad Smith, vice chair and president of Microsoft, shares insights on maintaining trust and promoting competitiveness in a time of trade and geopolitical volatility.
Governing emerging technology in Africa
Join the Atlantic Council’s Democracy + Tech Initiative on March 10 at 9:00 am ET for the launch of Emerging technology policies and democracy in Africa: South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, and Zambia in focus
Venezuela: A playbook for digital repression
The DFRLab’s latest report offers a comprehensive view on how Venezuela has become a model for digital authoritarianism and an exporter of democratic backsliding to the rest of the Americas.
Using data for accountability: Lessons learned from the Oversight Board’s impact
In this discussion, Oversight Board Head of Data & Implementation and DFRLab Non-Resident Fellow Naomi Shiffman presents lessons learned from the Board’s work.
Undermining Ukraine: How Russia widened global information operations in 2023
The launch of the DFRLab’s latest report investigating pro-Kremlin propaganda and disinformation tools and narratives worldwide.
How Ukraine fights Russian disinformation: Beehive vs mammoth
A discussion led by report co-authors Jakub Kalenský and Roman Osadchuk about Ukraine’s groundbreaking strategies against Russian disinformation.
Elections Everywhere All at Once
An expert conversation on the implications of the 83 elections occurring in 78 countries in 2024.
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.
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
The Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research leads the study of information to promote transparency and accountability online and around the world.
