• Nonresident Senior Fellow
  • Head of Investigations, Graphika

Ben Nimmo

Ben Nimmo is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) based in the United Kingdom.

Ben Nimmo studies online disinformation and influence operations, with a particular focus on cross-platform operations. He is Head of Investigations at Graphika and a nonresident senior fellow at DFRLab. A former wire journalist and NATO press officer, he began his analytical career by developing the 4D model (dismiss, distort, distract and dismay) to predict disinformation. He has since studied information operations, bots and online campaigns stemming from Russia, Iran, China, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Brazil and the United States, among others. He speaks a number of languages including Russian and Latvian. When he has free time, he goes scuba diving. He lives in fear of the day a smartphone which works underwater will become available. (Profile picture: Alexander Coggin for the New York Times.)

June 2019

Operation Secondary Infektion

by Nika Aleksejeva, Lukas Andriukaitis, Luiza Bandeira, Donara Barojan, Graham Brookie, Eto Buziashvili, Andy Carvin, Kanishk Karan, Ben Nimmo, Iain Robertson, and Michael Sheldon

A Russian-based information operation used fake accounts, forged documents, and dozens of online platforms to spread stories.
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June 2019

360/OS Summit 2019

by Atlantic Council

The DFRLab was thrilled to welcome a diverse cohort of participants to London for our annual 360/OS summit on June 20-21, 2019.
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April 2019

Pakistan Army’s Covert Social Network

by Ben Nimmo and Kanishk Karan

Individuals linked to the Pakistan Army’s public-relations division ran a network of covert Facebook and Instagram pages until Facebook removed the pages.
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