Digital Forensic Research Lab

People gather in support of a coup that ousted President Roch Kabore in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, January 25, 2022.

Thu, Feb 17, 2022

Local support for Russia increased on Facebook before Burkina Faso military coup

Pro-Russian support increased in the Sahel, with residents of Burkina Faso holding Russian flags while celebrating recent coup.

by Tessa Knight and Allan Cheboi

Africa Conflict
Malians holds a Russian flag and a photograph with an image of coup leader Colonel Assimi Goita during a pro-Malian Armed Forces (FAMA) demonstration in Bamako, Mali, May 28, 2021.

Thu, Feb 17, 2022

Pro-Russian Facebook assets in Mali coordinated support for Wagner Group, anti-democracy protests

Coordinated network promoted military junta in months leading up to France’s decision to withdraw from the country.

by Jean le Roux

Africa CrowdTangle
Financing & Genocide: Development Finance and the Crisis in the Uyghur Region

Wed, Feb 16, 2022

Financing & genocide: Development finance and the crisis in the Uyghur Region

A joint report that reveals how the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) has significant investments in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where indigenous peoples have been subjected to what international legislators, legal scholars, and advocates have determined to be a genocide.

by Laura T. Murphy, Kendyl Salcito, Nyrola Elimä

Financing & Genocide: Development Finance and the Crisis in the Uyghur Region

Wed, Feb 16, 2022

DFRLab releases Financing & genocide: Development finance and the crisis in the Uyghur Region

The DFRLab releases a joint investigation revealing how the World Bank’s private lending arm has several investments in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

China Government

Tue, Feb 15, 2022

Russian War Report: Military camps close in on border as Kremlin accelerates false-flag narratives

While the Kremlin announced that some units have begun loading equipment onto trains to return to their bases, the DFRLab continues to observe other units positioning themselves closer to Ukraine's northeast border with Russia.

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi bump elbows during the signing ceremony of a 25-year cooperation agreement in Tehran, March 27, 2021.

Mon, Feb 14, 2022

A moment of truth for China’s vaccine diplomacy in Iran

Iranian officials echoed Chinese messaging while touting vaccines and criticizing the United States.

by Simin Kargar

China Coronavirus

Fri, Feb 11, 2022

Russian War Report: Belarus threatens to arm firefighters as military exercises kick off

The Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab tracks the latest Russian troop movements and Kremlin-pushed narratives around NATO, Germany, and more.

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

A nurse holds a vial of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine doses in n Råå, Sweden on December 27, 2020.

Tue, Feb 8, 2022

Tracing the myth that COVID-19 vaccines alter human DNA

Incorrect claims falsely attributed to public health experts were later amplified by anti-vax doctors and activists

by Nika Aleksejeva, Lukas Andriukaitis, Jean le Roux, Roman Osadchuk, , Daniel Suárez Pérez

Africa Coronavirus

Tue, Feb 8, 2022

Russian War Report: Missile battalion confirmed in Belarus 

The Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab tracks the latest Russian military movements and other developments in the Kremlin's hybrid war against Ukraine.

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Tue, Feb 8, 2022

Russian War Report: New evidence of accelerated military build-up near Ukraine

The Council’s open-source researchers reveal the latest Russian troop, aircraft, and weapons movements around Ukraine, along with new Kremlin disinformation efforts. 

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

A person wears a yellow arm band with a Star of David during a protest of vaccine mandates at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on January 23, 2022. Anti-vaccine protesters have worn yellow arm bands to compare their current treatment in the United States to the treatment of Jewish people in Germany during the holocaust.

Wed, Feb 2, 2022

DC anti-mandate rally leveraged to broaden audience for anti-vax narratives

January 23 anti-vax rally softened messaging and utilized support from anti-mandate doctors to reach broader audiences.

by Jared Holt, Max Rizzuto

Coronavirus COVID-19

Tue, Feb 1, 2022

Russian War Report: Will Moscow provide weapons and passports to breakaway Ukrainian regions?

The Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab is tracking the latest on Russia moving blood and food supplies to the front, narratives in Kremlin-tied media, and more.

by Digital Forensic Research Lab