Spotlight
Latest Research
December 2023
#AtlanticDebrief – How will the OSA be implemented? | A Debrief from Melanie Dawes
An #AtlanticDebrief with Ofcom Chief Executive Dame Melanie Dawes covering the Online Safety Act and regulatory guidance on illegal harms. In partnership with the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center.
November 2023
Russian War Report: Pro-Kremlin surrogates accuse the US of using ‘climate weapons’ in Crimea
Following a severe storm in the Black Sea heavily impacted Crimea, pro-Kremlin sources circulated a conspiracy suggesting the US used a weather weapon.
November 2023
The Kremlin and its proxies attempted to deflect the “spy antennas” scandal in Moldova
Pro-Russian entities attempted to divert attention away from the growing volume of potential intel-gathering equipment on its embassy roof
November 2023
Pro-Kremlin actors amplify video to target multinational military exercises in Moldova
A video featuring a local Moldovan farmer accosting military personnel participating in multinational exercise was used as a pretext to attack the West
November 2023
Nontransparent network of pro-opposition Polish Facebook pages coordinates its attacks
Network pushed similar or identical pro-opposition and anti-ruling party content, often in a way by which their coordination, authenticity, and provenance was obscured
November 2023
Russian War Report: Desperate for recruits, Russia offers one million rubles to join its military
The Russian army is struggling to fund equipment and recruit as they host fundraisers and recruitment drives offering pledges of one million rubl
November 2023
This Job Post Will Get You Kidnapped: A Deadly Cycle of Crime, Cyberscams, and Civil War in Myanmar
In Myanmar, cybercrime has become an effective vehicle through which nonstate actors can fund and perpetuate conflict.
November 2023
How information travels during Gaza’s communications blackouts
People in Gaza turn to eSIMS and other solutions amid cellular and internet outages
November 2023
Russian War Report: Russia just lost the most troops in a single battle so far in 2023
In Ukriane, fighting over the strategically important town of Avdiivka has led to heavy Russian losses. In Armenia, Russian propaganda is targeting the Armenian government.
In-Depth Reports
November 2023
This Job Post Will Get You Kidnapped: A Deadly Cycle of Crime, Cyberscams, and Civil War in Myanmar
In Myanmar, cybercrime has become an effective vehicle through which nonstate actors can fund and perpetuate conflict.
August 2023
Protecting point-to-point messaging apps: Understanding Telegram, WeChat, and WhatsApp in the United States
A year-long project on protecting users’ data and privacy that analyzes the growing use of point-to-point messaging platforms in the United States and the implications their design and governing policies have for user privacy and free speech.
August 2023
Sudan’s precarious information environment and the fight for democracy
An examination of the time from December 2018, when protests against then-president Omar al-Bashir first broke out, and December 2022, when a framework agreement between civilian and military leaders came into play.
August 2023
Chinese discourse power: Capabilities and impact
An examination of China’s online and offline channels for the dissemination of “discourse power” and the mechanisms of oversight on which such communications rely.
July 2023
Critical Infrastructure and the Cloud: Policy for Emerging Risk
Critical infrastructure increasingly depends upon cloud computing. Policy must adapt its approach to risk management accordingly.
June 2023
The disinformation landscape in West Africa and beyond
A look at West Africa’s information environment, with particular emphasis on local and international disinformation campaigns targeting the region and beyond.
February 2023
A Parallel Terrain: Public-Private Defense of the Ukrainian Information Environment
The information environment is a key domain through which the war in Ukraine is being contested. By better understanding the key role that private tech companies play in this domain, the USs and Ukraine can better prepare for future threats.
December 2022
An introduction to the Freedom Online Coalition
The Freedom Online Coalition (FOC) is comprised of thirty-four member countries committed to advancing Internet freedom and human rights online.
August 2022
Chinese discourse power: Ambitions and reality in the digital domain
The CCP has embarked on a concerted strategy to gain control over the global digital and information environment. Its goal: create an alternative global order with China at its heart.
Projects
Russian War Report
As Russia’s aggression in Europe heats up, the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) is keeping a close eye on Moscow’s movements across the military, cyber, and information domains.
Foreign Interference Attribution Tracker
The DFRLab’s Foreign Interference Attribution Tracker (FIAT) is an interactive, open-source database that captures allegations of foreign interference relevant to the 2020 election. This tool assesses the credibility, bias, evidence, transparency, and impact of each claim.
Election Official Handbook: Preparing for Election Day Misinformation
As part of the Election Integrity Partnership, the DFRLab has analyzed roughly four hundred cases of election-related dis- and misinformation on social media. This memo gathers the findings and issues recommendations for US election officials: they must prepare for viral falsehoods online that persist for weeks.
Dichotomies of Disinformation
Via the DFRLab’s Github: This project isolates “political disinformation campaigns.” Dichotomies of Disinformation proposes and tests a classification system built on 150 variable options. Our intent is to establish a replicable, extensible system by which widely disparate disinformation campaigns can be categorized and compared.
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