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Latest Research

#AtlanticDebrief - How will the OSA be implemented? | A Debrief from Melanie Dawes
December 2023

#AtlanticDebrief – How will the OSA be implemented? | A Debrief from Melanie Dawes

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

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.
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People look out of the window of a house on a flooded street following a storm in the village of Pribrezhe, Crimea November 28, 2023. REUTERS/Alexey Pavlishak
November 2023

Russian War Report: Pro-Kremlin surrogates accuse the US of using ‘climate weapons’ in Crimea

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Following a severe storm in the Black Sea heavily impacted Crimea, pro-Kremlin sources circulated a conspiracy suggesting the US used a weather weapon.
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A general view shows the Russian Embassy in Chisinau, Moldova March 27, 2018. (Source: Reuters/Viktor Dimitrov)
November 2023

The Kremlin and its proxies attempted to deflect the “spy antennas” scandal in Moldova

by Victoria Olari

Pro-Russian entities attempted to divert attention away from the growing volume of potential intel-gathering equipment on its embassy roof
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Screencap of a video posted to Facebook on September 18, 2023, showing troops participating in a military exercise in Moldova. (Source: Andrei Dobrovolschii)
November 2023

Pro-Kremlin actors amplify video to target multinational military exercises in Moldova

by Victoria Olari, Eto Buziashvili

A video featuring a local Moldovan farmer accosting military personnel participating in multinational exercise was used as a pretext to attack the West
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Documents showing vote counts received at a polling station are seen in Warsaw, Poland on 19 October, 2023. (Source: Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Reuters)
November 2023

Nontransparent network of pro-opposition Polish Facebook pages coordinates its attacks

by Givi Gigitashvili

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
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Members of Ukraine's National Guard Omega Special Purpose fire a SPG-9 anti-tank grenade launcher toward Russian troops in the front line town of Avdiivka, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine November 8, 2023. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty/Serhii Nuzhnenko via REUTERS
November 2023

Russian War Report: Desperate for recruits, Russia offers one million rubles to join its military

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

The Russian army is struggling to fund equipment and recruit as they host fundraisers and recruitment drives offering pledges of one million rubl
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November 2023

This Job Post Will Get You Kidnapped: A Deadly Cycle of Crime, Cyberscams, and Civil War in Myanmar

by Emily Ferguson and Emma Schroeder

In Myanmar, cybercrime has become an effective vehicle through which nonstate actors can fund and perpetuate conflict.
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A wounded woman uses a phone at Nasser Hospital after an airstrike in the city of Khan Yunis, amid the continuing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement.
November 2023

How information travels during Gaza’s communications blackouts

by Layla Mashkoor

People in Gaza turn to eSIMS and other solutions amid cellular and internet outages
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FILE PHOTO: A police officer stands in front of a damaged building, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Avdiivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine October 17, 2023. REUTERS/Yevhen Titov/File Photo
November 2023

Russian War Report: Russia just lost the most troops in a single battle so far in 2023

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

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.
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In-Depth Reports

Scaling Trust on the Web

February 2023

Narrative Warfare

February 2023

Undermining Ukraine

November 2023

This Job Post Will Get You Kidnapped: A Deadly Cycle of Crime, Cyberscams, and Civil War in Myanmar

by Emily Ferguson and Emma Schroeder

In Myanmar, cybercrime has become an effective vehicle through which nonstate actors can fund and perpetuate conflict.
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Telephone with messaging apps. “Protecting point-to-point messaging apps: Understanding Telegram, WeChat, and WhatsApp in the United States” cover image.
August 2023

Protecting point-to-point messaging apps: Understanding Telegram, WeChat, and WhatsApp in the United States

by Iria Puyosa

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.
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Democracy Derailed report cover art
August 2023

Sudan’s precarious information environment and the fight for democracy

by Tessa Knight, Lujain Alsedeg

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.
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A World Map Of China 3D Rendering - Chinese Discourse Power Cover graphic
August 2023

Chinese discourse power: Capabilities and impact

by Kenton Thibaut

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.
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July 2023

Critical Infrastructure and the Cloud: Policy for Emerging Risk

by Tianjiu Zuo, Justin Sherman, Maia Hamin, and Stewart Scott

Critical infrastructure increasingly depends upon cloud computing. Policy must adapt its approach to risk management accordingly.
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June 2023

The disinformation landscape in West Africa and beyond

by Tessa Knight, Jean le Roux

A look at West Africa’s information environment, with particular emphasis on local and international disinformation campaigns targeting the region and beyond.
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February 2023

A Parallel Terrain: Public-Private Defense of the Ukrainian Information Environment

by Emma Schroeder and Sean Dack

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.
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December 2022

An introduction to the Freedom Online Coalition

by Rose Jackson, Leah (Léa) Fiddler, Jacqueline Malaret

The Freedom Online Coalition (FOC) is comprised of thirty-four member countries committed to advancing Internet freedom and human rights online.
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CHINESE DISCOURSE POWER: ASPIRATIONS, REALITY, AND AMBITIONS IN THE DIGITAL DOMAIN
August 2022

Chinese discourse power: Ambitions and reality in the digital domain

by Kenton Thibaut

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.
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Projects

Russian soldier and helicopter

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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