• 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.)

August 2017

Kremlin and Alt-Right Share “Nazi” Narrative

by Donara Barojan, Ben Nimmo

U.S. activists echo Kremlin’s argument on Ukrainian Nazis and American hypocrisy
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August 2017

Into the Uncanny Valley of Fake News

by Ben Nimmo

A case study in how a cluster of websites managed to pose as legitimate sources and, despite being exposed, got away with it
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August 2017

#ZapadWatch: Russian Snap Drills Close to NATO Borders

by Nika Aleksejeva, Ben Nimmo

Late, sparse, and inaccurate info from the Ministry of Defense raises concerns for the upcoming Zapad 2017
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