• Senior Fellow

Emerson T. Brooking

Emerson T. Brooking is a resident senior fellow at the Digital Forensic Research Lab of the Atlantic Council and coauthor of LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media. He is an expert in the fields of disinformation, terrorist communication, and internet policy, and recently led an initiative to secure the integrity of the 2020 U.S. election. Previously, he was a research fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, where he studied U.S. defense policy. Brooking has spoken regularly on the topic of information warfare and social media manipulation, advising multiple U.S. technology companies and national security entities.

Brooking’s coauthored November 2016 cover story for the Atlantic, “War Goes Viral,” predicted the widespread utilization of social media as a tool of warfare. He has published additional work in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, the Washington Post, and Rolling Stone, among others. Brooking has appeared regularly on broadcast media, including NPR’s “Fresh Air.”

Brooking holds a BA in Political Science and Classical Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. He was named to the Forbes “30 Under 30” Class of 2019 and is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Some of Brooking’s publications include:


Americans Were Worried About the Wrong Threat

Op-Ed: For right-wing extremists, this was a victory

Foreign Influence Operations After 2020

The Head of US Intelligence Has Ceased to Be an Honest Broker

Dichotomies of Disinformation: Project Overview & Codebook

War Goes Viral

April 2022

Russian War Report: Kremlin claims Bucha massacre was staged by Ukraine

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Civilians have been found dead, many with their hands bound and simply left on the street, in Bucha. Despite the evidence, the Kremlin is trying to cover it up through disinformation and confusion.
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March 2022

Russian War Report: Additional units from Georgian breakaway regions join Russian offensive

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Soldiers from the Georgian breakaway region of Abkhazia are confirmed to be providing military support for Russian forces in Ukraine.
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March 2022

Russian War Report: Russian Duma members falsely claim Ukraine is creating ethnicity-targeting bioweapons

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Members of the Russian Duma accused Ukraine and the US of creating bioweapons and researching "regional infections aimed at Russian regions."
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