• Deputy Managing Editor

Iain Robertson

Iain Robertson is the deputy managing editor at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) based in Washington, DC. In this capacity, he oversees the research process and its products while providing editorial leadership to DFRLab’s research team around the world.

Prior to joining the DFRLab, Iain held a number of positions within the Obama Administration. From 2012-2015, he served as a Staff Officer in the Executive Secretary’s office of the National Security Council (NSC). During his time in the NSC, Iain staffed the President on foreign trips and helped coordinate the processes on which national security policy runs. Prior to his time in the NSC, he served as Coordinator in the Office of Presidential Correspondence, where he created the processes by which the office responded to constituents’ concerns on behalf of the President.

Iain has also been an English teacher in Prague, Czech Republic, and worked in the film industry in Los Angeles, California. He also currently serves on the board of Global Exploration for Educators Overseas, a non-profit that runs international educational trips for public school teachers from the United States and elsewhere.

Iain received his MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, where he was among the inaugural class of students to receive the Certificate in Nonmarket Strategy, and his BA in Film and Media Studies from Carleton College. He resides in the Washington, DC area.

December 2023

Deceptive marketing ads used fake images of Polish politician

by Givi Gigitashvili, Iain Robertson

Digitally altered photos deployed as clickbait in Facebook ads drew users to promotional campaign for sketchy cryptocurrency operation
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July 2023

Inauthentic Facebook campaign promoted pro-Russian Shor Party messaging in Moldova

by Victoria Olari, Iain Robertson

The campaign sponsored ads in support of convicted oligarch Ilan Shor and used fake accounts to target Moldova's pro-European government
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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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