The coronavirus pandemic is creating an opportunity for foreign actors who seek to undermine Western democracies to advance their goals. From weekly reports that track messaging from Russian and Chinese state-backed media and diplomatic actors, to pieces that analyze the geopolitical impact of crisis, ASD’s work on coronavirus can be found here.
Ariane Tabatabai on How Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Play Politics With the Coronavirus in Foreign Affairs
Middle East Fellow Ariane Tabatabai argues in Foreign Affairs that the IRGC is using traditional and social media to assert its leadership and project itself as the guardian of public health and the champion of the fight against the invisible enemy [...]
Zack Cooper and Laura Rosenberger Discuss State-Backed Disinformation Campaigns with the United States Studies Centre
ASD Co-directors Zack Cooper and Laura Rosenberger joined the United States Studies Centre for a webinar discussion entitled "How can democracies fight against state-backed disinformation campaigns?" While the United States and Australia have increa [...]
Nad’a Kovalcikova on the Need for a European Public Sphere to Combat Disinformation in EURACTIV
Malign actors have been “rewriting the present” & entering the EU’s national public spheres to shape public opinion during the coronavirus pandemic. Program Manager Nad'a Kovalcikova argues that Europe needs to build a transnational, interoperab [...]
Hamilton Weekly Report: April 18-24, 2020
Russia Toplines The leading topic of the Russian media ecosystem last week was once again the coronavirus. The virus has now occupied this position for 14 straight weeks. Basic news updates on the pandemic accounted for much of this coverage. Some c [...]
Ariane Tabatabai on Iran’s Attempt to Use the U.S. as a Scapegoat During the Coronavirus Pandemic in Vox
Iran is ramping up its fight against the United States. "Despite the crippling toll of the pandemic," Middle East Fellow Ariane Tabatabai and Colin P. Clarke write in Vox, "Tehran has continued to work tirelessly to eject the last remaining US force [...]
Nad’a Kovalcikova Discusses Coronavirus Disinformation with the European Liberal Forum
Both Russia and increasingly also China have been amplifying divisive narratives about EU and NATO member states, and transatlantic allies, during the coronavirus pandemic, Program Manager Nad'a Kovalcikova said on this European Liberal Forum webina [...]
Laura Rosenberger on China’s Coronavirus Information Offensive in Foreign Affairs
Beijing is using new methods to spin the coronavirus pandemic to its advantage. “As it began to contain the outbreak within its own borders, Beijing launched an assertive external information campaign aimed at sculpting global discussion of its hand [...]
Friends and Enemies: A Framework for Understanding Chinese Political Interference in Democratic Countries
Introduction “For our friends, we produce fine wine. Jackals, we welcome with shotguns.” - Ambassador Gui Congyou, 2019Edward Lucas. “Sweden’s China Problem.” CEPA, January 7, 2020. This was how a Chinese ambassador warned Sweden of potential con [...]
Russian Coronavirus Aid to Italy: The Mask Falls Off
Since February of this year, as the coronavirus pandemic has swept the globe, China has been engaging in what media commentators are calling “mask diplomacy”—the sale or donation of medical supplies to countries battling the terrible disease. Russia [...]
Ariane Tabatai Discusses the Humanitarian Collateral Effects of Sanctions on Iran During the Coronavirus with Atlantic Council
At the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, Iranian officials were playing it down. They were dealing in conspiracy theories and disinformation and blamed the United States for spreading the virus, Middle East Fellow Ariane Tabatabai explained on [...]
Ariane Tabatabai Discusses Coronavirus in Iran on ‘Babel’
The spread of the coronavirus has exacerbated tensions within the governmental system and between the system and the population, Middle East Fellow Ariane Tabatabai said on CSIS's podcast "Babel." Iranian state-backed media has been pushing the narr [...]
France Gets a Taste of Beijing’s ‘Wolf Warrior’ Diplomacy
On April 15, the French ministry of foreign affairs summoned the Chinese ambassador in Paris. After weeks of incendiary rhetoric from the Chinese delegation, French authorities were incensed by an article on the embassy’s website falsely claiming th [...]