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.
Hamilton Weekly Report: April 11-17, 2020
Russia Toplines For the thirteenth consecutive week, coronavirus coverage dominated the Russian media ecosystem last week, though to a slightly lesser extent than in previous weeks. As usual, much of this output consisted of basic news updates on th [...]
Laura Rosenberger Discusses Beijing’s Coronavirus Disinformation Campaign on NBC Nightly
As China works to control a resurgence of the coronavirus, U.S. intelligence officials warn that it’s continuing to spread misinformation about where the virus originated and the country’s response to the pandemic. The goal is to make people doubt t [...]
Election Security Cannot Be a Victim of the Coronavirus
The most recent coronavirus stimulus package signed into law includes $400 million in funds to support state and local government efforts to prevent the coronavirus from impacting the elections process. While more funding will be needed to address t [...]
Laura Rosenberger Talks Coronavirus, Authoritarianism, and Democracy with The Bush Institute
Director Laura Rosenberger joined George W. Bush Institute to discuss the impact the coronavirus is having on political freedom and democratic institutions around the world. [...]
Hamilton Weekly Report: April 4-10, 2020
Russia Toplines As has been the case for about three months now, coverage of the coronavirus dominated the Russian media ecosystem last week. Like usual, much of the coronavirus content relayed basic news updates on various aspects of the pandemic. [...]
Webinar Discussion: Foreign Authoritarian Interference in Europe
ASD Senior Fellow Kristine Berzina, EEAS East Stratcom Task Force Head Anneli Ahonen, and GMF Senior Fellows Noah Barkin and Peter Chase discussed foreign authoritarian interference in Europe during the coronavirus pandemic in this interactive webin [...]
Matt Schrader Discusses the CCP’s International Propaganda Goals on ‘ChinaTalk’
In the past few weeks, the Chinese Communist Party has shown how adept it is at weaving narratives that distract from its own failures in handling the coronavirus outbreak, China Analyst Matthew Schrader said on Lawfare’s “ChinaTalk” podcast. [...]
Hamilton Weekly Report: March 28-April 3, 2020
Russia Toplines For the eleventh week in a row, coverage of the coronavirus dominated the Russian media ecosystem last week. As has become the norm, much of this content relayed basic news updates on various aspects of the pandemic. However, one imp [...]
How Beijing Exploits Inflammatory ‘China Virus’ Rhetoric
Over the past three weeks, American and Chinese officials have employed escalating rhetoric in efforts to blame one another for the global coronavirus pandemic. High-ranking U.S. administration officials frequently and pointedly referred to the viru [...]
Jessica Brandt on Beijing’s Viral Disinformation Activities for NED
Even as Beijing endeavors to promote itself as a responsible global player with an attractive governance model that renders it capable and willing to be a go-to provider of public goods during the coronavirus pandemic, China's leaders are increasing [...]
Webinar Discussion: Tracking Chinese State-Backed Information Operations on the Coronavirus
Alliance for Securing Democracy experts Bret Schafer, Laura Rosenberger, Zack Cooper, and Axios’ Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian discussed narratives and long-term trends in China’s information manipulation efforts, including shifts in messaging and disinf [...]
Five Things to Know About Beijing’s Disinformation Approach
The coronavirus outbreak has opened up a new chapter in the global information contest between autocrats and democrats. In recent weeks, China has employed increasingly assertive tactics in its efforts to shape perceptions of the crisis. Data collec [...]