ASD contributes long and short form research products and analysis to inform and engage our audience on a range of issues related to malign foreign interference. In addition, we develop policy recommendations and strategies to close vulnerabilities and safeguard institutions from authoritarian threats.
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Threat Actors
All Posts
July 2022
Hamilton Toplines: June 27 – July 3
Russia Russian state media and diplomats last week tweeted 17,313 times, generating 196,139 retweets and 614,738 likes. Russian propagandists last week posted more than 1,000 tweets mentioning NATO, bringing in more than 19,000 retweets and 56,000 l [...]
Pro-Chaos: Russian and Chinese Messaging on the Overturning of Roe v. Wade
Overview On June 24, the US Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to an abortion, sparking an outpouring of protests and national media coverage. Russian and Chinese propagandists also weighed in, though their messaging strategies on th [...]
June 2022
Hamilton Toplines: June 20 – 26, 2022
Russia Monitored Russian accounts tweeted 17,875 times last week, pulling in 200,445 retweets and 613,214 likes. Russian propagandists reacted to Ukraine and Moldova earning EU candidate status by arguing that the bloc was building a war-like coalit [...]
Hamilton Toplines: June 13–19, 2022
Russia Russian officials and state media last week targeted the European Union as the bloc moved forward with plans to grant Ukraine candidate status. RIA Novosti paraphrased a Russian lawmaker saying that “Ukraine will not live to see EU membership [...]
Hamilton Monthly Report: May 2022
This report highlights and analyzes key trends and takeaways from data collected by the Hamilton 2.0 Dashboard during the previous month. Unlike ASD’s weekly Hamilton reports, which analyze the main topics and themes promoted by monitored Russian an [...]
China and the Digital Information Stack in the Global South
Introduction The 21st Century started with the promise of how technologies can be used to bolster, not undermine, democracies, activism, and human rights. However, the maddening pace at which digital technologies have evolved in recent years means [...]
Yandex Dashboard Analysis: It’s the Economy, Stupid
Top Headlines in Russia This week, we examined the headlines on Yandex that feature Russia as the primary country mentioned. Four of the top six key phrases in these articles relate to the economy, dwarfing coverage of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine [...]
Hamilton Toplines: June 6–12, 2022
Russia Russian officials and state-funded media last week continued their efforts to shift blame for a global food shortage caused by Moscow’s decision to invade Ukraine. Russian propagandists argued that the crisis was sparked by Western sanctions [...]
Ballots and Bagels Ep. 3: Key Takeaways from the Georgia Primaries
Last week, ASD Elections Integrity Fellow David Levine spoke with Joseph Kirk, election supervisor for Bartow County, Georgia, on the latest episode of Ballots and Bagels. They talked about preparing for and administering Georgia’s May 24th primary, [...]
Q&A with ASD Experts: How Have January 6th and the Big Lie Impacted U.S. Democracy?
More than a year and a half after the violent assault on the U.S. Capitol, the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol will hold its first public hearing this Thursday. The televised series of hearings will f [...]
Hamilton Toplines: May 30–June 5, 2022
Russia Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday threatened that Russia would hit targets in Ukraine “that we have not yet attacked” if Kyiv receives long-range missiles from the United States. The warning capped a week of propaganda meant to deter [...]
Ballots and Bagels Ep. 2: A Conversation with Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Elections Official Seth Bluestein
In episode 2 of the Alliance for Securing Democracy’s Ballots & Bagels series, Elections Integrity Fellow David Levine speaks to Seth Bluestein, city commissioner for the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Board of Elections, about what we can learn fro [...]