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.
Focus Areas
Threat Actors
All Posts
February 2020
Chinese and Russian State-Owned Media on the Coronavirus: United Against the West?
Beginning in late January, when news emerged of a “novel coronavirus” spreading through China, Beijing’s propaganda apparatus shifted into overdrive. The epidemic has also been heavily covered in externally-directed Russian state-backed media outlet [...]
Germany’s Faustian Bargain on Trade with China
Walking around China, the ubiquity of German cars on Chinese streets is astounding. Audi and Mercedes are everywhere in affluent cities; Volkswagens take their place in smaller municipalities. This anecdotal observation is reflected in the spectacul [...]
The Election Official’s Handbook: Six steps local officials can take to safeguard America’s election systems
Protecting the 2020 Election Intelligence and law enforcement agencies warn that Russia, China, Iran, and other foreign actors will seek to interfere in the 2020 presidential election.U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. De [...]
Competing Information Operations Target Americans in the Wake of Soleimani’s Killing
As has become the norm in moments of international crisis, the fallout from the killing of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani last month unleashed a flood of disinformation onto social media. In crisis environments, where unconfirmed facts of even benign or [...]
Deepfakes and the 2020 Election: How Are the Platforms Poised to Respond?
Deepfake technology that uses artificial intelligence to create and modify videos, images, and audio recordings to place individuals in situations they were never in, or put false words in their mouths, has burst onto the scene as the latest technol [...]
January 2020
Combating the Latest Technological Threat to Democracy: A Comparison of Facebook and Twitter’s Deepfake Policies
Deepfake technology that uses artificial intelligence to create and modify videos, images, and audio recordings to place individuals in situations they were never in, or put false words in their mouths, has burst onto the scene as the latest technol [...]
Hamilton 2.0 – Analysis 3 – Why the Jeffrey Epstein saga was the Russian government-funded media’s top story of 2019
Overview In a year featuring a presidential impeachment, Brexit, mass protests in Hong Kong, and widespread geopolitical turmoil, few topics dominated the Russian government-funded media landscape quite like the arrest and subsequent suicide of bil [...]
December 2019
2020 NDAA: Important Steps toward Addressing Foreign Interference
The United States Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, an annual bill designating funding for the Department of Defense, on a bipartisan basis. Priorities outlined in the NDAA will drive important elements of [...]
Swing State Practices Bolster Election Security Ahead of 2020
The Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Director of National Intelligence, Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), National Security Agency, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Age [...]
Russian Malign Finance and U.S. Economic Statecraft: The Indirect Approach
There is an emerging recognition in Western capitals that Russian strategic economic coercion and malign financial activity threaten to undermine the rule of law, weaken democracy, and meaningfully affect American and European politics. This underst [...]
November 2019
Hamilton 2.0 – Analysis 2 – Syrian Victory Lap
Overview On October 6, President Trump announced a U.S. withdrawal from northern Syria, leading to a week-long Turkish offensive against the Syrian Kurds. Since the announcement, Russian media and diplomats have doubled-down on their Syria coverage [...]
Are Journalists Ready for Foreign Interference in 2020?
Last month, the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released volume two of its investigation into Russian interference, which details an extensive campaign that aims to sow division and undermine American democracy via social media. One of [...]