One Pic, One Clip, One Click - How China deploys social media influencers to spread its message. Trust But Verify 2021-09-21 | To read more about Chinese influencers: clintwatts.substack.com/p/the-one-like-one-share-initiativeChina is using social media influencers to rewrite the past, author the present, and dominate the future: Chinese state media (CSM) outlets have undertaken a concerted, worldwide effort to promote young, overwhelmingly female journalists as social media influencers to spread CCP-aligned propaganda and conduct outreach to local communities on six continents. China Radio International (CRI) is the primary media body implementing this initiative, with influencers thus far identified for 24 languages. The majority of these influencers do not openly disclose their affiliation.For more information on China's influence: youtu.be/vXZEbSMLA7g
5 Generations of Online Manipulation - China will be the biggest adversary in online manipulation Trust But Verify 2021-06-06 | There’s been years of discussion about Russia’s social media influence on the U.S. election in 2016, but like any new threat to national security, adversaries continue to adapt and evolve. Today, Russia is just one of many online manipulators. While the Kremlin invented and mastered the art of disinformation, it will be China’s innovations that take online manipulation to new levels. In this episode of Trust But Verify, we explore the five generations of Advanced Persistent Manipulators.For more information please check out - fpri.org/article/2019/03/five-generations-of-online-manipulation-the-evolution-of-advanced-persistent-manipulators1 Disrupt the System - 0:232 Exploit the System - 0:533 Distort the System - 1:454 Dominate the System - 2:275 Own the System - 3:06
24 Group - Pandemic Conspiracies that Make the Kremlin Happy Trust But Verify 2021-03-02 | In this episode of Trust But Verify, we explore how an obscure website called "Corona24News" helped launder a COVID-19 vaccine conspiracy originating from an outlet in Eastern Ukraine. This obscure website is part of a larger network of websites translating and republishing huge volumes of content from around the web—including disinformation about American vaccines that benefits the Kremlin's strategic narratives. For more on this website network, see our piece published with Alliance for Securing Democracy (securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/24-group-how-obscure-news-sites-selectively-spread-pro-kremlin-disinformation/). Read more about how information can be laundered online in Messing with the Enemy: Surviving in a Social Media World of Hackers, Terrorists, Russians, and Fake News. (amzn.to/2N9cveM)
NewsFront: an Affront on News Trust But Verify 2021-02-08 | NewsFront is a Russia-linked website reporting on conflict, military operations, and geopolitics established during Russia’s takeover of Crimea in 2014. With 10 different domains publishing in 10 different languages, NewsFront's target audiences stretch across the globe. In 2020, the U.S. State Department listed NewsFront as one of the central outlets comprising Russia's "pillars" of online disinformation and propaganda. But despite takedowns by Twitter and Facebook, NewsFront has managed to evade detection on these platforms by innovating its content sharing methods. If interested in a deeper look as to how influential outlets such as NewsFront evade detection, you can read more at the Alliance for Securing Democracy - securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/russias-affront-on-the-news-how-newsfronts-persistence-past-social-media-bans-demonstrates-the-need-for-vigilanceAn overview of Russia’s Disinformation and Propaganda Ecosystem can be found at the Department of State’s Global Engagement Center - state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Pillars-of-Russia%E2%80%99s-Disinformation-and-Propaganda-Ecosystem_08-04-20.pdfAnd for a more comprehensive background on Kremlin Active Measures to influence America on social media see Chapters 4 & 6 of amzn.to/2N9cveM
How Russia Divides America Trust But Verify 2021-01-26 | It’s now common knowledge that Russia has an interest in influencing the American information space, interfering in our elections, and otherwise sowing chaos in our country. But how exactly do they try to accomplish this? In the second episode of Trust But Verify, we examine the Kremlin's strategy for dividing Americans through influence operations, in the hopes that we can better defend ourselves against this information barrage.If interested in a deeper dive into how the Kremlin employs information to divide Americans:-Readers might enjoy Chapters 4 & 6 of "Messing With The Enemy: Surviving in a Social Media World of Hackers, Terrorists, Russians and Fake News" (amazon.com/Messing-Enemy-Surviving-Terrorists-Russians/dp/0062795988)-Readers who want to read less might appreciate "Trolling for Trump: How Russia Is Trying To Destroy Our Democracy" (warontherocks.com/2016/11/trolling-for-trump-how-russia-is-trying-to-destroy-our-democracy)-Viewers might like the full discussion from the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Russia's interference in Election 2016, CSPAN, March 30, 2017 (c-span.org/video/?426227-1/senate-intelligence-panel-warned-russians-play-sides)
Extremism: When Should We Worry? Trust But Verify 2021-01-15 | Maybe you saw a mob become an insurrection on Capitol Hill on January 6th. Now, you might be wondering if we should worry about extremists overtaking the United States or a second civil war. This isn't the first time our team has encountered these problems. In this episode of Trust But Verify, we'll talk about how to think about the extremism problem in the United States—and what might be coming next.Show Notes:-For an excellent book on the topic, check out "Extremism" by J.M. Berger (amazon.com/Extremism-MIT-Press-Essential-Knowledge/dp/0262535874)-For the original inspiration behind the charts in this video, see "Militant Ideology Atlas- Executive Report" by Will McCants, page 6 (https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/26189/Atlas-ExecutiveReport.pdf).
