Less than you think: Prevalence and predictors of fake news dissemination on Facebook Researchers Andrew Guess, Jonathan Nagler, and Joshua Tucker published an article in Science Advances (Jan 9th, 2019) that has garnered some media attention.  Read an IPA blog post from last month from Pew, Age Matters Click on the heading above for the […]Read More

Weekly round-up of cognitive security-related articles from the New York Times. Facebook CEO Plans Public Debates About Tech for 2019 Personal Challenge Reuters in the New York Times, January 8, 2019 Facebook Inc Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said on Tuesday he will host a series of public discussions about the future of technology in society as […]Read More

Weekly round-up of cognitive security-related articles from the Washington Post. Secret campaign to use Russian-inspired tactics in 2017 Ala. election stirs anxiety for Democrats Craig Timberg, Tony Romm, Aaron C. Davis and Elizabeth Dwoskin, January 6, 2019 A secret effort to influence the 2017 Senate election in Alabama used tactics inspired by Russian disinformation teams, including the […]Read More

Dispatch from the Alliance for Securing Democracy Our Take On December 28th, ASD and partner C4ADS published a case study on the First Czech-Russian Bank, exposing how the private Russian bank became a key vector for Russian interference in Europe, exploiting campaign finance loopholes and other structural weaknesses in Western democracies to pursue Russian foreign […]Read More

Frederick Kempe of the Atlantic Council, highlights the Atlantic Council’s top ten for 2018. Cognitive security-related items include: #ElectionWatch – The Digital Forensic Research Lab’s partnership with Facebook on #ElectionWatch merits a spot on the top ten as a leading example of how the Council is deploying digital technologies to not only combat disinformation but also […]Read More

Active Measures #18 – A Newsletter of Political Warfare, Influence, and Information Campaigns Here are the top stories seen this week: – Hackers Leak Personal Info of over 100 German Politicians: Report | Janosch Delcker | Politico.eu – RM Broadcasting Battles Justice Department over Demands to Register as Foreign Agent | Jeff Mordock | The Washington Times […]Read More

Information Warfare Requires Personalized Weaponry by Rand Waltzman, January 1st, 2019, Signal Magazine, an AFCEA forum Up until the digital age, wars involved a limited number of combatants with clear identities battling within distinct boundaries visible on a map. These conflicts ended either with a victor or as a stalemate. But today’s information warfare does […]Read More

Why Putin Targets Minorities CSIS’s Suzanne Spaulding, Devi Nair and Arthur Nelson’s commentary dives into the WHY or what larger strategic purpose was Russia pursuing by targeting individuals of these groups? For the past year and a half, the Defending Democratic Institutions Project has studied Russia’s information operations targeting the public’s faith in the judiciary […]Read More

Weekly round-up of cognitive security-related articles from the Washington Post. Disinformation campaign targeting Roy Moore’s Senate bid may have violated law, Alabama attorney general says Craig Timberg and Tony Romm, Washington Post, December 27th, 2018 Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said Thursday that his office is exploring whether disinformation tactics deployed against Republican Roy Moore during last […]Read More

Weekly round-up of cognitive security-related articles from the New York Times. LinkedIn Co-Founder Apologizes for Deception in Alabama Senate Race Scott Shane, New York Times, December 26th, 2018 Reid Hoffman, the tech billionaire whose money was spent on Russian-style social media deception in a Senate race last year, apologized on Wednesday, saying in a statement that he […]Read More