The Diminishing Role of Facts in American Public Life Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis. RAND experts publish hundreds of pieces of commentary every year, weighing in on pressing policy questions, breaking down current events, and untangling complex trends. […]Read More

Weekly round-up of cognitive security-related articles from the Washington Post. Congress demands answers on AP’s relationship with Chinese state media Josh Rogin, Columnist, Washington Post, December 24th, 2018 China’s state-run media companies are rapidly expanding their integration with Western news outlets, as part of Beijing’s worldwide foreign influence operations campaign. In Washington, lawmakers in both parties are […]Read More

Weekly round-up of cognitive security-related articles from the New York Times. Russians Tried, but Were Unable to Compromise Midterm Elections, U.S. Says Julian E. Barnes, New York Times, December 21st, 2018 Russian operations meant to polarize American voters continued during the midterm elections, but did not compromise the voting systems used, according to a study by the […]Read More

Les Stats, C’est Moi – Data in 2019 Economist, December 22nd, 2018 This Economist article (also posted here) is a reminder of the increasing relevance of cognitive security.  Several highlights: – Data is an abstract concept, technical and intangible. Far more solid is the idea of identity. It is only when data is understood to mean […]Read More

Sweden government’s Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) developed a handbook on countering information influence activities The handbook is directed towards communicators in the public sector.  It aims to strengthen societal resilience against information influence.  Although this handbook has been out for several months, it is worth a look. Lund University’s Department of Strategic Communication partnered with […]Read More

Active Measures #17 – A Newsletter of Political Warfare, Influence, and Information Campaigns Here are the top stories seen this week: The IRA, Social Media and Political Polarization in the United States, 2012-2018 | Phillip N. Howard, Bharath Ganesh, Dimitra Liotsiou, John Kelly, and Camille Francois | Oxford University Computational Propaganda Research Project The Tactics […]Read More

Dispatch from the Alliance for Securing Democracy Our Take ASD, in partnership with Graphika, released a beta-version of our “Information Operations Archive,” a searchable repository of more than 10 million posts connected to Russian and Iranian information operations on social media. We are releasing an early version due to increased research interest after the publication […]Read More

A New Doctrine for Cyberwarfare & Information Operations Senator Mark Warner (D, VA) spoke at the Center for a New American Security on the need for a U.S. cyber doctrine in the face of growing threats from traditional cyber attacks and information operations.  This event highlights one of the more comprehensive perspectives from the legislative […]Read More

Weekly round-up of cognitive security-related articles from the Washington Post. Russian disinformation campaign targets Syria’s beleaguered rescue workers Louisa Loveluck, Washington Post, December 18th, 2018 A Russian disinformation campaign has pushed Syria’s best-known civilian rescue group into the crosshairs of President Bashar al-Assad’s security forces, turning its volunteers into hunted prey, according to a team of open-source […]Read More

Weekly round-up of cognitive security-related articles from the New York Times. In France, School Lessons Ask: Which Twitter Post Should You Trust? Adam Satariano and Elian Peltier, New York Times, December 13th, 2018 A group of teenagers recently swarmed into a room at Collège Henri Barbusse near Lyon, France, for a class typically dedicated to learning Spanish. […]Read More