"It's not so much that it's going to get us to believe in things that aren't real. It's that it's going to get us to doubt the things that are real." 📺 Bret Schafer discussed how AI challenges trust in information at this year's German Marshall Fund #BrusselsForum. ⤵️ youtube.com/live/OSldl_LFm…

🇮🇹 "Russia also sees fertile ground for more overt influence campaigns and traditional forms of propaganda to complement what it already does under the radar." ↪️ Louis Savoia and Vassilis Ntousas analyze a series of pro-Kremlin events held in Italy. ⤵️ securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/for-your-eyes-…

🇺🇸 "Americans cannot afford to ignore lessons that Europe’s recent elections offer." Alliance for Securing Democracy experts reflect on Europe's recent elections ahead of November's vote. bit.ly/3y8aDLl

🇷🇺 "Infiltrating social movements has been core to Russian espionage since the 1950s." Bret Schafer explains The New York Times that Russia wants more "authentic" 🇺🇸-based groups to adopt its preferred perspectives. ⤵️ nytimes.com/2024/09/03/us/…

🇷🇺 ICYMI: "If you can infiltrate and influence enough of these groups and have them at some level adopting positions that are beneficial to you ... that's obviously a win for Russia", Bret Schafer told The New York Times. 👇 nytimes.com/2024/09/03/us/…

📣 GMF's Bret Schafer spoke to NBC News about yesterday's Department of Justice indictment of a scheme to funnel funds from employees of a Russian-state backed media network to conservative American news commentators. nbcnews.com/politics/justi…

🇮🇷 When it comes to interfering in the US election, Iran is clearly "not concerned about blowback". "That that allows them to try a bunch of stuff and be pretty aggressive", Bret Schafer told Steven Lee Myers, Tiffany Hsu, and Farnaz Fassihi The New York Times. ⤵️ nytimes.com/2024/09/04/bus…

🇷🇺 "There are many, many, many examples going back to the Cold War, but certainly more recently, of Russia trying to covertly finance news organizations or content creators who produce content that's beneficial to Russia", Bret Schafer told NBC News. ⤵️ nbcnews.com/politics/justi…

🗳️ ASD's @RachaelDean and Bret Schafer will join World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh for an in-person discussion on threats to the 2024 US election and lessons in resilience from around the world. 📍 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 🗓️ Wednesday, September 25 at 5 pm EST Find out more below! ⤵️

❓ Does #AI pose a risk to our democracies? 🆕 In the first episode of our new #PolicyVoices special series on AI & Democracy by Debating Europe, Rachael Dean Wilson and Joseph Elborn, unveil the impact of AI in #elections. 👇Listen below. U.S. Mission to the EU European Commission friendsofeurope.org/insights/polic…

🇷🇺 "Russia is quite good at recruiting talent, finding the divisive, influential person who's maybe an anti-imperialist, or whose worldview aligns with Russia." Bret Schafer told NBC News why Russia's preferred influencers need not be "pro-Russian". ⤵️ nbcnews.com/tech/internet/…

🆕 "The DOJ’s sweeping crackdown on Russian interference sheds light on foreign actors' evolving tactics." Krysia Sikora breaks down key lessons from a recent indictment of two RT employees for financing pro-Russian disinformation in the United States. ⤵️ securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/doj-vs-doppelg…

🇷🇺 "While they may have been unwitting in this, they were targets for a specific reason. ... Some have promoted Russian talking points and disinformation about Ukraine." 📺 Bret Schafer explains why Russia sought out specific US influencers DW News. ⤵️ youtu.be/evVvduzvvoc?si…

🇺🇸 The online influencer market "is ripe for interference", Rachael Dean Wilson told Campaigns & Elections, with Russia, China, and Iran "interested in interfering in elections and definitely influencing public opinion in our democracy". 📰 Read more here. ⤵️ campaignsandelections.com/industry-news/…

🇷🇺 has wooed 🇺🇸 influencers before, but "what's different here is just how prominent these figures are who are connected to this media outlet." Bret Schafer told FOX 5 DC about recent revelations of Russian financing of a Tennessee-based media company. ⤵️ fox5dc.com/video/1513000

🗳️ ICYMI: Rachael Dean Wilson joined Friends of Europe's #PolicyVoices podcast to discuss how artificial intelligence further complicates our already opaque information environment and chaotic election campaigns. 🎧 Listen to the full episode here! ⤵️