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Elections 2020

Sep 22, 2020

Five big questions as America votes: Disinformation

By DFRLab

Whether the mis- or disinformation is foreign or domestic in origin, an information environment rife with confusing, polarizing, and often false narratives can only serve to further divide an already tense nation.

China Disinformation

Issue briefs and reports

Jun 5, 2020

Operation Carthage: How a Tunisian company conducted influence operations in African presidential elections

By Andy Carvin, Luiza Bandeira, Graham Brookie, Iain Robertson, Nika Aleksejeva, Alyssa Kann, Kanishk Karan, Ayushman Kaul, Tessa Knight, Jean le Roux, Roman Osadchik, Esteban Ponce de Leon

A Tunisia-based company operated a sophisticated digital campaign involving multiple social media platforms and websites in an attempt to influence the country’s 2019 presidential election, as well as other recent elections in Africa. In an exclusive investigation that began in September 2019, the DFRLab uncovered dozens of online assets with connections to Tunisian digital communications firm UReputation. On June 5, 2020, after conducting its own investigation, Facebook announced it had taken down more than 900 assets affiliated with the UReputation operation, including 182 user accounts, 446 pages, and 96 groups, as well as 209 Instagram accounts. The operation also involved the publication of multiple Francophone websites, some going back more than five years.

Africa Disinformation

In the News

Apr 21, 2020

Director Josh Lipsky and Graham Brookie in Morning Consult on COVID-19 “Infodemic”

By Josh Lipsky, Graham Brookie

Read the full article here.

Economy & Business International Markets

Graham Brookie is the Atlantic Council’s vice president for technology programs and strategy, as well as the senior director of the Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab), based in Washington, DC. 

In his role as vice president, Brookie oversees the Atlantic Council Technology Programs (ACtech)—including DFRLab, the GeoTech Center, the Cyber Statecraft Initiative, the Democracy + Tech Initiative, and a newly formed Capacity Building Initiative. These programs work together to shape an era of increasing geopolitical competition and rapid technological change. The core of ACtech’s approach is technical research that can inform policy and build communities of action. Brookie also oversees the coordination of the Council’s broader technology-related work, investment in expanding expertise, and collaboration across the Council’s sixteen programs and centers. 

Brookie joined the Atlantic Council in 2017 and was named director of the DFRLab when it was launched as a center. The DFRLab has distinguished itself as a pioneer in open-source research, working at the intersection of governance, technology, security, and social media. Brookie grew the DFRLab from a start-up to a global leader with over three dozen staff across seventeen countries, a capacity-building practice that has connected and empowered over four thousand emerging experts in over 150 countries, and a policy practice named the Democracy + Tech Initiative, which has shaped how digital technologies are designed, funded, and governed launched in 2019.  

Prior to joining the DFRLab, Brookie served in various positions at the White House and National Security Council. His longest role in government was as the adviser to the assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism (APHSCT), the US president’s top aide for cybersecurity, counterterrorism, intelligence, and homeland security issues. His most recent government role was as an adviser for strategic communications with a focus on digital strategy, audience engagement, and coordinating a cohesive record of former US President Barack Obama’s national security and foreign policy. He also worked in the East Asia, Middle East, and North Africa directorates at the National Security Council. 

Brookie graduated cum laude with degrees from American University in Washington, DC. He also completed the London School of Economics’ general course. He is a native of Durango, Colorado.