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Pro-Kremlin Media Belarus

Article

Sep 1, 2020

Pro-Kremlin media misrepresent Belarusian opposition’s policy platform

By Roman Osadchuk

An “anti-Russian” national security reform agenda that pro-Kremlin media linked to the opposition was never part of the opposition’s official platform.

Belarus 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

Article

Feb 24, 2020

Anonymous Ukrainian Telegram channels serve as gateways to fringe media

By Roman Osadchuk

Allegations against former Ukrainian MP on anonymous Telegram channels made way to fringe media and other MPs’ Telegram channels.

Disinformation Eastern Europe

Roman Osadchuk is a resident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab with over five years of experience. His research focuses on disinformation in Ukraine and neighboring countries. He is the author of multiple investigations and reports on disinformation, influence campaigns, and computational propaganda, which uncover the tactics and techniques of malign actors.

He is also a senior lecturer at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, where he teaches bachelor and master courses on propaganda effects and open-source investigations. Before joining DFRLab, he held several positions at the Ukraine Crisis Media Center (UCMC), where he was involved in communications of decentralization reform and administrative support to the NGO’s internal operations.

Previously, Roman received an MPA degree from the Maxwell School on a Fulbright scholarship, where he focused on information policy. He also holds master’s degrees in computer science from Kryvyi Rih National University and in political science from Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, where Roman focused on information policy and researched the role of information policy and the media cycle in the spread of disinformation.