Recent analysis

Programs

The Atlantic Council Technology Programs comprises five existing efforts—the Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab), the GeoTech Center, the Cyber Statecraft Initiative, the Democracy + Tech Initiative, and the Capacity Building Initiative. These operations work together to address the geopolitical implications of technology and provide policymakers and global stakeholders necessary research, insights, and convenings to address challenges around global technology and ensure its responsible advancement.

Content

Article

Jan 28, 2018

#ElectionWatch: Protests Across Russia

By Ben Nimmo, Lukas Andriukaitis, and Nika Aleksejeva

On January 28, supporters of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny took to the streets to call for a boycott of presidential elections.

Disinformation Elections

Report

Sep 26, 2017

The MADCOM future

By Matt Chessen

Emerging artificial intelligence (AI) tools will provide propagandists radically enhanced capabilities to manipulate human minds. Human cognition is a complex system, and AI tools are very good at decoding complex systems. Interactions on social media, browsing the Internet, and even grocery shopping provide thousands of data points from which technologists can build psychological profiles on nearly […]

Americas Civil Society

Article

Sep 25, 2017

Digital Disinformation: A Primer

By Tim Hwang

“Revelations around Russian efforts to shape the 2016 US presidential election through the use of disinformation, bots, and hacking have thrust the problems of “fake news” and social media manipulation into the public spotlight,” writes Tim Hwang, director of the Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence Fund, in “Digital Disinformation: A Primer,” a new publication […]

Cybersecurity Disinformation

Report

Sep 1, 2017

Agent of Influence: Should Russia’s RT Register as a Foreign Agent?

By Elena Postnikova

The US Congress enacted the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (FARA) to ensure that the American people were aware when foreign governments funded media sources; at the time, their concerns focused on the Nazi regime in Germany. Today, this issue has resurfaced with concerns about the Russian propaganda outlet RT (formerly Russia Today). RT […]

Disinformation Economic Sanctions

In the News

Mar 7, 2017

POLITICO Playbook: Naz Durakoglu Joins Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab

By Atlantic Council

Naz Durakoglu is joining the Atlantic Council as senior fellow and strategist for the Council’s new open source and digital forensic research lab, @DFRLab.

Disinformation English

In the News

Feb 24, 2017

Eliot Higgins quoted by McClatchy on Breaking Aleppo report

By Eliot Higgins

Eliot Higgins, Nonresident Senior Fellow for the DFRLab, spoke to McClatchy DC on the methodology behind the Breaking Aleppo report.

Disinformation English

In the News

Feb 23, 2017

Czuperski joins CNN to discuss Atlantic Council’s Breaking Aleppo report

By Maksymilian Czuperski

Maks Czuperski, director of the Atlantic Council's DFRLab, speaks to Christiane Amanpour about the center's new report "Breaking Aleppo."

Disinformation English
Breaking Aleppo

Report

Feb 13, 2017

Breaking Aleppo

By Maks Czuperski, Emma Beals, Faysal Itani, Eliot Higgins, and Ben Nimmo

The DFRLab's report captures the final months of the breaking of Aleppo using innovative open source methodologies and geolocation analysis.

Conflict Disinformation

In the News

Feb 2, 2017

The Atlantic features the Digital Forensic Research Lab on Russian hacking

By Atlantic Council

The Atlantic features the Digital Forensic Research Lab on Russian hacking in Eastern Europe and the Baltics, and what we can learn from it.

Cybersecurity Disinformation

In the News

Feb 2, 2017

The Financial Times features the Digital Forensic Research Lab on the escalation of the Russian and Ukrainian conflict

By Atlantic Council

The Financial Times features the Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) on the escalation of the Russian and Ukrainian conflict.

Conflict Disinformation

Experts

Events