Our latest report underscores Russia's intensified efforts to spread disinfo worldwide & undermine Ukraine's international standing. This highlights the critical importance of understanding Ukrainian countermeasures, outlined in our January report ⤵️ shorturl.at/bAKN8 Enter 'Beehive vs Mammoth,' a treasure trove of insights gleaned from interviews with 22 Ukrainian practitioners deeply involved in countering Russian disinformation. These experts shed light on crucial lessons learned from Ukraine's frontline experience. dfrlab.org/2024/01/24/how…

"Undermining Ukraine: How Russia widened its global information operations in 2023" dives deep into Russia's strategies to undermine Kyiv's international standing. Let's break it down. 1/8
atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-resea… Russia has intensified efforts to erode Western support for Ukraine and sow domestic discord, leveraging platforms like TikTok, Telegram, and social media. Western sanctions forced a shift, but Russia adapted its tactics to target new audiences globally. 2/8

@DFRLab and @BBC Verify released joint reports on our uncovering of the largest information operation *ever* discovered on TikTok. The Russian influence operation spanned thousands of accounts and likely garnered millions of views. Keep reading for more.

dfrlab.org/2023/12/14/mas… .@tiktok_us identified and removed more than 12,800 accounts that it assessed were involved in the operation, attracting nearly 850,000 subscribers and generating hundreds of millions of views. Content was frequently reposted and amplified on other platforms, including Twitter.

In this week’s #RussianWarReport🇷🇺, a missile struck cafe in #Hroza killing 48 civilians attending a wake. Meanwhile, a website and ad forged to look like a Ukrainian news site was discovered sharing content meant to demoralize Ukrainians. 🧵👇atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atla… An attack on Hroza in northeast Ukraine left 40+ civilians dead. According to an official statement, the attack destroyed a cafe. In a separate post, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Kuleba blamed Russia for the attack, calling it a terrorist attack. t.me/OleksiyKuleba/…

In this week’s #RussianWarReport🇷🇺, Russia and Ukraine ramp up fighting in the Black Sea with rumors of an admiral’s death. Meanwhile, a missile fragment is found in Moldovan territory and Poland clarifies remarks on its support of Ukraine's military. 🧵👇atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atla… The Black Sea is becoming an arena of increasingly asymmetric warfare. Following a Ukrainian strike in occupied Crimea, questions mounted about the fate of Russia's Black Sea Fleet Admiril Viktor Sokolov. Ukraine declared him dead, but Moscow denies it. nytimes.com/2023/09/27/wor…

(1/4): This year, @Meta removed a Georgia-based network, comprised of 117 assets, for engaging in coordinated inauthentic behavior (CIB). The government-connected network boosted warnings of supporting Ukraine and the West "dragging" Georgia into war.
dfrlab.org/2023/09/20/ina… (2/4): @DFRLab first identified part of this network in spring 2022 following the Georgian government's accusations by the Georgian Dream-led government and pro-government media that the US was attempting to pull Georgia into Russia’s war against Ukraine. civil.ge/archives/489794

Pandas Ya Ya and Le Le became targets of anti-American misinformation that alleged they were intentionally abused. We analyzed the economic incentives and the emotional messaging that drove the spread of misinformation on Chinese platforms.

dfrlab.org/2023/09/14/cut… The misinformation stemmed from unflattering photos of the aging pandas. Memphis Zoo and its Chinese counterpart, the Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens, reassured the public of their health. Yet, many on Chinese platforms were still vocal in claims of animal abuse.

📱🚨 NEW REPORT: Protecting point-to-point messaging apps: Understanding Telegram, WeChat, and WhatsApp in the United States

Learn about the growing use of these platforms in the US and how differences in design and policy affect these apps.

Long 🧵⬇️
atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-resea… An estimated two-thirds of the US population uses at least one messaging app, but this part of the information ecosystem remained understudied as compared to Facebook, X, etc. @DFRLab's new report will help to understand the complex messaging app landscape.

This week, the co-founder Russia's most used search engine came out publicly against the war. Meanwhile, Russia is accused of using chemical weapons and committing forced deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. #RussianWarReport🇷🇺 🧵👇 atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atla… Russia accused Ukraine of striking an oil tanker with a drone near the Kerch Strait Bridge on August 4. The tanker was identified to be under US scansions of supplying jet fuel to Russian forces in Syria. themoscowtimes.com/2023/08/05/rus…

A drone strike brought the war closer to home for Muscovites as a skyscraper in Moscow was hit. Meanwhile, Ukraine damaged a bridge connecting Ukraine and occupied Crimea and TGStat restricts access to data on Russian casualties. #RussianWarReport🇷🇺 🧵👇 atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atla… Ukrainian armed forces announced a successful attack on a railway bridge near Chonhar, which connects occupied Crimea with the occupied Kherson region. The bridge is a notable point along a critical ground line of communication for Russia.

https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1686031553925615616

The 2023 National Cybersecurity Strategy (NCS) implementation planned has dropped.

@CyberStatecraft marked up the implementation plan, examining how the administration's vision will become reality and “rebalancing responsibility” in cyberspace. 🧵👇 dfrlab.org/2023/07/18/nat… @CyberStatecraft The plan’s five pillars articulate specific, measurable goals:

1. Defend critical infrastructure
2. Disrupt and dismantle threat actors
3. Shape market forces to drive security/resilience
4. Invest in a resilient future
5. Forge international partnerships to pursue shared goals

Russia’s attacks on Kyiv and Bakhmut continue with the former being hit by a new barrage of missiles. Meanwhile in the discovery of a Russian missile in Poland sparks a ‘cover-up’ controversy.

Read the #RussianWarReport🇷🇺 now.
🧵⬇️ atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atla… On May 16, Russian media reported that the army had strengthened its positions in the Bakhmut area, including deploying additional airborne forces. According to reports, four battalions have deployed around Bakhmut to repel Ukrainian counterattacks. t.me/annamaliar/738

Russia canceled some of this year's Victory Day parades while the armed forces continue to escalate fighting on the front lines. Meanwhile, two Russian prisoners recounted killing civilians, including children, on Wagner's orders.

#RussianWarReport🇷🇺 🧵⬇️ atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atla… The Russian army's offensive actions in Eastern Ukraine continue. In recent days, there has been an escalation of attacks on Ukrainian positions near Marinka, Avdiivka, and Bakhmut.

Also this week, a Russian plane accidentally bombed Belgorod in Russia. apnews.com/article/russia…

A @DFRLab analysis of three state controlled media networks found that following a change in @Twitter's policy on the promotion of state affiliated media accounts, the once hemorrhaging accounts saw a dramatic uptick in followers.

@AlyssaKann reports 🧵👇 dfrlab.org/2023/04/21/sta… @Twitter @AlyssaKann RT has at least nine Twitter accounts that until April 20 were labeled as “government-affiliated” on the platform. The three most followed RT accounts have followings in the millions. Two, RT Arabic and general RT, saw dramatic increases in followers starting in late March.

Part two of @DFRLab's coverage on social media manipulation and violence in Sudan. A network of Twitter accounts is promoting #RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, aka Hemedti, by posting copied content and duplicate replies on Hemedti related content. 🧵👇 dfrlab.org/2023/04/19/sus… The network’s content appears to fall into three categories:

• Tweets copied directly from the official Twitter accounts of the RSF or Hemedti
• Seemingly original content posts promoting Hemedti and the RSF
• Replies to tweets posted by the RSF and Hemedti.

As fighting continues in Khartoum, @DFRLab discovered 900+ Twitter accounts that appear to have been hijacked and refurbished to boost content supportive of #Hemedti and the #RSF, making the paramilitary force appear more popular than they may be. 🧵👇 dfrlab.org/2023/04/18/pot… Our team reviewed 4,882 accounts and found that some very old accounts, most of which had been dormant for many years, suddenly began tweeting between December 2022 and February 2023 at what appeared to be a random combination of words and a date

This week, @DFRLab confirmed aerial strikes north of #Bakhmut, looked at the battle for #Vuhledar, examined a Russian amplified video of the Quran being desecrated, and recaps tank training received by Ukrainian forces.

More in the #RussianWarReport🇷🇺🧵⬇️ atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atla… .@DFRLab collected open-source satellite imagery to document missile strikes on an industrial plant in the north of #Bakhmut. Analysis of the damage inflicted reveals that potential missiles struck buildings in two different industrial plants.

Red: Russia, Blue: Ukraine

March 3 | #RussianWarReport🇷🇺

• Russian increases Air Force activity ✈️
• Russia continues to pressure Bakhmut 💣
• Russians fighting for Ukraine infiltrate Bryansk 🇺🇦

These and more🧵⬇️ atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atla… The @DFRLab confirmed Russia has intensified its air power in recent weeks. Satellite imagery indicated Russia’s air force have increased aerial activity in Crimea.

On the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine, #RussianWarReport🇷🇺 shares the top lines of @DFRLab's new reports on Russian narratives. Even a year later, Russia is pushing narratives meant to undermine Ukraine and foment further regional conflicts. 🧵👇atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atla… The first of @DFRLab's two new reports, “Narrative Warfare” examines how the Kremlin and Russian news outlets justified a war of aggression through employing false and misleading narratives for the weeks and months leading up to the invasion. atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-resea…

In today’s second report, Russian information operations tried to undermine Ukrainian resistance and support among Ukraine’s allies. These operations are meant to shape public opinion against Ukraine and the West, including in Africa and Latin America. atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-resea… One Russian tactic embraced was tried and true: bombarding the information space with so many fake theories and denials of the atrocities they'd committed in Ukraine via outlets like Sputnik and RT that it was that much more difficult for people to differentiate fact and fiction.

In our first new report, we examined the Kremlin and pro-Kremlin media's false/misleading narratives in the lead up to the invasion of Ukraine. These were used to justify the attack, mask operational planning, and deny responsibility for the coming war. atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-resea… Our team analyzed 10,000+ articles from 14 pro-Kremlin media outlets to identify false/misleading narratives over the weeks leading up to the invasion, including Putin’s February 24, 2022 speech announcing the “special military operation.”