December 17, 2020

Misinformation Watch

November 9, 2020

Barr hands prosecutors the authority to investigate voter fraud claims

August 18, 2020

Manafort shared campaign info with Russian intelligence officer, Senate panel finds

The nearly 1,000-page report offers a detailed portrait of Manafort’s connection to Konstantin Kilimnik, whom the Senate panel identifies as a Russian intelligence officer with potential ties to the hack of Democratic emails during the 2016 election. 

August 18, 2020

Trump’s 2016 campaign chair was a ‘grave counterintelligence threat,’ had contact with Russian intelligence, Senate panel finds

The Trump campaign chairman’s contacts with Kremlin-linked officials posed a “grave counterintelligence threat,” according to the final volume of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, which also found that some of the campaign’s other Russian contacts had closer ties to Moscow’s government and intelligence services than previously reported.

June 9, 2020
Russia’s 2020 plan

April 20th, 2020
Voting Amid a Pandemic

March 3rd, 2020
Democrats and Republicans both worry about foreign misinformation campaigns. But Republicans also blame journalists.

January 28, 2020
BlueVoyant Partners with Defending Digital Campaigns to Help Protect U.S. Elections
BlueVoyant will provide eligible campaigns and political parties, committees, and related organizations with services and resources to help defend against cyber threats.

January 28, 2020
Election Officials To Convene Amid Historic Focus On Voting And Interference
Officials are preparing for a range of possibilities, including disruption of voter registration systems, social media disinformation campaigns, ransomware attacks and even power outages.

January 23, 2020
The Sorry State of US Election Security Makes Foreign Interference Inevitable

Congress’ willful failure to pass laws to address this challenge makes it practically inevitable that foreign actors will continue to take advantage of America’s vulnerabilities

January 22, 2020
Now Law: Zwicker & Benson “Bot” Measure to Prohibit Misleading Communication Involving Purchases, Elections

a bill prohibiting the use of an online “bot” to
communicate or interact for the purpose of misleading a person during a
purchase, or to influence the outcome of an election, was signed into law by
the (NJ) Governor on Tuesday.

January 22, 2020
Fringe Groups Undermine Democracy via Social Media: Kofi Annan Think-Tank

The think-tank outlined a long list of proposals that
would place government and industry checks on social media firm and would also
require them to strengthen their internal controls.

January, 22, 2020
Give Russia reason not to interfere
Complete invulnerability is impossible, but what is possible is deterrence. If Russia knows for certain that it will pay a high price for meddling, it will be less likely to meddle.

January 20, 2020
Iowa Democrats revamped their caucuses to fend off disinformation. Now some fear the changes could sow new confusion in tight 2020 race.
Russian operatives using social media sowed doubt about the integrity of Iowa’s result…An ad promoted by Russian actors on Facebook alleged that “Hillary Clinton has already committed voter fraud during the Democrat Iowa Caucus,”…For party officials here, the revelation underscored the need to arm staffers against not just cyberattacks but also against false narratives that are amplified on social media. 

January 20, 2020
MPs call for unlimited fines for those who breach electoral law. 
“The outdated nature of UK election law has pitched us into a battle for the very soul of our democracy,” said the Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, the group’s chair.

January 17, 2020
Russia has already won the fight to undermine U.S. elections
Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign has already set the tone for the upcoming election.

January 17, 2020
Alabama fighting election interference with federal grant
Alabama’s election officials will thwart cyber-attacks by using paper ballots. A 7-million-dollar federal grant will also be used to fight cyber fraud. 

January 14, 2020
We Must Combat Russian Attempts to Influence Troops Online
Russian misinformation efforts are reaching into the military ranks, and it appears to have led some to view the country as more friend than foe. 

January 14, 2020
Sanders hits Facebook, GOP in response to alleged Russian hack of Ukrainian gas company
Facebook and other tech companies have become so powerful and so greedy that they seem willing to allow foreign powers like Russia continue to meddle in our elections so long as it helps their bottom line.” 

January 14, 2020
Keeping US elections safe from hackers
Robert Mueller’s former chief of staff from his time at the FBI says Washington isn’t doing nearly enough to secure U.S. election systems in the wake of the special counsel report on Russian interference in 2016.

January 13, 2020
The Internet Broke Democracy. To Fix It, Design for Human Rights

The problem with Facebook and Twitter is they weren’t designed with democracy and human rights in mind. And they certainly weren’t designed with the potential threat of disinformation and misinformation in mind. What we’re seeing with the major platforms right now is a scrambled attempt to rebuild the plane while the plane is being flown.

January 13, 2020
Election officials look to launch security outreach plan

Wisconsin officials are considering…a public relations push to reassure voters that elections in the state are secure after nearly three-quarters of respondents to a survey this fall said they were worried about threats.

January 13, 2020
Russians Hacked Ukrainian Gas Company at Center of Impeachment

“…the experts say the timing and scale of the attacks suggest
that the Russians could be searching for potentially embarrassing material on
the Bidens”

January 13, 2020
Facebook Bans Deepfake Videos That Could Sway Voters, But Is It Enough?

“Let the misinformation campaigns begin.” 

December 19, 2019
Former White House officials say they feared Putin influenced the president’s views on Ukraine and 2016 campaign

One former senior White House official said Trump even stated so explicitly at one point, saying he knew Ukraine was the real culprit because “Putin told me.”

December 17, 2019
New federal funds for election security garner mixed reactions on Capitol Hill

“more money for election security is good, but it is *not* a substitute for passing election security reform legislation that Senate GOP leadership has been blocking all year.” – Senator Mark Warner

December 15, 2019
2020 Campaigns Throw Their Hands Up on Disinformation

They may “wake up the day after the election and say, ‘Oh, no, the Russians stole another one,’”–

November 30, 2019
A Pennsylvania County’s Election Day Nightmare Underscores Voting Machine Concerns
“Vote totals in a Northampton County judge’s race showed one candidate, Abe Kassis, a Democrat, had just 164 votes out of 55,000 ballots across more than 100 precincts.”

November 27, 2019
Opponents of Elizabeth Warren spread a doctored photo on Twitter. Her campaign couldn’t stop its spread.
“Twitter declined to answer specific questions about the account, including whether it was in fact operating from the United States. “

November 21, 2019
Fiona Hill opening statement

November 16, 2019
Roger Stone Is Convicted of Impeding Investigators in a Bid to Protect Trump
Mr. Stone, a longtime informal adviser to President Trump, obstructed one of Congress’s Russia investigations and lied to lawmakers.

September 4, 2019
Open Letter to Moscow Mitch