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Disinformation May Thrive as Transparency Deteriorates Across Social Media
What can be done to confront disinformation in an environment where content moderation is increasingly viewed as overly partisan and social media transparency has declined? Educating the public on disinformation tactics could help, though concerns about politicization persist.
Sep 17, 2024

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Social Media Manipulation in the Era of AI
AI has opened a potential propaganda gold mine. Large language models like ChatGPT can learn to mimic human speech. They can respond to jokes and cultural references and engage users in debates. Social media platforms should redouble their efforts to identify, attribute, and remove fake accounts.
Aug 29, 2024
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Rampant Nationalism Is Undermining China's 'Three Warfares'
China has invested a fortune in influence operations to shape its national image and sway international public opinion in its favor. Yet grassroots Chinese nationalists are diminishing the return on Beijing's investment.
Aug 23, 2024
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Black Americans Aren't Buying Election-Year Falsehoods. Here's Why.
In 2020, fewer Black Americans believed the false claims of widespread election and voter fraud than their white counterparts did. What lessons can be learned from Black Americans' resilience to disinformation?
Jul 25, 2024
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AI Companies Say Safety Is a Priority. It's Not
AI companies claim they have a laser focus on ensuring that their products are safe. But these claims are undercut when insiders paint a familiar picture of a culture of negligence and secrecy that dismisses warnings and hides evidence about unsafe practices. So what can these companies do differently?
Jul 9, 2024
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India's National Elections—A New Ingredient in the Mix
As India's national elections enter their 7th and final phase of voting on June 1, a new influential phenomenon has emerged: the proliferation of what may be called “micro-news providers” almost entirely broadcasting through the medium of YouTube.
May 30, 2024
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Emerging Threats to Financial Markets
The greatest danger to the U.S. financial system is the constant assault on reality—the deepfake videos and manipulated AI—that could weaken the system over time. It will be slow, but it will be steady and hard to stop—like financial climate change.
May 13, 2024
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A Foreign Government, Oprah, and Fires in Maui: The Impact of Misinformation on Community Resiliency
Crises and disasters are opportunities to undermine the national unity that forms in response to tragedy: U.S. adversaries may gain an advantage when there is discord among the American public. But even if information operations are cheap for foreign governments to execute, they also can be simple to counteract effectively through routine emergency management preparedness activities.
Feb 23, 2024
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Deepfakes Aren't the Disinformation Threat They're Made Out to Be
Concerns over generative AI too often stray into alarmism, of hypothetical dystopias where fact is indistinguishable from fiction. That has distorted the picture. To really understand deepfakes, it is better to look at how they are being used today.
Dec 19, 2023
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Terror and the Secondary Trauma of Social Media
As graphic images from Israel and Gaza proliferate on social media, it is likely that these images are having significant negative impacts on the mental health and well-being of many. Mitigating their impact on global mental health might require making hard choices and doing the work to forge community bonds that prioritize everyone's well-being.
Nov 4, 2023
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Protecting Free Speech Compels Some Form of Social Media Regulation
Given the profound challenges posed by social media, corrective measures need to go beyond “deplatforming” bad apples. But how can the United States make such a structural change without compromising the democratic tradition of free speech?
Oct 20, 2023
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Dismantling the Disinformation Business of Chinese Influence Operations
Some commercial actors benefit from involvement in Chinese influence operations. What steps could the U.S. government take to address this?
Oct 17, 2023
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When a Quantum Computer Is Able to Break Our Encryption, It Won't Be a Secret
Policymakers and cybersecurity analysts should avoid messaging that emphasizes the risk that CRQCs developed in secret could be imminent or already operational. There is already more than enough reason to upgrade our communications systems to resist attacks from quantum computers as soon as possible.
Sep 13, 2023
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A Potential Alternative for Regulating Internet-Based Platform Services
The use of internet-based platform services like Amazon, DoorDash, and Uber Eats is increasing and can be helpful. But the companies that offer these services may be engaging in predatory practices that can harm users and local businesses. Some form of centralized policy action may help; local governments could play a more active role.
Aug 29, 2023
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What Are Practical Steps to Embrace the Messiness of Public-Private Collaboration in the Fight Against Botnets?
Botnets are networks of computers infected with malware that an attacker controls and uses to fulfill malicious cyber activities. Decisionmakers could incorporate a complex adaptive systems perspective to assess if their organization and immediate network, as well as the overall ecosystem, are adaptable and resilient enough to respond to botnet activities.
Aug 16, 2023
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Truth Decay and National Security
Even if the U.S. national security apparatus can operate entirely outside of politics, it remains exposed to the effects of Truth Decay—the diminishing role of facts and analysis in American public life. Little work is being done to understand how severe the impact of Truth Decay is on national security and, more importantly, how to mitigate it.
Aug 1, 2023

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