The Internet

Featured

  • Boston Public School teacher Princess Bryant teaches her kindergarten class via video-conference from her apartment after schools were closed for the remainder of the school year because of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., April 28, 2020, photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters

    Report

    The Digital Divide and COVID-19

    Sep 24, 2020

    Findings from a survey of U.S. teachers reveal how limited home internet access has been a barrier to providing instruction amid pandemic-related school closures. The problem is particularly acute among high-poverty schools.

  • A woman shocked and upset by something on her phone, photo by AntonioGuillem/Getty Images

    Report

    Strategies for Countering Online Abuse

    Jun 18, 2020

    Digital platforms that let users interact virtually and often anonymously have given rise to harassment and other criminal behaviors. Tech-facilitated abuse—such as nonconsensual pornography, doxing, and swatting—compromises privacy and safety. How can law enforcement respond?

Explore The Internet

  • A person holds a credit card and types on a laptop while online shopping, photo by Ngampol/Adobe Stock

    Report

    How Is COVID-19 Changing Online Shopping Habits?

    Americans' online shopping habits have continued to shift during the pandemic. By August 2020, more people were shopping online, and 39 percent reported spending more money on their purchases. People who spent less were likely to have lost employment.

    Nov 10, 2020

  • In this video, RAND mathematician Mary Lee examines emerging Internet of Bodies (IoB) technologies.

    Multimedia

    What Is the Internet of Bodies?

    RAND mathematician Mary Lee examines technologies that make up the Internet of Bodies (IoB); explores their benefits, risks, and ethical implications; surveys the regulatory landscape; and makes recommendations to balance IoB risks and rewards.

    Oct 29, 2020

  • Graphic depicting a man surrounded by potential Internet of Bodies health devices, graphic by Alyson Youngblood/RAND Corporation

    Article

    The Internet of Bodies Will Change Everything, for Better or Worse

    The rise of devices that connect the human body to the web is accelerating rapidly. This Internet of Bodies could revolutionize health care and improve our quality of life. But without appropriate guardrails, it could also jeopardize our most intimate personal information and introduce several ethical concerns.

    Oct 29, 2020

  • Increasing Connections. A closely connected network of people and technology. Illustration.

    Multimedia

    Using AI to Tackle Disinformation Online

    RAND Europe analyst Linda Slapakova talks with RAND senior behavioral scientist William Marcellino about their study on human-machine detection of online-based malign information.

    Oct 23, 2020

  • Female hand touching screen of the phone surrounded with social media notification icons, photo by nikolas_stock/AdobeStock

    Journal Article

    Social Media and Influence Operations Technologies: Implications for Great Power Competition

    Russia, China, and the so-called Islamic State are three key U.S. adversaries that have exploited online technologies for propaganda. This chapter reviews the aims, capabilities, and limitations of online propaganda for each of these entities.

    Oct 23, 2020

  • A compass pointing to facts, image by frankpeters/Getty Images

    Commentary

    Think Tanks in the Era of Truth Decay

    Truth Decay is the diminishing role of facts and analysis in American public life, and it cuts much deeper than any political party or demographic. It's why nonpartisan think tanks like RAND are as important now as they have ever been.

    Oct 22, 2020

  • A poll worker casts a mail-in ballot for a voter at a drive-thru polling station during the primary election amid the COVID-19 outbreak in Miami, Florida, August 18, 2020, photo by Marco Bello/Reuters

    Project

    Analyzing Election Disinformation Efforts

    Foreign interference in U.S. politics has been a concern since the nation was founded. More recently, the U.S. Senate Committee on Intelligence presented evidence that Russia directed activities against election infrastructures and spread disinformation on social media during the 2016 presidential election.

    Oct 20, 2020

  • COVID-19 and the Digital Divide

    Multimedia

    COVID-19 and the Digital Divide: Inequities in Online Learning

    RAND senior policy researcher Julia Kaufman explains how the digital divide impacted teaching and learning when schools closed last spring in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Oct 16, 2020

  • News Release

    News Release

    Facebook Users May Spread Russian Propaganda Less Often When They Are Aware of Its Source

    Russian propaganda is hitting its mark on social media—generating strong partisan reactions that may help intensify political divisions—but Facebook users are less apt to press the “like” button on content when they learn that it is part of a foreign propaganda campaign.

    Oct 15, 2020

  • Laptop depicting Russian propaganda on Facebook with a bullseye mark, images by guteksk7, iiierlok_xolms, carmelod, and FishPouch/Adobe Stock

    Report

    Facebook Users May Spread Russian Propaganda Less Often If They Know Its Source

    Russian propaganda is hitting its mark on social media, generating strong partisan reactions that help intensify political divisions. But Facebook users are less apt to press the like button on content when they learn that it is part of a foreign propaganda campaign.

    Oct 15, 2020

  • News Release

    News Release

    Coordinated Efforts on Twitter to Interfere in the U.S. Presidential Election Are Likely Foreign

    A coordinated effort on Twitter to influence the upcoming U.S. presidential election—using trolls (fake personas that spread hyper-partisan themes) and super-connectors (highly-networked accounts)—aims to sow distrust, exacerbate political divisions and undermine confidence in American democracy.

    Oct 8, 2020

  • Overlapping silhouettes of mobile phone users, illustration by smartboy10/Getty Images

    Report

    Foreign Actors Are Again Using Twitter to Interfere with the U.S. Election

    After the 2016 U.S. election it became clear that Russian agents had engaged in online efforts to sow chaos and inflame partisan divides among Americans. Interference is happening again now. It includes posts from trolls—fake personas spreading hyper-partisan themes—and superconnectors designed to spread messages quickly.

    Oct 8, 2020

  • Report

    Report

    Counter-Radicalization Bot Research: Using Social Bots to Fight Violent Extremism

    As the online recruitment of violent extremist organizations grows, the U.S. government may benefit from promising emerging technology tools to rapidly detect targets of such recruitment efforts and deliver counter-radicalization content to them.

    Oct 8, 2020

  • Russian Interference in the 2020 U.S. Election (Crop)

    Multimedia

    Russian Interference in the 2020 U.S. Election

    RAND military sociologist Marek Posard describes several broad risks of foreign interference in American democracy and explains how Russia may use reflexive control theory to cause disruption in the 2020 U.S. Election.

    Oct 1, 2020

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in a video conference call with officials and public representatives of the region of Dagestan amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia May 18, 2020, photo by Alexei Nikolsky/Reuters

    Report

    How Russia Targets U.S. Elections

    In this campaign season, Russia might try to manipulate U.S. voters through social media as it did in 2016. New technologies have made these efforts easier. Russia's tactics aim to polarize Americans, create distrust, and paralyze the political process. What is the best defense against them?

    Oct 1, 2020

  • A teacher showing a globe to her online elementary students, photo by ake1150sb/Getty Images

    Report

    Schools Weren't Prepared for a Crisis Like COVID-19

    Before COVID-19, less than half of U.S. public schools had a written plan for dealing with a pandemic. And only 38 states had publicly available school health emergency plans. How did schools' preparation affect their transitions to remote learning and principals' confidence in student achievement?

    Sep 29, 2020

  • Chinese flag with JavaScript code in the background, photos by daboost and mehaniq41/Adobe Stock

    Report

    How China Uses Big Data Analytics

    China's quest to become the global center for artificial intelligence starts with mastering big data analytics. Its aggressive strategy encompasses economic, military, police, and intelligence functions. Beijing is already using big data to survey the country's domestic population and enhance its military.

    Sep 1, 2020

  • Twitter logo and binary cyber codes, November 26, 2019, photo by Dado Ruvic/Reuters

    Commentary

    Insider Threat at Twitter Is a Risk to Everyone

    Three young hackers were charged in the hijacking of dozens of high-profile Twitter accounts. Their tactics point out how vulnerabilities at tech platforms can pose a risk to national security.

    Aug 7, 2020

  • A man seated in front of a computer monitor in a dark room, photo by tommaso79/Getty Images

    Commentary

    Deadly Terrorist Threats Abound. Here Are the Key Dangers

    Today's self-selecting solo terrorists answer only to their god, whether seeking to destroy all government, pursuing racial separation or genocidal goals, expressing sexual dissatisfaction, or simply wanting to leave their mark. Military operations are irrelevant. This is a deeper societal problem.

    Jul 20, 2020