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How You Can Fight Russia's Plans to Troll Americans During Campaign 2020

Jul 14, 2020

The goal of Russian interference is to trigger emotional reactions and drive people to ideological extremes, making it nearly impossible to build a consensus. But Americans are less likely to have their emotions manipulated if they are aware that manipulation is the goal.
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

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
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
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
Blog

Online Shopping, Living in a Riskier World, Stress in Communities: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on Americans' online shopping habits during the pandemic, living in a riskier world, how stress builds in communities, and more.

Jul 10, 2020
Report

Online Shopping: Many Americans' Habits Haven't Changed During COVID-19

Almost two-thirds of Americans haven't changed their online shopping habits since the pandemic began. About one-quarter are shopping online more, but 13 percent are actually shopping online less.

Jul 7, 2020
Blog

The Postal Service, Election Security, Reducing Child Deaths: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the role of the U.S. Postal Service, preparing for the presidential election, reducing child deaths in Nigeria, and more.

Jun 26, 2020
Commentary

A Machine Learning Approach Could Help Counter Disinformation

Disinformation has become a central feature of the COVID-19 crisis. This type of malign information and high-tech “deepfake” imagery poses a risk to democratic societies worldwide by increasing public mistrust in governments and public authorities. New research highlights new ways to detect and dispel disinformation online.

Jun 25, 2020
Report

Machine Learning Can Help Detect Misinformation Online

As social media is increasingly being used as a primary source for news, there is a rising threat from the spread of malign and false information. A new machine learning model identified differences between authentic political supporters and Russian trolls shaping online debates about the 2016 U.S. election. How could the model be applied in the future?

Jun 23, 2020
Multimedia

COVID-19 Briefing Series: A Crisis of Disinformation

RAND's Jennifer Kavanagh and Todd Helmus discuss the effect of the pandemic on public trust in important sources of information and institutions that provide information.

May 22, 2020
Article

What Americans Think of the News—and What That Means for Democracy

RAND researchers asked a nationally representative sample of adults about their news-consumption habits. The answers reveal clues about what it might take to address Truth Decay—the decline of facts in U.S. public life.

Apr 28, 2020
Report

What Digital Materials Do Teachers Use?

Digital materials for lesson planning and instruction are becoming an increasingly important resource for teachers. A survey of English language arts, mathematics, and science teachers across the United States provides insights on which materials they use and what they consider barriers to use.

Apr 16, 2020
News Release

News Release

Future Quantum Computers May Pose Threat to Today's Most-Secure Communications

Quantum computers that are exponentially faster than any of our current classical computers and are capable of code-breaking applications could be available in 12 to 15 years, posing major risks to the security of current communications systems.

Apr 9, 2020
Article

Quantum Computers Will Break the Internet, but Only If We Let Them

Quantum computers are expected to be powerful enough to break the current cryptography that protects all digital communications. But this scenario is preventable if policymakers take actions now to minimize the harm that quantum computers may cause.

Apr 9, 2020
Commentary

How to Contain the Disinformation Virus

Like COVID-19, disinformation spreads only if we help it spread. While we have all been asked to stay at home as responsible citizens to contain the virus, we should also feel responsible for making it harder for disinformation to spread.

Apr 9, 2020
Report

Securing Communications in the Quantum Computing Age

Quantum computers are expected to revolutionize computing. But hackers may be able to use them to crack the encryption system that protects all digital communications. How soon could this scenario become a reality? And what can be done to prevent it?

Apr 9, 2020
Q&A

Truth Decay in the Coronavirus Moment: Q&A with Jennifer Kavanagh

Jennifer Kavanagh, who wrote the RAND book Truth Decay about the diminishing role that facts play in making important public policy decisions, calls the unfolding situation with the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 a worst-case scenario.

Mar 17, 2020
Report

Detecting Malign or Subversive Information Efforts over Social Media

The United States has a capability gap in detecting malign or subversive information campaigns in time to respond before they influence large audiences. A novel method can now detect these efforts.

Mar 16, 2020
Blog

Coronavirus Outbreak, Drones, the U.S. Power Grid: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the intensifying coronavirus outbreak, cyber threats from drones, the vulnerabilities of the U.S. power grid, and more.

Mar 6, 2020
Essay

American News Habits and the Challenge of Truth Decay

RAND researchers asked people where they get their news, how reliable they think it is, and whether they seek out viewpoints that are different from their own. The results provide some new clues to help diagnose and treat Truth Decay.

Mar 4, 2020

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