DFRLab

After Russia restricted imports of Armenian agricultural products, a fake @politico.com article claimed the EU was to blame. The DFRLab and @civilnet.bsky.social traced how the false story spread across platforms and languages through pro-Kremlin networks: bit.ly/3TJ3bBd

🇪🇺🇺🇸 What’s next for the transatlantic tech relationship? Join us in Brussels on Oct 8 for a conversation on digital sovereignty, security, competitiveness, and the future of EU-US tech cooperation. Register to join us in person: bit.ly/4hRsSZo

Russia’s first federal AI law is now in effect... and Moscow wants to export its vision of “sovereign AI” abroad. But what kind of sovereignty will its customers actually get? The DFRLab's @buziashvili.bsky.social examines Russia’s emerging AI strategy: bit.ly/4ydSTaF

The transatlantic digital relationship faces a growing trust deficit 🇪🇺🇺🇸 As the EU pursues digital sovereignty and the US prioritizes tech dominance, @markscott.bsky.social examines what the divide means for digital policy. bit.ly/4y5j0kd

Trustworthy AI won't be built by principles alone. It requires institutions that can test systems, share knowledge, coordinate responses, and build confidence across borders. That's the next challenge for AI governance. Read more: bit.ly/3TkQyvx

📅 TODAY | 11:30 AM ET Who will finance the future of global connectivity? 🛜 Join us for a discussion with @kentonthibaut.bsky.social and Jochai Ben-Avie on the financing models, partnerships, and policies that will shape the next generation of digital infrastructure. 🔗 bit.ly/4v759c4

A new investigation from the DFRLab & @civilnet.bsky.social finds that Evrazia, a Russian org sanctioned by the US, EU, and UK, has been replicating its Moldovan election interference model in the lead up to Armenia's June 7 elections bit.ly/4abdjYk

If you attended @stratcomcoe.bsky.social's #RigaStratComDialogue this week, there's a good chance you ran into a DFRLaber. From disrupting information threats to exploring AI’s impact on strategic communications, our team was all over the agenda. Check out some of our fav memories 👇

🚨DEADLINE EXTENDED 🚨 Good news: There's more time to apply to our 2026 cohort! We've extended the Digital Sherlocks deadline to 21 April @ 23:59 ET. Apply now: bit.ly/47JLw02

🚨DEADLINE EXTENDED 🚨 Good news: There's more time to apply to our 2026 cohort! We've extended the Digital Sherlocks deadline to 21 April @ 23:59 ET. Apply now: bit.ly/47JLw02

If you’re working in journalism, research, or civil society and trying to make sense of what’s happening online...Digital Sherlocks is for you. Applications for our 2026 cohort close soon. Apply now: bit.ly/47JLw02

#ICYMI: Applications are due April 14th @ 23:59 ET 🚨 🔗 bit.ly/47JLw02

1/ I have exciting news: @dfrlab.bsky.social ‘s Digital Sherlocks is back! 🎉 This one is personal — as a #DigitalSherlocks alumna myself, managing and relaunching the program is a special moment. For the first time, we are also partnering with @penn-mediated.bsky.social !

1/5 BERLIN: On Apr 1, JHR hosted an urgent conversation on #transnationalrepression w the Canadian Embassy in Germany & @atlanticcouncil.bsky.social's @dfrlab.bsky.social. ft. a powerhouse panel that has endured the lived reality of TNR + bravely continues to speak truth to power. 👇 📸: Jens Schicke

Applications are now open for Digital Sherlocks 2026 🕵️‍♀️ Join a global cohort learning how to investigate online information, track influence operations, and strengthen information integrity. 🗓 Apply by April 14 🔗 bit.ly/47JLw02

Read the report at @dfrlab.bsky.social. Share it with policymakers, human rights advocates, and anyone working on Venezuela's transition. dfrlab.org/wp-content/u...

Venezuela's surveillance state did not fall with Maduro. The system is still running under Delcy Rodríguez. A joint research between @conexionsegura.bsky.social and the @atlanticcouncil.bsky.social's Democracy + Tech Initiative documents the repressive infrastructure. dfrlab.org/2026/03/26/w...

Today @ 10AM ET 🚀 Tune in as @atlanticcouncil.bsky.social's Democracy + Tech Initiative & @conexionsegura.bsky.social launch the most comprehensive analysis to date of Venezuela’s massive surveillance system 🇻🇪 Register: t.co/l2QJPjyzaK

Venezuela’s surveillance system spans AI CCTV, telecom interception, and more 🇻🇪 📞 Join us March 26 for the launch of "Watch the Watchers" where experts will discuss what this means for Venezuela's political future. Register: bit.ly/4uQGrNi

Apply by March 1 for the Latinos, Media, and Democracy Program, in collaboration with the @atlanticcouncil.bsky.social @dfrlab.bsky.social ddia.org/en/LMDP-2026

A new entity controlling TikTok in the US is being sold as a step toward addressing foreign influence and data security concerns, writes Kenton Thibaut. But China’s influence campaigns and access to data on Americans do not rely on TikTok.

Charlie Kirk's shooting drove widespread awareness, transforming him into a household name in Canada. As polarized online discussions spread, the CDMRN launched a joint-investigation with MEO, @disinfowatch.bsky.social, @dfrlab.bsky.social & @pearl-uoft.bsky.social 🧵 #cdnpoli

@nosumacero.bsky.social joins Osavul for a conversation about Venezuela's complex information environment, unpacking the intricate relationship between power, narratives, and technology in Venezuela's ongoing struggle for freedom and democracy 🇻🇪 🎥 bit.ly/4jQLWqf

🚨 How do we move beyond tracking individual incidents to understanding how influence actually works? A new report w/ @disinfo.eu @checkfirst.network @viginum.bsky.social, Cassini, @diplo.de @eudiplomacy.bsky.social offers a framework to analyze #FIMI at the operational level. 🔗 bit.ly/49UtAkx

🤖🇻🇪 Following #MadurosCapture, Chinese state-linked actors pushed a deliberate narrative online: the US is an destabilizing hegemon while Beijing is a defender of international law. @kentonthibaut.bsky.social unpacks the digital narrative battle fueled by memes & AI: bit.ly/49xWLIZ

Russia and China have launched influence operations to quickly capitalize on controversy — this time surrounding the U.S. operation to seize the Venezuelan president — by spreading conspiracy theories and disingenuous content, researchers said.

#ICYMI: @washingtonpost.com reports on how foreign actors reframed the Venezuela operation globally, drawing on new insights from DFRLab's @laylam.bsky.social @buziashvili.bsky.social @kentonthibaut.bsky.social & @nosumacero.bsky.social 🇻🇪

Russia’s influence networks didn’t wait. Within hours of #NicolásMadurosCapture, pro-Kremlin actors launched coordinated narratives aimed at diluting US credibility online. 🔎 Analysis from @buziashvili.bsky.social tracks how it unfolded: bit.ly/4aOM5YI

Delcy Rodríguez's role as Venezuela's acting president is an impossible balancing act: satisfy Trump's demands, maintain support from the Chavista coalition, and keep alliances with China, Cuba, Iran, and Russia. www.atlanticcouncil.org/dispatches/d... @atlanticcouncil.bsky.social

🇻🇪 A new @washingtonpost.com exclusive spotlights how Russia & China launched coordinated influence campaigns after #NicolásMadurosCapture, drawing on DFRLab insight from @nosumacero.bsky.social @buziashvili.bsky.social @kentonthibaut.bsky.social & @laylam.bsky.social: wapo.st/4qch5qj

My team at the @dfrlab.bsky.social put this together after the insurrection, analyzing all the #stopthesteal data we had been tracking since the previous September.

2026 is just getting started, but the information threats we’re facing didn’t begin this year. Before looking ahead, here’s what the DFRLab learned in 2025...and why those lessons matter now: bit.ly/4pvwTmX

What comes after #Maduro? 🇻🇪 Join the @atlanticcouncil.bsky.social on Jan 6 for expert insights on Venezuela’s path forward featuring @nosumacero.bsky.social, Senior Research Fellow at the DFRLab's Democracy+Tech Initiative. Register now: bit.ly/4jrcjmp

My colleagues at the @dfrlab.bsky.social look at how inauthentic social media activity exploits political and security events to seed division between Poland and Ukraine:

Join us today @ 8:30 AM ET | 2:30 PM CET for key lessons from Moldova’s 2025 elections w/ DFRLab's @buziashvili.bsky.social @victoriaolari.bsky.social & @laylam.bsky.social bit.ly/49cY1lG

📅 Dec 17 | 8:30 AM ET What can #Moldova2025Elections teach us about countering foreign information manipulation? Join DFRLab’s @victoriaolari.bsky.social & @buziashvili.bsky.social for a discussion and report launch under the FIMI ISAC’s FDEI project: bit.ly/49cY1lG

🇲🇩 Facing dynamically evolving propaganda threats, Moldova’s information space is under sustained pressure. Our latest report w/ INFO OPS Poland examines how foreign actors exploit polarization & media fragmentation to shape public opinion bit.ly/4pV46cj

🇺🇦 Despite developing remarkable resilience since 2014, #Ukraine’s information space remains deeply contested. Our latest report w/ INFO OPS Poland shows how years of conflict have reshaped the information environment: bit.ly/4pypCDt

🇦🇲Our latest report under #ProjectMUGA w/ INFO OPS Poland Foundation digs into the fault lines that make Armenia especially vulnerable to foreign influence, and how Russia is exploiting this moment of political and social transition. Read now: bit.ly/4peZ0XH

📅Today @ 9AM ET Join the Democracy+Tech Initiative as we explore how digital identity is reshaping governance across Africa: bit.ly/3K4IPxk Have questions for the panelists? Visit askac.org to share your insight 💬

📅Nov 19 @ 9AM | Digital identity systems are transforming governance across Africa while raising big questions about privacy, inclusion & power. Join DFRLab's Democracy+Tech Initiative as we explore how digital identity is reshaping governance, elections & rights across the continent bit.ly/3K4IPxk

Congratulations to the entire team at @dfrlab.bsky.social for the release of "Authoritarian reach and democratic response: A tactical framework to counter and prevent transnational repression (TNR)."

#TransnationalRepression is reshaping how authoritarian regimes project power & target critics abroad. @marcuskolga.bsky.social @imleeszefung.bsky.social @kentonthibaut.bsky.social @nosumacero.bsky.social & @lisandranovo.bsky.social introduce a framework to counter these operations: bit.ly/3Xgfz9I