Under Attack: Malign Influence & Disinformation

"[I]f we want to protect our own democracy and our own security we need to be alert to the fact that we are subject to these [malign influence & disinformation] campaigns, even if we can't quite see them or trace their finger prints." Dan Twining, President, The International Republican Institute. Key Links https://www.democracyspeaks.org/blog/iri-communications-experts-provide-vital-support-during-challenging-times (IRI Communications Experts Provide Vital Support During Challenging Times) NDI Presidential Election Reports: https://www.ndi.org/sites/default/files/NDI%20Ukraine%20Local%20Elections%20Statement%20-%20October%202020%20-%20ENG%20final_v3.pdf (2019 first round), https://www.ndi.org/sites/default/files/NDI%20Ukraine%20-%20April%2021%202019%20Second%20Round%20Presidential%20Election%20-%20Election%20Observation%20Statment%20-%20Final%20ENG%20v2.pdf (2019 second round), https://www.ndi.org/sites/default/files/NDI%20Ukraine%20-%20July%2021%202019%20Parliamentary%20Election%20Observation%20Statment%20-%20ENG%20vf.pdf (2019 parliamentary election), https://www.ndi.org/sites/default/files/NDI%20Ukraine%20Local%20Elections%20Statement%20-%20October%202020%20-%20ENG%20final_v3.pdf (2020 local election ) https://counteringdisinformation.org/ (The CEPPS Countering Disinformation Guide) https://www.cepps.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Ecuador-1.pdf (Countering Disinformation in Ecuador ) ----- While the explosive growth of digital and social media has skyrocketed to universal access over the past several years, nations with nefarious intent, including Russia and China, can now sow seeds of chaos and confusion more easily than ever. In this episode of Democracy! The Podcast, we’ll focus on the threat malign influence and disinformation present to stable societies and democracies everywhere.   We’ll start in the ancient land of Armenia, where twin crises collided last year, ushering in never before seen levels of nefarious interference.   Then we’ll take a look at Ukrai