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dfrlab.bsky.social
DFRLab
@dfrlab.bsky.social
The Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab. Cultivating a global network of digital forensic analysts (#DigitalSherlocks) to combat disinformation.
Reposted by DFRLab
Reposted by DFRLab
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.
TikTok’s new ownership structure doesn’t solve security concerns for Americans
The deal does little to address the systemic challenges of information manipulation, foreign influence, and data exploitation on the platform.
www.atlanticcouncil.org
January 28, 2026 at 5:47 PM
Reposted by DFRLab
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
January 28, 2026 at 8:31 PM
Reposted by DFRLab
I discussed Iran’s internet blackout with the New York Times. The information void is actively being filled with influence ops from Iran’s adversaries and allies.

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/16/b... @dfrlab.bsky.social
Battles Over Truth Rage Online Amid Iran’s Internet Blackout
www.nytimes.com
January 20, 2026 at 3:54 PM
@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
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January 21, 2026 at 8:43 PM
🚨 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
January 15, 2026 at 4:39 PM
Reposted by DFRLab
Spoke to the Washington Post for this article about @dfrlab.bsky.social’s research into the online chaos that followed Maduro’s capture.
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.
How China and Russia are using Maduro’s capture to sway U.S. discourse
Chinese and Russian influence operations have sought to capitalize on the U.S. operation in Venezuela by spreading conspiracy theories, confusion and inflammatory claims, researchers say.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 12, 2026 at 4:15 PM
🤖🇻🇪 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
AI, memes, and hashtags: How China is battling the US online over Venezuela
Chinese state media and inauthentic accounts promoted narratives of US decline.
bit.ly
January 12, 2026 at 9:55 PM
Reposted by DFRLab
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.
How China and Russia are using Maduro’s capture to sway U.S. discourse
Chinese and Russian influence operations have sought to capitalize on the U.S. operation in Venezuela by spreading conspiracy theories, confusion and inflammatory claims, researchers say.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 11, 2026 at 4:00 AM
#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 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.
How China and Russia are using Maduro’s capture to sway U.S. discourse
Chinese and Russian influence operations have sought to capitalize on the U.S. operation in Venezuela by spreading conspiracy theories, confusion and inflammatory claims, researchers say.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 12, 2026 at 2:25 AM
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
January 12, 2026 at 2:19 AM
Reposted by DFRLab
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
Delcy Rodríguez’s untenable balancing act
Venezuela’s new acting president must choose between accommodating the Trump administration’s demands and preserving unity among the regime’s Chavista base.
www.atlanticcouncil.org
January 8, 2026 at 10:00 PM
🇻🇪 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
How China and Russia are using Maduro’s capture to sway U.S. discourse
Chinese and Russian influence operations have sought to capitalize on the U.S. operation in Venezuela by spreading conspiracy theories, confusion and inflammatory claims, researchers say.
wapo.st
January 10, 2026 at 6:49 PM
Reposted by DFRLab
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.
#StopTheSteal: Timeline of Social Media and Extremist Activities Leading to 1/6 Insurrection
How a convergence of disinformation, domestic extremists and anti-democracy movements reached a horrifying climax at the U.S. Capitol.
www.justsecurity.org
January 6, 2026 at 2:29 PM
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
January 8, 2026 at 8:44 PM
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
After Maduro: A new dawn for Venezuela
Regional experts unpack the implications of the US military operation to remove Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro from power on January 3.
bit.ly
January 5, 2026 at 7:51 PM
Reposted by DFRLab
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:
How social media manipulation fuels anti-Ukraine sentiment in Poland
How inauthentic social media activity exploits political and security events to seed division between Poland and Ukraine.
dfrlab.org
December 24, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Reposted by DFRLab
The DFRLab has long tracked the digital means that aided in Venezuela's descent into autocracy.

As Venezuela enters a pivotal moment, it is worth revisiting how Maduro weaponized digital tools. See 2024 report: "Venezuela: A Playbook for Digital Repression”

www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-res...
How Venezuela became a model for digital authoritarianism
This report dives deep into the state of media in Venezuela and the role it played in the country's slide toward authoritarianism.
www.atlanticcouncil.org
January 5, 2026 at 11:32 AM
Reposted by DFRLab
I’ll be moderating this discussion on Wednesday on lessons from Moldova’s elections. Anyone who cares about information or election integrity should be closing watching what is unfolding in Moldova.
December 16, 2025 at 5:20 AM
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
December 17, 2025 at 1:17 PM
📅 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
Lessons on countering foreign manipulation from Moldova’s 2025 elections
The Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab discusses lessons learned from safeguarding the 2025 elections in Moldova against foreign information manipulation and interference.
bit.ly
December 15, 2025 at 6:02 PM
🇲🇩 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
Study of the Information Environment: MOLDOVA - Disinfo Digest
The "MUGA Project – An Examination of the Information Environment: Moldova" report was created in response to the growing threats of propaganda and disinformation, which increasingly affect the politi...
bit.ly
November 28, 2025 at 4:58 AM
🇨🇦In Toronto, the DFRLab joined @globalaffairs.canada.ca’s Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM Canada) & @utoronto.ca for the G7 Digital Transnational Repression Detection Academy Symposium launching a new initiative, strengthening how G7+ partners detect & counter digital transnational repression.
November 25, 2025 at 10:16 PM
🇺🇦 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
Information environment research: UKRAINE - Disinfo Digest
The report, "Information Environment Research: Ukraine," was developed as part of the MUGA project, implemented by the INFO OPS Poland Foundation and DFRLab (Atlantic Council). Its primary objective i...
bit.ly
November 24, 2025 at 9:37 PM
🇦🇲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
Information environment research – Armenia - Disinfo Digest
Raport: Analysis of Armenia's information environment The report you hold was prepared as part of the MUGA project, implemented by the INFO OPS Poland Foundation and DFRLab (Atlantic Council). Its goa...
bit.ly
November 19, 2025 at 7:37 PM