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Alliance for Securing Democracy

9 Feb, 11 tweets, 5 min read

We've expanded the Authoritarian Interference Tracker! In addition to tracking acts of Russian interference, the tool now catalogues 165 examples of interference from China in more than 20 transatlantic countries since 2000. securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/toolbox/author…

Like the Russian government, the Chinese government uses 5 tools to interfere in democracies: information manipulation, cyber operations, malign finance, civil society subversion, and economic coercion.securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/a-note-on-comi…

@barros_bryce

The new cases provide a picture of how the Chinese state uses asymmetric tools to undermine democracy and promote China’s values, @barros_bryce and @EtienneSoula explain. Here are some examples 👇securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/here-and-now-c…

China aims to export its authoritarian model around the world in part by reshaping the global info space.

Ex: In March 2020, MFA officials shared a doctored video purporting to show Italians singing “Thank you China!” after receiving coronavirus relief.securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/incident/chine…

@FBI

China's cyber ops prioritize targets that have clear economic or security value.
Ex: In May 2020, @FBI & @CISAgov said China-linked hackers were targeting U.S. groups researching vaccines in an attempt to obtain intellectual property & public health data. securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/incident/prc-a…

China selects the targets of its malign financial support based on their ability to advance Chinese interests.

Ex: Huawei paid for a Czech think tank’s study on the costs of excluding Huawei from the country’s 5G network in April 2020. securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/incident/inves…

China uses civil society subversion to promote its authoritarian model and stifle critics living in democracies.

Ex: Chinese authorities reportedly monitor & threaten supporters of the Hong Kong democracy movement & ppl from Xinjiang living in Ireland. securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/incident/chine…

China’s economic weight is at the heart of its capacity to sway key actors in democratic nations.

Ex: in 2019, the Chinese ambassador to Berlin warned of “consequences” for the German car industry should Huawei be banned from Germany’s 5G network. securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/incident/chine…

Chinese information manipulation, cyber operations, malign finance, civil society subversion, and economic coercion reinforce each other and are progressively constraining democracies’ ability to fight back and safeguard their values and autonomy. securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/here-and-now-c…

Europe and North America must now work hand-in-hand to ensure that democratic institutions and processes are resilient enough to withstand the threat posed by the Chinese state’s malign influence and asymmetric toolset. Here's how they can start. securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/linking-values…

Explore the 550+ documented cases of Russian and Chinese state-backed interference in democracies in the expanded Authoritarian Interference Tracker 👇 securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/toolbox/author…

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More from @SecureDemocracy

Alliance for Securing Democracy

@SecureDemocracy

17 Nov 20

@rosenbergerlm

China's engagement with Europe has increased significantly over the past decade.

In a new feature video, @rosenbergerlm and @Julie_C_Smith lay out China's toolkit and explain what Europe can do to address this threat and protect democracy.

@Julie_C_Smith

China has increasingly engaged with Europe on a people-to-people basis and on social media, but the biggest change revolves around Chinese investment, @Julie_C_Smith explains. Over 670 Chinese & Hong Kong-based entities w/ ties to mainland China invested in Europe from 2008-2018.

@rosenbergerlm

Why does it matter? Europe is a key area in the Chinese Communist Party's efforts to expand its influence globally and to reshape global norms in its own image, @rosenbergerlm says. It seeks to divide Europe from within and to divide the US from Europe to weaken its competitors.

Read 4 tweets

Alliance for Securing Democracy

@SecureDemocracy

30 Oct 20

Authoritarian states are contesting democracies to reshape the global order.

Over the past 6 months, we convened a bipartisan task force of leading experts to tackle this challenge. Today, we published our findings. securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/linking-values…

Authoritarian actors have seized the initiative in this competition. They're exploiting the openness of democratic societies to undermine institutions and exporting authoritarian norms, standards, and technologies around the globe.

Fortunately, democracies—and the US in particular—can regain the upper hand in this competition by addressing vulnerabilities, leveraging strategic advantages, and reframing the geopolitical contest in terms more favorable to democracy.

Read 15 tweets

Alliance for Securing Democracy

@SecureDemocracy

30 Mar 20

Hamilton 2.0 now tracks Chinese state-backed messaging! We’ve expanded our dashboard to track 150+ Chinese diplomatic & media Twitter accounts, 5 state-sponsored news websites, CGTN America & CCTV+’s YouTube, & official Chinese Mission to the UN statements.securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/the-alliance-f…

The Hamilton expansion allows us to track, in near-real time, Chinese state-backed media and govt interlocutors’ messaging on topics ranging from #coronavirus and the trade war to Hong Kong protests and Xinjiang. Check out the dashboard: securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/hamilton-dashb…

“The #coronavirus pandemic has spurred a global information contest in which China has employed increasingly aggressive tactics and techniques in a battle for narrative supremacy,” Media & Disinfo Fellow Bret Schafer said. securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/coronavirus-an…

Read 5 tweets

Alliance for Securing Democracy

@SecureDemocracy

22 Jan 20

If the Kremlin’s 2020 plan is to divide Democrats, this past week has provided ample kindling for the fire – starting with the Warren/Sanders spat and including Secretary Clinton’s comments yesterday. ASD fellow Bret Schafer analyzes Russia’s coverage of the controversies.

Yesterday, the top story on RT.com was the Clinton/Sanders feud fueled by Clinton’s “nobody likes him” quote that surfaced in a Hollywood Reporter interview. For those keeping score at home, there was also a Senate trial to impeach a sitting president yesterday.

This follows a pattern. After last week’s Democratic debate, Russian state-funded media & affiliated accounts hammered CNN, the Warren campaign, and the DNC for conspiring against Sanders – a theme that was central to Russia’s efforts to divide progressive & centrist Dems in 2016

Read 7 tweets

Alliance for Securing Democracy

@SecureDemocracy

13 Dec 19

This week, on a bipartisan basis, the US House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, which will drive much of defense policy for the coming year. congress.gov/bill/116th-con…

With it, Congress has taken steps to secure US democracy against foreign interference, particularly in the areas of improving election security, addressing concerns about China, and defending against disinformation.

@jessbrandt

These are three areas that @jessbrandt has said are ripe for bipartisan action.
lawfareblog.com/depoliticizing…

Read 14 tweets

Alliance for Securing Democracy

@SecureDemocracy

14 Nov 19

US withdrawal from Syria has given Russia the opportunity to question US reliability, expose rifts within NATO, & promote an image of Russia as the leading power in the Middle East. Bret Schafer analyzed Hamilton 2.0 data to see how official Russian actors framed the conversation

Between Oct 6 and Nov 11, Russian diplomatic and media Twitter accounts mentioned Syria over 4,800 times. Monitored accounts used #Syria 997 times, which is 300 percent more than the month before. Only #Russia was used more.

Video segment mentions also increased. Hamilton captured 67 video segments associated with Syria during this time period, compared to only four segments on the country between Sept 1 and Oct 5. This signals a large uptick in broadcast coverage over the past month.

Read 8 tweets

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