The Russia watchA different kind of propaganda; beating Moscow at its main game; Facebook’s Russian business model, and more

Published 25 April 2018

· “A different kind of propaganda”: Has America lost the information war?

· John Bolton presided over anti-Muslim think tank

· Who believes Russia’s fake news about ‘fake’ Syria chemical attack?

· The Douma chemical attack – fake news about fake news on Russia’s fake news

· ‘Enough is enough’: G7 ministers agree to call Russia out on ‘malign’ behavior

· Beating Moscow at its main game: Espionage

· Russia likely targeted all 50 states in 2016, but has yet to try again, DHS cyber chief says

· Facebook’s Russian business model

· UK warns of cyberattacks from “hostile” Russia that could target transport

“A different kind of propaganda”: Has America lost the information war? (Abigail, Vanity Fair)
The most important public effort to counter Russian disinformation is understaffed, underfunded, and over-extended. Inside the battle Donald Trump doesn’t want to fight.

John Bolton presided over anti-Muslim think tank(Heidi Przybyla, NBC News; Yaron Steinbuch, New York Post)
John Bolton, President Donald Trump’s new national security adviser, chaired a nonprofit that has promoted misleading and false anti-Muslim news, some of which was amplified by a Russian troll factory, an NBC News review found.The content of the advocacy group Gatestone is part of an echo chamber that includes Russian media. Alina Polyakova, a Brookings Institution fellow who studies far-right populism and disinformation campaigns in the European Union, said Gatestone is “putting out content that was clearly anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and was echoing some of the Russian disinformation propaganda” being spread by internet trolls and on social media. Polyakova said that she and others in the Washington foreign policy community were “surprised” Bolton had chaired the group.

Who believes Russia’s fake news about ‘fake’ Syria chemical attack?(Rosemary Bolger, SBS News)
It has been called the “worst piece of fake news”, but Russia’s bizarre claim that the gas attack in Syria was staged is gaining some traction.

The Douma chemical attack – fake news about fake news on Russia’s fake news(Elliot Higgins, Bellingcat)
With any war crime in Syria receiving significant media coverage, there has been a concerted effort by pro-Kremlin and pro-Assad individuals and media outlets to spread claims attacking the Syrian Civil Defense (White Helmets), a major source of information and footage on war crimes in the conflict. These attacks generally fall into two categories: claiming that the White Helmets are Al-Qaeda or ISIS (or even sometimes both), and claiming that the White Helmets fake images of war crimes for gullible Western audiences and media outlets. The aftermath of the April 7, 2018 Douma chemical attack is no different, with many well-established anti-White Helmets allegations being rehashed by those trying to undermine reporting around the chemical attack.

Enough is enough’: G7 ministers agree to call Russia out on ‘malign’ behavior(Mike Blanchfield, National Post)
Canada and its G7 partners are saying “enough is enough” to attacks by Russia and other authoritarian countries in their democratic institutions, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said Monday. There is a concern in the G7 countries that “authoritarian states are actively working to undermine the democratic systems in our countries and elsewhere,” she said. “Today we said, ‘Enough is enough.”‘

Beating Moscow at its main game: Espionage (Richard Boucher, Cipher Brief)

We talk a lot these days about smart power and hard power and soft power even the sharp power of manipulating information. In the end, power and influence have always been exercised in multiple dimensions – military, economic, political, ideological. Some states are strong in all dimensions, like the United States in the 1950s or the British in the 19th century. Others have limited capabilities, like ideological China under Mao. How do we deal with a state whose power and influence are largely one dimensional: a state like Russia which extends itself through spy craft? Indeed, Russia is a unique type of power: an espionage state.

Russia likely targeted all 50 states in 2016, but has yet to try again, DHS cyber chief says (Mike Levine, ABC News)
Assistant DHS Secretary Jeanette Manfra said it’s likely every single U.S. state was targeted by Russian hackers during the 2016 presidential election – far more states potentially impacted than the public may have realized. “Two years ago the Russian government launched a brazen, multi-faceted influence campaign aimed at undermining public faith in our democratic process, generally and our election specifically,” Manfra told lawmakers Tuesday. “That campaign involved cyber espionage, public disclosure of stolen data, cyber intrusions at the state and local voter registration systems, online propaganda, and more. We cannot let it happen again.” Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, recently told Congress that “There should be no doubt that Russia perceives its past operations as successful and views the 2018 U.S. midterm elections as a potential target for Russian influence operations.”

Facebook’s Russian business model (Diane Francis, American Interest)
The social media giant is to technology what Russia has been to geopolitics.

UK warns of cyberattacks from “hostile” Russia that could target transport (Transport Security World)
The government department set up to improve the UK’s online security has issued a stern warning to all companies, including transport, over the threat posed by Russian state-sponsored cyber attackers.