Workshop on Countering Foreign Disinformation
A Discussion with Bret Schafer
Dec 04, 2024 / Vienna / European Security and Defence / Global Affairs
On the 4th of December 2024, the Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy (AIES) hosted a workshop on countering foreign disinformation. Led by Bret Schafer, Senior Fellow at the German Marshall Fund, the event brought together leading policymakers, researchers, and experts to address the growing challenges posed by disinformation campaigns to Austria, the United States, and other democratic societies.
Bret Schafer, a specialist in disinformation, foreign influence operations, and digital policy, shared his expertise on combating misinformation and protecting democratic institutions. With extensive experience advising governments and organisations, Schafer provided valuable insights into innovative strategies and tools designed to counter disinformation effectively.
Discussions during the workshop centred on tools like the Hamilton 2.0 Dashboard, which tracks and analyses disinformation narratives originating from Russian, Iranian, and Chinese sources. This tool, capable of aggregating and translating content into English, enables researchers to monitor the evolution of global and regional narratives, shedding light on how disinformation spreads across digital platforms.
Key insights included the role of disinformation networks in laundering narratives through intermediaries to reach reputable sources, often blurring the line between foreign and domestic influence. Participants also examined recent disinformation trends, such as the strategic use of U.S.-based influencers and media outlets by foreign actors to amplify narratives without direct attribution.
The workshop highlighted the differences in approaches between Europe and the United States in countering disinformation. While the U.S. focuses on law enforcement and sanctions against actors, Europe emphasizes pressuring platforms and fostering collaboration across civil society. Experts underscored the need for enhanced transatlantic cooperation to tackle disinformation effectively, given its cross-border nature.
The event concluded with a call for continued innovation in counter-disinformation tools, the importance of raising public awareness, and the necessity of bridging the gap between research and policy to safeguard democratic processes against evolving hybrid threats.
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