The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast

This week, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson discuss China's use of Artificial Intelligence to create a so-called "propaganda engine," leveraging AI to monitor content and respond with narratives designed to either diminish or amplify messages.  They then turn to reporting on the soft power of international assistance and the binding power of international trade--two things the United States did tremendously well, until recently.  Finally, they return to the use of generative AI to produce inauthentic videos.With this episode, the Active Measures Newsletter Podcast shifts production so that when new episodes are produced, they are released alongside that week's newsletter.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson discuss the use of mis- and disinformation in the recent clash between India and Pakistan with Sid Venkataramakrishnan of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. They also highlight recent RAND recommendations to the Department of Defense on the use of generative AI in influence operations; social media platforms cracking down on accounts spreading disinformation; and President Trump's dismissal of the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and what that means for the integrity of U.S. government data.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson discuss the Director of National Intelligence's efforts to pass-off disinformation about the 2016 Russian disinformation campaign, a fact that only served the purpose of those who want to undermine public-confidence in American elections and institutions. Then, they turn to pro-Russian TikTok accounts that are telling a fairy-tale about Russian occupation and reconstruction in the Donbas—on their own, they tell a story about the creation of a false, local information space to advance Russian narratives.  From the “Nothing is Sacred” file: dating apps are being used as a vehicle for hybrid warfare and disinformation. That’s right: dating apps.  Finally, the migrant warfare playbook—whether in England or Spain—exploits the same xenophobia and hate.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson are joined by Aoife Gallagher, a senior analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, for a conversation about recent online incitement against migrants in Ireland manifesting in real-world violence and intriguing cross-border coordination between unlikely Irish partners.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on the Active Measures Newsletter Podcast, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson discuss the re-writing of Russian history textbooks; the convergence of Russian and Chinese information operations; the latest on a Russia-aligned, AI-fueled campaign known as  "Operation Overload"; the use of AI for fact-checking; how to address misinformation without defaulting to censorship; and the age of the American "scientific refugees."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson welcome Valentin Chatelet, a research associate at the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab, for an urgent discussion of the Pravda Network--a Russian information operation using an AI-powered network of websites to warp target populations' understanding of the war in Ukraine and other issues.  They also discuss a troubling example of America's unilateral disarmament in the information space aimed at North Korea as well as the impact of AI on democracy around the world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As protests swirl in Los Angeles and spread to other American cities, Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson discuss the ways in which foreign adversaries always seek to exploit the divisions in American society.  They also review the lessons learned from the 2024 European elections; the urgency of information literacy to meet the challenges posed by foreign malign influence campaigns; and Russian efforts to target Poland and French-speaking Africa with information campaigns that rely on fear, intimidation, and Western fecklessness to succeed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson discuss reports that the United States is poorly prepared for China's enhanced ability to conduct cognitive warfare, even while India warns its citizens to avoid using the TikTok-refugee platform of choice in the United States: Chinese-owned RedNote.  They then turn their attention to reports of synthetic media impersonating Pope Leo XIV while Target deals with a campaign to amplify criticisms of its policy shift around DEI programs.  Finally, the hosts discuss reports that much of the UFO mythology of the last 80 years grows from U.S. disinformation campaigns to protect legitimate national security secrets.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson discuss the role disinformation played in the recent surge of violence between India and Pakistan; review the way both U.S. AFRICOM and the People's Republic of China are adapting to changes in the American tool-box brought about by the Trump administration; look at what changes in content moderation at Meta mean for fighting disinformation as well as the role of AI in disinformation detection.  They wrap with a discussion of the threat to Russia posed by the American cartoon ogre known as Shrek.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson interview VOA White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara on the Trump administration's efforts to silence the Voice of America and what the loss of that capability means for both U.S. national security and the global audience that has come to rely on VOA for independent journalism.  They also review reporting on China's growing efforts to gain influence in the Western hemisphere as well as proposals to better organize the U.S. government for information warfare.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.