DFRLab

01/08/2025

Twenty years ago, captured lightning in a bottle.

Now, with the WSIS+20 review on the horizon, the stakes for global digital governance are higher than ever.

DTI’s Konstantinos Komaitis calls this a pivotal moment for the internet’s future. Read his statement:

A statement from Konstantinos Komaitis on the WSIS+20 process and the future of digital governance.

25/07/2025

First Telegram bots. Now TikTok.

DFRLab exposes how Kremlin-aligned influencers are using ’s audiovisual power to sell a “revived” Mariupol, portraying Russian rule as peaceful, and discrediting Ukraine 📱

New from Iryna Adam:

On TikTok, pro-Russian accounts are attempting to craft an image of a thriving Mariupol, despite concerns from citizens on the ground.

21/07/2025

Colombia’s oldest guerrilla group, the ELN, has quietly built a sprawling digital empire over the last decade 💻

Despite its designation as a terrorist organization, the ELN maintains a vast presence on social networks like X and Facebook, successfully evading platform prohibitions against terrorist and criminal organizations. Until May 2025, dozens of ELN affiliated accounts remained active.

The organization leverages social media accounts and websites to recruit minors, announce attacks on civilians, and amplify Russian, Iranian and Venezuelan regimes narratives.

🔎 Check out the full investigation from the DFRLab: https://bit.ly/46h0PNK

US-designated terrorist organization ELN oversees a vast digital operation that promotes pro-Kremlin and anti-US content.

16/07/2025

🗓️ TODAY @ 10:00AM ET

Join the DFRLab, OpenMinds and Eurasia Center as we launch a new report on how 3,600+ fake Telegram accounts quietly shaped narratives in Ukraine’s occupied territories.

Watch live:

A new report—launched in partnership with the Digital Forensic Research Lab, Eurasia Center, and OpenMinds—uncovers how thousands of fake Telegram accounts were used in a covert Russian influence campaign targeting Ukrainians in occupied territories.

14/07/2025

What does digital occupation look like?

The DFRLab and OpenMinds tracked 3,600+ bot accounts that posted hundreds of thousands of pro-Kremlin comments designed to make the occupation feel normal. Tailored & timed, the bot accounts cultivated a narrative that influenced public perception in regions where Ukrainian media is largely cut off.

Join us next Wednesday 16th July at 10:00a.m. for exclusive insights from the researchers who uncovered the network.

Register now:

A new report—launched in partnership with the Digital Forensic Research Lab, Eurasia Center, and OpenMinds—uncovers how thousands of fake Telegram accounts were used in a covert Russian influence campaign targeting Ukrainians in occupied territories.

10/07/2025

What does it mean to occupy not just land—but minds? 🤖 🧠

Join us for the launch of a groundbreaking report on July 16 with OpenMinds & Atlantic Council Eurasia Center, uncovering how more than 3,600 bot accounts posted hundreds of thousands of pro-Russian comments across Telegram channels in occupied Ukraine.

These bots didn’t just parrot state propaganda—they shaped local narratives, praised Russian authorities, and discredited Ukrainian leadership.

Ambassador John E. Herbst, Sviatoslav Hnizdovskyi, Elina Beketova, Yuliia Dukach, Iryna Adam, and Meredith Furbish will offer insight on how Russia’s information strategy complements its territorial ambitions.

🔗 Event details & livestream:

A new report—launched in partnership with the Digital Forensic Research Lab, Eurasia Center, and OpenMinds—uncovers how thousands of fake Telegram accounts were used in a covert Russian influence campaign targeting Ukrainians in occupied territories.

26/06/2025

War through Grok-tinted glasses? 🤖

As tensions escalated between Israel & Iran, X's became an unlikely narrator of the war—often getting it wrong. DFRLab's latest investigation analyzes 130k+ posts to uncover how the AI amplified confusion in conflict's early days.

What happens when people turn to a chatbot to make sense of war? Find out more:

An analysis of over 100,000 posts on X reveals Grok's inaccurate and conflicting verifications in responses regarding the Israel-Iran war.

12/06/2025

HAPPENING NOW: Join Vint Cerf, Anriette Esterhuysen, Jason Pielemeier, and Chengetai Masango as they explore the IGF’s legacy—and why defending an open internet is more urgent than ever 🛜

🔗 Livestream: https://bit.ly/3FTpoW7

Got a question for our experts? Visit https://bit.ly/44eBr9S

Hosted by the Democracy + Tech Initiative, this conversation brings together experts to explore the importance of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and the...

10/06/2025

There’s still time to register!

💻After two decades of the UN’s Internet Governance Forum, it remains a vital space for global internet governance.

Join the Democracy + Tech Initiative on June 12 at 9:00a.m. for a conversation on why the Internet Governance Forum matters now more than ever.

🔗Registration:

09/06/2025

Mark your calendar: June 12th at 9:00 a.m. ET | 3:00 p.m. CEST

💻 For two decades, the UN’s Internet Governance Forum has shaped global internet policy. Ahead of , internet policy faces growing digital fragmentation, rising state control & accelerated technological change.

Join internet pioneers & policy leaders Vint Cerf, Anriette Esterhuysen, Jason Pielemeier, and Chengetai Masango for a conversation on what comes next for the IGF.

🔗 Register now:

Hosted by the Democracy + Tech Initiative, this conversation brings together experts to explore the importance of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and the role it has played for the past twenty years.

16/05/2025

From Bucharest to Chisinau: Ahead of Romania's 2025 election, DFRLab's Victoria Olari traces the rise of Presidential candidate George Simion, and the pro-Kremlin actors in Romania & Moldova helping pave his path.

This surge of support from Russia-aligned networks in both Romania and Moldova further raises the stakes for an election with profound consequences for NATO, the defense of Ukraine, and the trajectory of Romania-Moldova relations.

🇷🇴 Read more: https://bit.ly/3GWxhu9

Russian-aligned actors in both Romania and Moldova consolidate support for George Simion in final days of campaign.