August 6, 2020
GEC Special Report: Pillars of Russia’s Disinformation and Propaganda Ecosystem
The Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC) is leading and coordinating efforts of the U.S. Federal Government to recognize, understand, expose, and counter foreign propaganda and disinformation.
In line with its congressional mandate, the GEC is releasing a special report that provides an overview of Russia’s disinformation and propaganda ecosystem. The report outlines the five pillars of Russia’s disinformation and propaganda ecosystem and how these pillars work together to create a media multiplier effect. In particular, it details how the tactics of one pillar, proxy sources, interact with one another to elevate malicious content and create an illusion of credibility.
While Russia’s disinformation presents a threat, it does not stand unopposed. The U.S. government, our allies and partner governments, international institutions, civil society, academia, the private sector, and citizens around the world will not stand by idly while Russia misuses the modern forms of communications that we all depend on for the free flow of ideas and information. The GEC will continue to expose disinformation we see coming from Russia and other malign actors so that the international public and the counter-disinformation community have a clear understanding of how disinformation spreads and how we can work collectively to counter it.
