Just in time to celebrate U.S. Independence Day, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released a new report looking at Russian and Chinese information campaigns and how governments have struggled to respond. CSIS examined Russian influence activities in Germany and the United Kingdom and Chinese influence operations in Japan and Australia.
“The cases highlight the different goals and tactics of Moscow and Beijing, as well as some common features in their approaches. They also demonstrate which methods and tactics are most effective in particular countries and why.”
The report concludes that government countermeasures, social cohesion, and more balanced economic relations mitigate malign influence activities within democracies and that democracies should focus on building their strengths as much as reducing vulnerabilities. The authors also point out that China and Russian continue to adapt their disinformation efforts using new technologies that can better exploit vulnerabilities. “Early evidence suggests that China is emulating Russian tactics in the information space, including creating fake social media accounts to propagate false messages, particularly related to the U.S. administration’s handling of the coronavirus epidemic.”