Disinformation Wars

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with Shashank Joshi, Defence Editor of The Economist, regarding the challenges of accurately covering global conflicts in an era of rampant disinformation and digital manipulation.

Bio:

Shashank Joshi is The Economist‘s defence editor. Prior to joining The Economist in 2018, he served as Senior Research Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) and Research Associate at Oxford University’s Changing Character of War Programme. He has published books on Iran’s nuclear programme and India’s armed forces, written for a wide range of newspapers and journals, and appeared regularly on radio and television. He holds degrees from Cambridge and Harvard, where he served as a Kennedy Scholar from Britain to the United States.

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks to Colin Clarke of the Soufan Center about the surprising new virality of Osama bin Laden's "Letter to America," and about the role of social media platforms in helping to amplify extremism more broadly.

Bio:

Colin P. Clarke is a Senior Research Fellow at The Soufan Center. He is the Director of Research at The Soufan Group, where his research focuses on domestic and transnational terrorism, international security, and geopolitics. Prior to joining The Soufan Group, Clarke was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, and a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation, where he spent a decade researching terrorism, insurgency, and criminal networks. At RAND, Clarke led studies on ISIS financing, the future of terrorism and transnational crime, and lessons learned from all insurgencies since the end of the World War II. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @colinpclarke.

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks to Golnaz Esfandiari of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty regarding the growing disaffection visible on the Iranian "street," official regime censorship and repression, and what the future holds for the Islamic Republic.

Bio:

Golnaz Esfandiari is the managing editor of RFE/RL's Radio Farda. She also serves as an Iran analyst for Freedom House, authoring the Iran chapter of their annual Freedom in the World annual reports. Her work has been published and cited by the New Yorker, Foreign Policy, The Washington Post, the Atlantic, and elsewhere. She has appeared on CNN, NPR, BBC, and other international media outlets. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @GEsfandiari.

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks to two prominent Israeli experts, former Jerusalem Post editor Yaakov Katz and Lt. Col. (Res.) Sarit Zehavi of the Alma Research and Education Center, regarding the new war now facing Israel in the wake of Hamas' October 7th campaign of terror - and the stories that aren't being told about the conflict.

BIOS:

Yaakov Katz is a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute, a former editor of the Jerusalem Post where he remains a columnist, and the author of three books on Israeli military affairs. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @yaakovkatz.

Sarit Zehavi is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Israeli Defense Forces reserves, and the founder and president of the Alma Research and Education Center, the only national security think tank situated in Israel’s north. Follow her work on X (formerly Twitter) at @Israel_Alma_org.

RESOURCES FOR THIS EPISODE:

The Alma Center's analysis of a "northern front" scenario against Israel: https://israel-alma.org/2023/10/10/what-could-happen-if-hezbollah-joins-the-war/

The Alma Center's analysis of what comes next in the current conflict: https://israel-alma.org/2023/10/15/how-hamas-implement-in-this-attack-the-new-iranian-battle-theory/

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman talks to journalist Bethany Allen about the role that disinformation, propaganda and influence play in China's foreign policy - and their impact on the unfolding strategic competition between Beijing and Washington

Bethany Allen is the China reporter at AXIOS. She was previously the lead reporter on the China Cables project of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, as a national security correspondent at The Daily Beast, and as a reporter and editor at Foreign Policy magazine. She is the author of Beijing Rules: How China Weaponized its Economy to Confront the World (Harper, 2023).

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with Jimmy Quinn of National Review about the current state of the political debate over one of the world’s most popular social media apps - and what it tells us about the larger Great Power Competition that's now unfolding between the United States and China. 

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with Jacki Alexander, Chief Executive Officer of HonestReporting, about how her organization is harnessing social media and badly-needed context in order to combat bias in reporting about Israel and its place in the Middle East. 

Materials referenced in this episode:

— Report by Israel’s Channel 14 on the Palestinian Authority’s “prisoners project” (in Hebrew): https://www.now14.co.il/למחבלים-בלבד-שכונת-היוקרה-שמוקמת-ברשפ/

— HonestReporting’s expose on the “project”: https://honestreporting.com/obstacle-to-peace-palestinian-authority-approves-terrorists-only-settlement/

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with Michael Sobolik of the American Foreign Policy Council about China's efforts to shape global perceptions surrounding COVID19 at the start of the global pandemic - and how that war of narratives has now returned with a vengeance. 

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with Ivana Stradner of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies about how Russia weaponizes information to achieve its geopolitical objectives -- and how the United States and its allies can begin to push back. 

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with Amb. David Saranga, the head of digital diplomacy at Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, about how Jerusalem is using new media and innovative techniques to share Israel’s story with global audiences.

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman talks to Roman Anin, Editor-in-Chief of Russian investigative outlet iStories, about the consequences of the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, the moral and practical stakes involved, and the emergence of a new media ecosystem for Russian opposition journalists.

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman talks to Klon Kitchen of the American Enterprise Institute about how technology is enabling China’s deepening domestic repression, and how that same technology is becoming an important - and ominous - export commodity for the PRC.

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman talks to Eric Olander, Editor-in-Chief of the China Global South Project, about how China is seen throughout the developing world - and why these views are so different from Western perceptions of the PRC.

MATERIALS REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE:

— The China Global South Daily Brief is available at https://chinaglobalsouth.com

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman talks to Alexander Pevzner of Strategy Risks, a business risk consultancy, about the mechanics of how China has set about building presence - and popularity - in Israel, and what it might mean.

MATERIALS REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE:

— The Pew Research Center’s 2019 survey of attitudes toward China: https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2019/12/05/attitudes-toward-china-2019/

— The Pew Research Center’s 2022 survey of attitudes toward China: https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2022/06/29/negative-views-of-china-tied-to-critical-views-of-its-policies-on-human-rights/

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman talks to AFPC Fellow and disinformation specialist Monika Richter about the missteps that torpedoed the Biden administration’s latest initiative - and the underlying problems with how the U.S. and Europe approach today’s digital disorder.

MATERIALS REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE:

-- Monika Richter, “Is Biden’s Disinfo Czar Qualified?” The Bulwark, May 6, 2022, https://www.thebulwark.com/is-bidens-disinfo-czar-qualified/

-- Matt Apuzzo, “Pressured by China, E.U. Softens Report on Covid-19 Disinformation,” New York Times, April 24, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/24/world/europe/disinformation-china-eu-coronavirus.html

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman talks to Israeli disinformation specialist Moshe Kwiat about recent terror attacks in Israel - and how they are linked to a broader Iranian media campaign to destabilize the country. 

MOSHE KWIAT is an open source intelligence analyst specializing in disinformation, and a graduate researcher at Reichman University. He is a captain in the IDF reserves, and has worked on counterterrorism and international relations for Israel's Ministry of Public Security and the Israeli Ministry of Defense. His research and writing have appeared in such publications as the Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, The Times of Israel, and The Jerusalem Post.

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman talks to veteran Russian journalist Yulia Latynina regarding the myths, misconceptions and errors that have helped shape the Kremlin’s current war in Ukraine.

YULIA LATYNINA is an award-winning journalist and literary writer who worked for decades in Russian media, most recently as a correspondent with the Ekho Moskvy radio station and the Novaya Gazeta newspaper. In 2008, she was awarded the U.S. State Department’s Freedom Defenders Award for her work on human rights and civil society in Russia.

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with Mollie Saltskog of The Soufan Group about how Russia is now trying to harness propaganda and disinformation to discourage the Nordic states from joining the NATO alliance. 

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with Cliff May, president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, about the informational and ideological contest surrounding the current war in Ukraine, and its implications for the global order.

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman visits once again with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty president Jamie Fly to talk about how the war in Ukraine has served as a catalyst for a new, more restrictive media environment in Russia, and how U.S. public diplomacy is adapting as a result.

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with Bill Browder, CEO of Hermitage Capital and one of the world's leading anti-corruption crusaders, about the economic pressure the U.S. and its allies are bringing to bear against Moscow in an effort to deter Russian aggression.

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with leading Russia expert Michael Kofman of CNA about the strategic realities and media optics surrounding Russia’s military offensive against Ukraine and the new war in Europe.

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with lawyer and digital activist Arsen Ostrovsky about the state of Israeli public diplomacy, the messaging challenges facing the Jewish state, and the future of regional engagement.

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with Amb. Mark Wallace, CEO of the Counter Extremism Project, about the origins and influence of Al-Jazeera, as well as its role as an instrument of Qatari foreign policy.

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies regarding the May 2021 war between Israel and Hamas, and how Western media misreported the true contours of that conflict. 

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with Iran democracy activist Mariam Memarsadeghi about the message that Iranian opposition forces are trying to send to the world in their struggle for freedom... and how the country's clerical regime is working overtime on the World Wide Web in order to stop them. 

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with Andres Ilves of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty about the media environment in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover this Fall, and the political and informational challenges now facing the country.

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with Alex Vatanka of the Middle East Institute about the current problems afflicting America's official broadcasting toward Iran, and how we can do better in messaging to the Iranian people. 

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with Jason Brodsky of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) about the real political state of play within the Islamic Republic of Iran today, and how Western media is missing the big stories taking place within the country.

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS,  host Ilan Berman speaks with Katherine Zimmerman of the American Enterprise Institute about the state of global terrorism, extremist  thought, and jihadi messaging on the twentieth anniversary of the  September 11th attacks.

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with renowned Russian journalist Andrei Soldatov about Russia's information warfare strategy, how the government of Vladimir Putin sees the West, and the future of our "battle of ideas" with the Kremlin.

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS,  host Ilan Berman speaks with former Estonian President Toomas Ilves  about Russia's 2007 digital offensive against his country, and the current threat to global information posed by the Kremlin.

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host American Foreign Policy Council Senior Vice President Ilan Berman talks with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty President Jamie Fly  about the Russian government's efforts to shut down the broadcaster, and what they signify.

On the inaugural episode of Disinformation Wars, host Ilan Berman speaks with Amb. Alberto Fernandez, the former head of U.S. government broadcasting to the Arab world, about the resilience of jihadi propaganda and the enduring importance of a compelling American narrative.