Influence operations are a complex threat, and the community combating them—academics, social platforms, think tanks, governments—is broad. The goal of the Partnership for Countering Influence Operations (PCIO) is to foster evidence-based policymaking to counter threats in the information environment. To do this, PCIO engaged more than 1000 stakeholders across sectors, conducting meta studies and surveys to understand who is doing what and the state of knowledge on the information environment.
The Technology and International Affairs Program develops insights to address the governance challenges and large-scale risks of new technologies. Our experts identify actionable best practices and incentives for industry and government leaders on artificial intelligence, cyber threats, cloud security, countering influence operations, reducing the risk of biotechnologies, and ensuring global digital inclusion.
Alicia Wanless
Senior Fellow, Technology and International Affairs, Director, Information Environment Project
Alicia Wanless is the director of the Information Environment Project.
George Perkovich
Japan Chair for a World Without Nuclear Weapons, Vice President for Studies
George Perkovich is the Japan chair for a world without nuclear weapons and vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, overseeing the Nuclear Policy Program and the Technology and International Affairs Program. He works primarily on nuclear strategy and nonproliferation issues, and security dilemmas among the United States, its allies, and their nuclear-armed adversaries.
Jon Bateman
Senior Fellow, Technology and International Affairs Program
Jon Bateman is a senior fellow in the Technology and International Affairs Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Samantha Lai
Senior Research Analyst, Technology and International Affairs
Samantha Lai is a senior research analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's Technology and International Affairs Program, where she studies the governance of the information environment.
The field researching and countering influence operations is growing. PCIO’s baseline research seeks to provide a common foundation on fundamental questions, including:
The field researching and countering influence operations is growing. PCIO’s baseline research seeks to provide a common foundation on fundamental questions, including:
PCIO founded the Influence Operations Researchers’ Guild, with the aim to build an international community of investigators working to articulate standards and shared principles for their work.
The Guild is now hosted by Alliance for Europe.
PCIO founded the Influence Operations Researchers’ Guild, with the aim to build an international community of investigators working to articulate standards and shared principles for their work.
The Guild is now hosted by Alliance for Europe.
Evidence-based policymaking depends on measurements. But we lack robust, evidence-based measurements of influence operations’ spread, their effects, and the effectiveness of countermeasures needed to support community resilience and appropriate policy interventions.
To address this gap, PCIO and the Empirical Studies of Conflict Project at Princeton University convened three working groups with more than 40 researchers from North America, Europe, and Latin America, producing six studies. The project culminated in a Measurements Symposium with more than 60 participants from across the research community, government, and philanthropies.
Evidence-based policymaking depends on measurements. But we lack robust, evidence-based measurements of influence operations’ spread, their effects, and the effectiveness of countermeasures needed to support community resilience and appropriate policy interventions.
To address this gap, PCIO and the Empirical Studies of Conflict Project at Princeton University convened three working groups with more than 40 researchers from North America, Europe, and Latin America, producing six studies. The project culminated in a Measurements Symposium with more than 60 participants from across the research community, government, and philanthropies.
Digital platforms control their data and researchers struggle to access it for research purposes. Even when data is available, the relationship between industry and researchers is imbalanced. PCIO works with a multi-stakeholder community to develop a comprehensive transparency reporting framework, including policy ideas for regulators to ensure independence for researchers.
Digital platforms control their data and researchers struggle to access it for research purposes. Even when data is available, the relationship between industry and researchers is imbalanced. PCIO works with a multi-stakeholder community to develop a comprehensive transparency reporting framework, including policy ideas for regulators to ensure independence for researchers.
Carnegie’s Partnership for Countering Influence Operations is grateful for funding provided by the Government of Canada, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Microsoft, Facebook, Google, Twitter, and WhatsApp. The PCIO is wholly and solely responsible for the contents of its products, written or otherwise. We welcome conversations with new donors. All donations are subject to Carnegie’s donor policy review. We do not allow donors prior approval of drafts, influence on selection of project participants, or any influence over the findings and recommendations of work they may support.
Carnegie’s Partnership for Countering Influence Operations is grateful for funding provided by the Government of Canada, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Microsoft, Facebook, Google, Twitter, and WhatsApp. The PCIO is wholly and solely responsible for the contents of its products, written or otherwise. We welcome conversations with new donors. All donations are subject to Carnegie’s donor policy review. We do not allow donors prior approval of drafts, influence on selection of project participants, or any influence over the findings and recommendations of work they may support.
A high-level, evidence-informed guide to some of the major proposals for how democratic governments, platforms, and others can counter disinformation.
From COVID-19 misinformation to authoritarian crackdowns on democratic protests or hybrid warfare involving information manipulation, the negative impacts that crises have on the information environment can be challenging to reverse, threatening the physical safety of civilians and the democratic stability of societies.
The lines between fact and fiction have become easier to blur as new technologies create wild ecosystems of data.
Three criteria can help democratic governments assess whether an influence operation is acceptable or unacceptable.
Researchers, policymakers, and civil society groups need to come together to clarify among themselves and for platforms what type of information would be most helpful to protect the public interest and what framework could ensure this information is feasible for platforms to provide.
A new model for analyzing online threats could help investigators detect and disrupt malicious operations more quickly—and enable them to better share their insights and understanding with one another.
Major social media and technology companies continue to make algorithmic, user interface, and policy changes to their products to address information integrity challenges on their platforms.
Experts say they need established best practices in order to better counter influence operations. But first they need to agree on those practices.
For nearly seventy years, CERN has been a center of gravity for physics and a model for how to support large-scale research collaboration across numerous different countries. Given the challenges facing democracy today related to the information environment, a similar level of effort is required for research on the information environment.
The field of influence operations investigations is growing rapidly, and researchers need a better grasp of best practices and standards. Here, experienced researchers offer insights ranging from methods to data collection to team development.
