Was the COVID-19 virus produced in the US? Was it created by the US Army? So Moscow and Beijing would have you believe.
Russia and China aggressively manipulate perceptions to achieve their own aims. Their increasingly aggressive information campaigns are converging in method and narrative. What can the US and its allies — and the average citizen — do to inoculate against these disinformation viruses?
Related Materials
Testimony: China’s censorship, propaganda, and disinformationDan Blumenthal | American Enterprise Institute | March 5, 2020
Why it’s time for the US to start pushing back against Chinese information operationsLaura Rosenberger and Zack Cooper | The Washington Post | September 10, 2019
Confronting the Russian challenge: A new approach for the USFrederick W. Kagan | American Enterprise Institute | June 19, 2019


This audio first appeared at an AEI event held on May 5, 2020, at AEI’s headquarters in Washington, DC. 



Watch the full event here.

Disinformation pandemic: Russian and Chinese information operations in the COVID-19 era

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The Future of Online Speech Regulation: Section 230 and Beyond

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‘The Poor Side of Town: And Why We Need It’: A book talk with Howard Husock

As the COVID-19 pandemic begins to shift from an acute crisis to an endemic pathogen, AEI’s Scott Gottlieb — physician, medical policy expert, public health advocate, and former US Food and Drug Administration commissioner — is releasing a book, “Uncontrolled Spread: Why COVID-19 Crushed Us and How We Can Defeat the Next Pandemic” (HarperCollins, September 2021), to help leaders and policymakers understand how COVID-19 was able to trounce America’s pandemic preparations. Dr. Gottlieb identifies why the United States was caught unprepared and outlines essential policies and investments to protect the United States and the world from future threats. He outlines specific steps that must be taken to protect against the next outbreak. Please join Dr. Gottlieb and AEI President Robert Doar for a discussion of the issues raised in “Uncontrolled Spread.” Purchase your copy here. Watch the full event here.

Uncontrolled spread: A book event with Scott Gottlieb

Twenty years after the 9/11 attacks, the Joe Biden administration has ended the “forever war” in Afghanistan, replacing US boots on the ground with an over-the-horizon counterterrorism capability. Africa, not the Middle East, has become the next frontier for groups such as al Qaeda and the Islamic State. What lessons should we take from past counterterrorism efforts to address today’s and tomorrow’s threats? AEI and the Combating Terrorism Center at the US Military Academy at West Point host a discussion exploring the trajectory of the transnational terrorism threat and the successes and failures of the past two decades of counterterrorism operations. Watch the full event here.

Disinformation pandemic: Russian and Chinese information operations in the COVID-19 era

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