Disinformation Wars

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with China scholar Dean Cheng about how the People's Republic sees competition in the information domain and how it is using it to control its own population, as well as to influence global publics.

MATERIALS REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE:

-- Ilan Berman and Calla O'Neil, "Assessing the Chinese Informational Challenge," AFPC Public Diplomacy Paper no. 2, November 2026, https://www.afpc.org/publications/policy-papers/assessing-the-chinese-informational-challenge

BIO:

Dean Cheng is currently a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, and a non-resident fellow with the George Washington University Space Policy Institute. He was previously a Senior Advisor to the China program at the US Institute of Peace, after retiring after 13 years with the Heritage Foundation, where he was a senior research fellow on Chinese political and security affairs, and wrote on various aspects of Chinese foreign and defense policy.

He is the author of the book China and the New Moon Race (GWU SPI, 2024), and Cyber Dragon: Inside China’s Information Warfare and Cyber Operations (NY: Praeger Publishing, 2016).

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with AFPC Senior Fellow Thomas Kent about his new book, The Propaganda Manual of the Ukraine War, and about how the Kremlin is weaponizing information in the context of Ukraine... and beyond.

MATERIALS REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE:

Thomas Kent, The Propaganda Manual of the Ukraine War: Information Warfare by Russia, Ukraine, and Western Nations - Lessons Learned for Future Conflicts (AFPC Press, 2026), https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-propaganda-manual-of-the-ukraine-war-information-warfare-by-russia-ukraine-and-western-nations-lessons-learned-for-future-conflicts-thomas-kent/b6406493de2e6bda?ean=9781968919498

BIO:

Thomas Kent joined the American Foreign Policy Council in February 2024 as Senior Fellow for Strategic Communication. He is a specialist in Russian propaganda, the world information war, international journalism, and media ethics. He teaches at Columbia University about disinformation, and consults for governments, NGOs, news organizations and corporations.

Until 2018, Kent was president and CEO of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a congressionally-financed company providing independent news in 27 languages to 23 countries. Before that, he was a correspondent and executive at the Associated Press, serving as standards (ethics) editor, deputy managing editor, head of international news, Moscow bureau chief, chief of operations in Iran during the Islamic Revolution, and NATO and European Union correspondent.

In thIs episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with Alsu Kurmasheva of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, who was imprisoned by the Russian government for her work. Also tells her story, and talks about the how Russia’s information environment is changing - and what it means for Western governments. 

BIO:

Alsu Kurmasheva is an award-winning journalist and editor at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). In October 2023, she was detained in Russia and charged with spreading “false” information about the Russian military, a charge linked to her alleged role in editing and distributing a book featuring accounts from Russians opposed to the invasion of Ukraine. In July 2024, she was sentenced to six and a half years in prison. In August 2024, Alsu was released as part of a prisoner exchange. Since then, she has emerged as a vocal advocate for press freedom, drawing on her own experience of imprisonment to highlight the risks journalists face in authoritarian regimes. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the James W. Foley Foundation.

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with Andres Ilves of the Middle East Broadcasting Networks regarding how the Islamic Republic is manipulating the flow of information during its present conflict with America - and what we can glean about conditions within Iran, despite these efforts.

MATERIALS REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE:

-- MBN's weekly "Iran Briefing" newsletter (https://alhurra.com/en/category/iran-briefing)

BIO:

Andres Ilves is currently Special Advisor and Iran lead at the Middle East Broadcasting Networks. He is a veteran Iran watcher who previously ran both the BBC Persian Service and RFE/RL’s Persian-language Radio Farda.

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with Leah Soibel of Fuente Latina about the state of the Latin American media market - and how external actors like Iran, China and Russia are trying to manipulate opinions and attitudes in the Western Hemisphere.

BIO:

Leah Soibel is the Founder and CEO of Fuente Latina, the only nonprofit media organization that empowers Hispanic journalists and influencers globally to report on the Middle East accurately and in real time. Leah has spent two decades producing news for thousands of Spanish-language media professionals covering Israel and the Middle East. Each year, Fuente Latina's work drives thousands of news stories that counter disinformation. In 2023, she also launched Activista Media, the first Spanglish digital news brand informing US Latinos under 40.

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with Dr. James Robbins, Senior Fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council and Dean of Academics at the Institute of World Politics, about their experiences dealing with international broadcasting during the Trump 47 Transition - and where America's public diplomacy enterprise is today.

BIO:

Dr. James S. Robbins is a national security columnist for USA Today and Senior Fellow in National Security Affairs at the American Foreign Policy Council. He is a former special assistant in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and in 2007 was awarded the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joint Meritorious Civilian Service Award.

Dr. Robbins is also the former award-winning Senior Editorial Writer for Foreign Affairs at The Washington Times. His work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, National Review, and other publications. He appears regularly on national and international television and radio.

Dr. Robbins holds a Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and has taught at the National Defense University and Marine Corps University, among other schools.

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with Arthur Barys of TVP World about how Poland's premier English-language broadcaster is trying to change the conversation - and provide crucial context - about Russia's information offensive on Europe's eastern flank.

BIO:

Arthur Barys is a Warsaw-based translator and head language editor at TVP World, the English-language news channel of Poland’s public broadcaster. TVP World covers the region from a Central European perspective, with a special focus on Ukraine, Russia, and NATO’s eastern flank.

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with journalist and author Yaakov Katz about the institutional dysfunctions plaguing Israel's conduct of public diplomacy - and the impact these deficiencies have had on the country's current conflict with Hamas.

MATERIALS REFERENCED:

-- Yaakov Katz and Amir Bohbot, While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East (St. Martin's Press, 2025)

BIO:

Yaakov Katz is an Israeli-American author and journalist and a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute in Jerusalem. Between 2016 and 2023, Yaakov was editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post, where he continues to write a popular weekly column. He is the author of three prior books - “Shadow Strike – Inside Israel’s Secret Mission to Eliminate Syrian Nuclear Power”, “Weapon Wizards - How Israel Became a High-Tech Military Superpower” and “Israel vs. Iran: The Shadow War”. His new book, co-authored with Amir Bohbot, is “While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East."

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with Ellen McCarthy, CEO of the Trust in Media Cooperative, about how AI and foreign actors are altering the media landscape, the dangers associated with declining trust in information, and what the U.S. government and private sector institutions can do about it.

MATERIALS REFERENCED:

-- Gallup, "Americans' Trust in Media Remains at Trend Low," October 14, 2024, https://news.gallup.com/poll/651977/americans-trust-media-remains-trend-low.aspx.

-- YouGov, "Survey: Trump and the Media," January 30-February 3, 2025, https://ygo-assets-websites-editorial-emea.yougov.net/documents/Trump_and_the_Media_poll_results.pdf.

BIO:

The Honorable Ellen McCarthy is Chairwoman and CEO of the Trust in Media Cooperative (https://www.timcoop.org), a nonprofit working to rebuild public trust in the information ecosystem through a new infrastructure that includes multi-sector standards, tools, and public awareness. She has over 30 years of experience in the U.S. intelligence community and public service, including serving as Chief Operating Officer of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) from 2015-2018. From January 2019 to January 2021, she served as Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research (INR).

In this episode, host Ilan Berman speaks with Sam Douglas-Bate of British futures consultancy ForgeFront about how advances in technology are assisting the proliferation of “fake news” and disinformation - and what Western governments can do about it.

MATERIALS REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE:

— Sam Douglas-Bate, "The Double-Edged Sword: New Technologies to Win the War on Fake News," New Lines Institute, May 2, 2025, https://newlinesinstitute.org/strategic-technology/the-double-edged-sword-new-technologies-to-win-the-war-on-fake-news/.

BIO:

Sam Douglas-Bate is the founder of ForgeFront, a futures and foresight consultancy based in the UK. The company works with government and businesses around the world in a policy field called futures thinking, helping them use technology to analyze and react to systemic threats and opportunities. A large part of ForgeFront's work is focused on how new technologies intersect with fake news.

Prior to establishing ForgeFront, Sam worked for the European Union and the UK’s Cabinet Office, Brexit Department and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. He has also worked in the House of Commons, led high profile accounts for a leading public affairs firm and was in the last tranche of British EU Civil Servants working for the institutions in Brussels.