Disinformation Wars

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with Col. Peter Garretson, AFPC Senior Fellow in Defense Studies and former chief futurist for the U.S. Air Force, regarding China’s recent strides forward in space internet, and what it might mean for the unfolding “great power competition” between Washington and Beijing.  

BIO:

Peter Garretson is a Senior Fellow in Defense Studies at the American Foreign Policy Council and a strategy consultant who focuses on space and defense. He is the coauthor of Scramble for the Skies: The Great Power Competition to Control the Resources of Outer Space and the host of AFPC's Space Strategy Podcast.

MATERIALS REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE:

— Richard M. Harrison and Peter Garretson, The Next Space Race: A Blueprint for American Primacy (Praeger Security International, 2023), https://www.amazon.com/Next-Space-Race-Blueprint-International/dp/1440880808/ref=sr_1_1?crid=UFE24YXJ64RY&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.U5jc8fFfd3tUDF3jfbDynL9Nuq9BLl_DkRXTRmNuvtM76WLNhBJZaoe0LEhH22OR8D_kBygP0ixcMFkPOGTkc1oBimuINW2JB20AeEYleaWJNzMgO-S-zrz2EEtnDy1NnoxVCNxzUTBDnCNN0Peg2OjrzjVZtN3LlliApM3LuFnUTGrhiRdcBHpx1sf6ahlcExyjdN2OH56fXcxfoyN4tLDnSrzVpGoyQvZ1JgxF0Dw.XqO3ZsBLh237M-t_eWtecmX8EF7h1Jfrq6IyoMNBlrg&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+next+space+race&qid=1725217225&sprefix=the+next+space+race%2Caps%2C89&sr=8-1. 

— Peter Garretson and Richard M. Harrison, “Reacting to Major Space Events at or Below Geostationary Orbit - After Action Report 1,” AFPC Special Report, July 5, 2024, https://www.afpc.org/publications/special-reports/reacting-to-major-space-events-at-or-below-geostationary-obit-after-action-report-1. 

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with Dr. Khalil Shikaki, director of the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, regarding the state of Palestinian sentiment, ideology and media, post-October 7th.

BIO:

Khalil Shikaki is a Professor of Political Science and director of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR), which is based in Ramallah. Since 2005, he has been a senior fellow at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University. He finished his Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University in 1985, and taught at several Palestinian and American universities.

MATERIALS REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE:

PCPSR's latest poll (July 2024) -- https://www.pcpsr.org/en/node/985

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman explores the post-October 7th explosion of antisemitism, and how the world's oldest hatred is being turbo-charged by 21st century information technology, with Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.

In this episode, host Ilan Berman speaks with Tikhon Dzyadko of Russian opposition outlet TV Rain about his work, the current state of Russian independent media, and an alternative vision for the future of Russia.

BIO:

Tikhon Dzyadko is a journalist and the Editor-in-Chief of Russian opposition television outlet TV Rain (Dozhd), which is now headquartered in The Netherlands. He is the former deputy Editor-in-Chief and host of the RTVI channel and a former correspondent and presenter of the radio station Ekho Moskvy.

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman checks in with Sarit Zehavi of the Alma Research and Education Center to learn what's really happening along Israel's border with Lebanon, as well as the true scope of the threat now confronting the country from the Hezbollah terrorist group and its patron, Iran.

BIO:

Lieutenant Colonel (Res.) Sarit Zehavi is the founder and president of Alma – a nonprofit and an independent research and education center specialized in Israel’s security challenges on its northern border. Sarit has briefed hundreds of groups and forums, ranging from US Senators, Congressmen/women and politicians to senior journalists and visiting VIP groups in Israel and overseas. Sarit scripts numerous position papers and updates focusing on Lebanon, Syria and Israel’s national security challenges. She served for 15 years in the Israeli Defense Forces, specializing in Military Intelligence. Sarit holds an M.A. in Middle East Studies from Ben-Gurion University. Her unique achievements led her to be selected by the Jerusalem Post as one of the Top 50 Most Influential Global Jewish personalities of 2021.

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman talks to former Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy about his experience on Israel’s informational front lines, and the areas where Israel needs to improve in order to get its message out in today’s increasingly contested and hostile global media environment.

BIO:

Eylon Levy is the host of the State of a Nation Podcast and a former Israeli Government Spokesman, representing Israel on international television and radio in the October 7 War with Hamas. He previously served as International Media Advisor to President Isaac Herzog after a career as a television news anchor. (Subscribe to State of a Nation here)

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with AFPC Senior Fellow in Indo-Pacific Studies Michael Sobolik about the new push in the U.S. Congress to limit the reach of TikTok, China’s wildly-popular social media app. 

Bio:

Michael Sobolik is Senior Fellow in Indo-Pacific Studies at the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington, DC, where his work covers American and Chinese grand strategy, regional economic and security trends, America’s alliance architecture in Asia, and human rights. Michael also serves as editor of AFPC’s Indo-Pacific Monitor e-bulletin, AFPC’s review of developments in the region. His analysis has appeared in The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, The Hill, Jane's Defence Weekly, The National Interest, National Review, Newsweek, Providence, and RealClearDefense. 

He is the host of Great Power Podcast, which examines America’s geopolitical strategy toward adversaries like China and Russia. Michael is also the author of Countering China’s Great Game: A Strategy for American Dominance, forthcoming from the U.S. Naval Institute Press later this Spring. Pre-order your copy today!

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 with Tal-Or Cohen Montemayor of digital watchdog Cyberwell about the post-October 7th proliferation of online antisemitism and misinformation, and how her company is working to keep social media platforms accountable.

Bio:

Tal-Or Cohen Montemayor is Founder and Director of CyberWell, an international technology-based non-profit that is working to combat the spread of antisemitism on social media. An Israeli lawyer, Tal-Or has provided analysis and consulting services to the Institute of National Security Studies, Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs and the Jewish Agency. Prior to launching CyberWell, she worked in the web intelligence sector, serving most recently as an executive at Argyle Consulting Group in Tel Aviv.

Mentioned in this episode:

Cyberwell's new report, "Denial of the October 7 Massacre on Social Media Platforms," available online at https://cyberwell.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Denial-of-October-7-Social-Media-Trend-Alert-CyberWell.pdf.

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with former Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty president Thomas Kent regarding the strategic logic underlying Russia's weaponization of disinformation - and the things Western governments can do to neutralize Russia's informational advantage.

Bio:

Thomas Kent teaches and consults on Russian affairs, journalism, and the problems of propaganda and disinformation. President of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty until 2018, he now teaches at Columbia University and consults for governments, NGOs, and news organizations. He is a senior fellow of The Jamestown Foundation. Previously, he was Moscow bureau chief for the Associated Press, head of the AP’s international news coverage, and editor for standards and ethics.

Mentioned in this episode:

Ilan Berman, Challenging Moscow's Message: Russian Disinformation and the Western Response (AFPC Press, 2023), https://www.amazon.com/Challenging-Moscows-Message-Disinformation-Response/dp/1956450890/ref=sr_1_1?crid=276TCMDHX4HT7&keywords=challenging+moscow%27s+message&qid=1703733780&sprefix=challenging+moscow%27s+message%2Caps%2C74&sr=8-1

Thomas Kent, Striking Back: Overt and Covert Options to Combat Russian Disinformation (Jamestown Foundation, 2020), https://jamestown.org/product/striking-back/

Thomas Kent, How Russia Loses: Hubris and Miscalculation in Putin's Kremlin (Jamestown Foundation, 2023), https://jamestown.org/product/how-russia-loses/