Interference 2020

This is an interactive, open-source database published by the Atlantic Council’s DFRLab that examines claims of foreign interference in the 2020 American Presentatial Election. The top of the database presents a search bar that can stratify data by keywords, country of origin (of the disinformation), source (such as the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, private firms like Twitter and Microsoft, etc.), method of disinformation (content manipulation, hacking of various sorts, etc.). Moreover, each data entry is categorized by impact score and attribution score– the more certain attribution is, the higher the ranking. On the other hand, the more impactful a datapoint is (measured by reposts and likes on social media, for example), the larger its circle on the interactive map.

Overall, I think this database is invaluable to understanding what the current threat vectors are in terms of disinformation online, as well as how researchers are working to process-trace and identify them. A major cause of conflict in cyberspace is the issue of attribution– when actors hide behind encrypted servers and online pseudonyms, it is incredibly difficult to pinpoint whether they are government actors or whether they are acting to commit espionage or monetary gains. With crowdsourced databases like these, however, we may have the beginning of a culture that zeros in on cases of disinformation within the academia/think-tank community, and thereby we are one step closer to decerning attribution.