x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast

The Pell Center at Salve Regina University

From the Pell Center at Salve Regina University and the creators of the Active Measures Newsletter, a weekly dive into the latest trends in political warfare, influence, and information campaigns.

government politics

All Episodes

33:47

The Pravda Network with Valentin Chatelet

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/06/30

This week, Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson welcome Valentin Chatelet, a research associate at the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab, for an urgent discussion of the Pravda Network--a Russian information operation using an AI-powered network of websites to warp target populations' understanding of the war in Ukraine and other issues. They also discuss a troubling example of America's unilateral disarmament in the information space aimed at North Korea as well as the impact of AI on

en-US

30:01

Never Waste a Protest

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/06/16

As protests swirl in Los Angeles and spread to other American cities, Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson discuss the ways in which foreign adversaries always seek to exploit the divisions in American society. They also review the lessons learned from the 2024 European elections; the urgency of information literacy to meet the challenges posed by foreign malign influence campaigns; and Russian efforts to target Poland and French-speaking Africa with information campaigns that rely on fear, intimidation, and

en-US

25:20

China, The Pope, and UFOs

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/06/09

This week, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson discuss reports that the United States is poorly prepared for China's enhanced ability to conduct cognitive warfare, even while India warns its citizens to avoid using the TikTok-refugee platform of choice in the United States: Chinese-owned RedNote. They then turn their attention to reports of synthetic media impersonating Pope Leo XIV while Target deals with a campaign to amplify criticisms of its policy shift around DEI programs. Finally, the hosts

en-US

28:46

Shrek Takes a Hand

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/06/02

This week, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson discuss the role disinformation played in the recent surge of violence between India and Pakistan; review the way both U.S. AFRICOM and the People's Republic of China are adapting to changes in the American tool-box brought about by the Trump administration; look at what changes in content moderation at Meta mean for fighting disinformation as well as the role of AI in disinformation detection. They wrap with a discussion of the threat to Russia posed by

en-US

36:15

Save VOA!

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/05/19

This week, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson interview VOA White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara on the Trump administration's efforts to silence the Voice of America and what the loss of that capability means for both U.S. national security and the global audience that has come to rely on VOA for independent journalism. They also review reporting on China's growing efforts to gain influence in the Western hemisphere as well as proposals to better organize the U.S. government for information

en-US

26:30

Pravda and Overload

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/05/12

Russian campaigns again dominate this week's episode with hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson recapping the best reporting on the Russian Pravda network, a campaign known as "Overload," and Russian ties to neo-Nazis. Along the way, they consider why Russia might target small-population languages, and discuss the hard-learned wisdom of Latvia who has long endured Russian information campaigns.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

36:18

LLM Grooming

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/05/05

This week, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson welcome McKenzie Sadeghi and Isis Blachez from NewsGuard to discuss their research on Moscow's Pravda-network, the rise of 'LLM Grooming,' and the infection of AI tools with Russian-sponsored disinformation. The show also reports on a Russian-campaign to deepen tensions between Denmark and the United States over Greenland; the impact of Trump administration policies on Taiwan and U.S. security competition with China; as well as the growing sophistication

en-US

32:13

Counter Disinformation or Censorship?

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/04/21

This week on the Active Measures Newsletter Podcast, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson review the decision by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to shutter the surviving office countering foreign disinformation on the grounds that it was actually censoring American voices. The conversation then turns to the nominee for the U.S. Attorney in the District of Columbia and his failure to disclose more than 150 appearances on Russian state-run media; the health of the Canadian information ecosystem in the

en-US

34:16

Tea Leaves

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/03/31

This week on the Active Measures Newsletter Podcast, Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson search the tea-leaves left behind by DOGE cuts to try to understand the grand-strategy and intention behind gutting American soft-power and threatening NATO allies. Then, they turn their attention back overseas for a reminder that America's adversaries continue to operate political warfare campaigns despite America's unilateral disarmament. Finally, they look at the potential for AI-created deepfakes to undermine public

en-US

30:28

Is It Spelled "Capitulation" or "Allies?"

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/03/24

This week on the Active Measures Newsletter Podcast, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson dissect a raft of moves by the U.S. government that can't be explained as either accident or intentional act, but paint a picture of a strategic realignment with Russia. They also discuss a new report from CSIS about foreign governments targeting corporations with mal-information, while China increasingly employs so-called "Gray Zone" tactics. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

37:08

The Voice of America Silenced

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/03/17

This week hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson welcome Matt Armstrong, a former member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors that oversaw the U.S. government's international media, for a discussion of the late breaking moves by the Trump administration to shutter America's overseas broadcasting and the impact those closures might have on international audiences, American alliances, and the ambitions of America's adversaries.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

33:30

The Reordering

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/03/03

This week on the Active Measures Newsletter Podcast, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson tackle news that the Secretary of Defense has instructed U.S. Cyber Command to cease planning for offensive cyber operations against Russia; an American think-tank reports on disinformation in every American state; AI can help audiences resist disinformation; while one American scholar notes that right-wing populist information campaigns have the hallmarks of improv; capped off with a couple of articles on losing

en-US

30:37

Brazen

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/02/24

In the aftermath of his party's election victory, Christian Democrat leader Friedrich Merz charted a course for Germany in a Europe that must be independent of the United States, telling an interviewer that the pre-election “intervention from Washington was no less drastic, dramatic, and ultimately no less outrageous, than the intervention that we have seen from Moscow,”--a reference to forays by Elon Musk and Vice President J.D. Vance into German politics. In this week's Active Measures

en-US

37:00

Unilateral Disarmament

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/02/17

In this week's episode, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson examine Trump Administration decisions to unilaterally disarm the United States of its ability to exert influence around the world, including: the effort to shutter USAID, slash funding for the National Endowment for Democracy, eliminate Justice Department efforts to counter Russian influence, and suspend DHS programs to protect American elections--all while Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth alienate American

en-US

30:57

An Ethno-Nationalist International?

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/02/03

On this week's Active Measures Newsletter Podcast, Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson discuss the pattern that emerges when you look at the divisive issues being injected into diverse Western media environments--including Canada, Switzerland, and Germany--where a looming election in February is liberal-democracy's next test against a familiar pattern of ethno-nationalist grievance and promises of national renewal. They also discuss the Chinese AI phenom DeepSeek and its penchant for pro-Beijing

en-US

29:50

The "Tech Bro-ligarchy" Challenge to Democracy

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/01/27

In this week's episode of the Active Measures Newsletter Podcast, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson reflect on recent reporting on Russian interference in the German and Romanian elections, the threat of AI-enabled individualized information campaigns, and the growing specter of tech billionaires operating in the information space in the same way we typically think of nation-states. Ultimately, the two hosts consider a couple of recent proposals for fighting back--including to approach

en-US

29:44

Is It Time to Move Beyond the Disinformation Framework?

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/01/13

This week on the Active Measures Newsletter Podcast, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson reflect on China's use of social media 'influencers' to target Taiwan and the risk of escalation in Russia's hybrid war against Europe before turning to a consideration of Facebook's decision to end third-party fact-checking. Ultimately, the discussion turns to whether the disinformation framework--trying to correct lies and mistruths--is the most effective way to clean-up a polluted information eco-system

en-US

27:37

Hybrid Warfare to the Fore

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/01/06

In the premier episode of the second season of the Active Measures Newsletter Podcast, Mark Jacobson and Jim Ludes discuss a tremendous amount of end-of-year reporting on Russian hybrid warfare efforts in the West, look ahead to Germany's upcoming elections, discuss the U.S. Treasury Departments new sanctions on Russian and Iranian entities for interfering in American elections, look at new country profiles from the EU Disinfo Lab, and discuss the FBI's warnings to lawmakers about China's efforts to

en-US

31:01

Is That a Drone?

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2024/12/16

In this week's Active Measures Newsletter Podcast, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson conclude the year and the first season of the podcast with a discussion of Romanian efforts to protect their presidential election from Russian interference; a look at Congress de-funding the U.S. Global Engagement Center; and then some context for the flurry of drone sightings in the Northeastern United States. They end with a look back at disinformation in 2024 and a look ahead to 2025.Season 2 of the Active

en-US

28:31

Out-Russia Russia

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2024/12/09

In this episode of the Active Measures Newsletter Podcast, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson review the latest reporting on Chinese cognitive warfare, Russia's multi-pronged efforts to undermine Western support for Ukraine, the limits of fact-checking to counter disinformation, and the unprecedented moment when the President of the United States and his principle funder both own popular social media networks--effective instruments for influence, attacks on enemies, and political mobilization.See

en-US

83 results

Similar Podcasts

The Fly

Georgetown"s Institute of Politics and...

THE CONSTITUTION STUDY

Paul Engel

The DSR Daily

The DSR Network

The Lawfare Podcast

The Lawfare Institute

Fora do Baralho

Rádio Observador