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in·ter·net ob·serv·a·to·ry
[ˈin(t)ərˌnet əbˈzərvəˌtôrē] n. a lab housing infrastructure and human expertise for the study of the internet
Guardians of Democracy: An oral history of the 2020 election
This oral history and corresponding policy paper attempts to capture their experiences and offer a path forward for healing the election community and protecting our democracy.
Featured News and Publications
Playbook shares best practices to combat information manipulation
The playbook launched on Monday, September 20 in collaboration with NDI and IRI.
Topologies and Tribulations of Gettr
A month in the life of a new alt-network
Content-Oblivious Trust and Safety Techniques: Results from a Survey of Online Service Providers
A new publication from Riana Pfefferkorn of the Stanford Internet Observatory.
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The Threat of Foreign Influence Operations
Blogs / October 23, 2020
A new SIO-Lawfare debate series argues the questions: What is the impact of foreign influence operations targeting the United States? Is public conversation commensurate with the threat level?
Analysis of an October 2020 Facebook Takedown Linked to the Islamic Movement in Nigeria
Blogs / October 8, 2020
In this post and in the attached report we investigate an operation that called for the release from prison of Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky.
Analysis of an October 2020 Facebook Takedown Linked to U.S. Political Consultancy Rally Forge
Blogs / October 8, 2020
An astroturfing operation involving fake accounts (some with AI-generated images) that left thousands of comments on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Clients included Turning Point Action and...
Analysis of Twitter Takedowns Linked to Cuba, the Internet Research Agency, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand
Blogs / October 8, 2020
In this post and in the attached reports we investigate operations linked to youth organizations with ties to the Cuban government, the Internet Research Agency, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the...
Fake Profiles, Real Children
Blogs / October 1, 2020
A Look at the Use of Stolen Child Imagery in Social Media Role-Playing Games
Chinese Expat News Site Resists CCP Influence
Blogs / September 24, 2020
A popular source of information among the Chinese diaspora is the website Wenxuecity.com. There have been allegations that the site’s funding is linked to the Chinese government. In this post, we...
Who Are the President of Guinea's Facebook Trolls? The Blurry Line Between Modern Campaigning and Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior
Blogs / September 21, 2020
We document an extensive network of Facebook Pages operated by Guinean president Alpha Condé’s political party. The Pages coordinated posting to support Condé's bid for a third term, and the...
Qui sont les trolls Facebook du président guinéen ? Campagne électorale moderne ou actions inauthentiques concertées, une frontière floue
Blogs / September 21, 2020
Nous avons enquêté sur un large réseau de pages Facebook opérées par le parti du président guinéen Alpha Condé. Les Pages orchestrent des publications qui soutiennent la candidature de Condé à un...
A US PR Firm Steps Into Contested Elections
Blogs / September 4, 2020
A U.S.-based strategic communications firm engaged in coordinated inauthentic behavior targeting people in Bolivia and Venezuela.
Reporting for Duty
Blogs / September 1, 2020
An investigation into a network of Pakistan-based Facebook and Instagram accounts suspended for coordinated inauthentic behavior reveals mass reporting to silence critics of Islam and Pakistan.
No Modest Voices: Social Media and the Protests in Belarus
Blogs / August 28, 2020
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Telegram have largely become a rallying space for protesters and supporters of the opposition.
#Covid1948: The Spread of an Anti-Israel Hashtag
Blogs / August 13, 2020
An Investigation into a coordinated hashtag on Twitter.
The Ministry of Made-Up Pages: Yemen-Based Actors Impersonate Government Agencies to Spread Anti-Houthi Content
Blogs / August 6, 2020
We analyzed a now-suspended network of Facebook Pages, Groups, and profiles linked to individuals in Yemen. We found accounts that impersonated government ministries in Saudi Arabia, posts that...
Two Faces of Russian Information Operations: Coronavirus Coverage in Spanish
Blogs / July 30, 2020
RT en Español leaves coronavirus-related disinformation to other sites in the Russia-aligned information space.
Announcing the Election Integrity Partnership
News / July 27, 2020
A new partnership with Stanford Internet Observatory, the Program on Democracy and the Internet, DFRLab, Graphika and the University of Washington's Center for an Informed Public will tackle...
New White Paper on China's Full-Spectrum Information Operations
Blogs / July 20, 2020
The white paper, in collaboration with the Hoover Institution, dives into China’s capabilities and raises an important question: how do states with full-spectrum propaganda capabilities put them to...
Suicide prevention content in multiple languages on major platforms
Blogs / July 16, 2020
Google, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram feature suicide prevention resources on English language searches in the US, but are those resources available to a broader audience? Performance varies across...
Comparing Platform Hate Speech Policies: Reddit's Inevitable Evolution
Blogs / July 8, 2020
On Monday, June 30, 2020, Reddit updated its policy on hate speech. As part of research for a forthcoming book based on the Stanford Internet Observatory’s Trust and Safety Engineering course, we...
Virality Project: Saudi Arabia State Media and COVID-19
Blogs / June 24, 2020
COVID-19 has directly or indirectly affected every country, providing an opportunity for comparative analysis of the ways governments use the pandemic to pursue political objectives. SIO has been conducting case studies investigating how various state media apparatuses are responding to the crisis, and the political dimensions of coronavirus misinformation around the world. Here we focus on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, investigating how its state media (and media formally or informally linked to the ruling royal family) have discussed the pandemic.
Dispatches from the June 2020 Twitter Inauthentic Activity Takedown
Blogs / June 18, 2020
On June 12, 2020, Twitter removed 1,152 accounts attributed to Current Policy, “a media website engaging in state-backed political propaganda within Russia.” These accounts were taken down because...
Mask Diplomacy: Chinese Narratives in the COVID Era
Blogs / June 16, 2020
China has been shipping medical supplies to countries battling the coronavirus pandemic, an effort dubbed “mask diplomacy.” It remains to be seen if China will be able to tailor its messages...
Analysis of June 2020 Twitter takedowns linked to China, Russia and Turkey
Blogs / June 11, 2020
On June 3, 2020 Twitter shared with the Stanford Internet Observatory three distinct takedown datasets from China, Turkey and Russia. In this post and in the attached white papers on the China and...
Virality Project (Russia): Penguins and Protests
Blogs / June 9, 2020
As the coronavirus pandemic spread around the world, RT’s English-language branches worked to undermine lockdown measures in Western countries while extolling the Russian and Chinese governments’...