1. The case for turning off your Zoom camera (BBC)
Bosses want video call cameras on. But workers may have a strong argument against appearing on screen when they don’t want to.
In broadening our view of diplomacy in the digital age, the book includes a comprehensive collection of contributions and cases addressing Internet Diplomacy. Collectively, it expands our understanding of transformations in international diplomacy and transnational digital governance, their drivers and their nature, their capacity to challenge power relations, and, ultimately, the values they carry and channel onto the global scene.
3. The IT Army of Ukraine – Structure, Tasking, and Ecosystem (Cyberdefense report by Stefan Soesanto)
For several years prior to the Russian invasion on 24 February 2022, the principal idea of creating a cyber volunteer army had been bouncing around in Ukrainian government circles. In part, those discussions were informed by the success of the Estonian Defence League’s Cyber Unit and other efforts around the globe to organize, incorporate, and surge civilian IT volunteers into existing military structures in times of need.
4. Russophobia and disinformation in Germany: Weaponising the victim narrative (EU Disinfo Lab)
Accusations of Russophobia have emerged in the form of prejudice, fear, or hatred towards the country, Russian citizens, or Russian culture in general. However, while this alleged anti-Russian sentiment might have provoked discrimination and incidents in some countries, several claims present incongruences. In some cases, the incidents seem to have been exaggerated for propaganda purposes, as Russian authorities and institutions amplified and filled these allegations with a strong bias and political agenda.
5. Network of Syria conspiracy theorists identified (The Guardian)
A network of more than two dozen conspiracy theorists, frequently backed by a coordinated Russian campaign, sent thousands of disinformation tweets to distort the reality of the Syrian conflict and deter intervention by the international community, new analysis reveals.
The aim of this piece is to expand the vision of soft power from a competitive state-centric perspective to a broader and more collaborative, humanity-centred perspective.
7. Tried and (un)true – Russia’s war on Information (“Did the war end” podcast)
Disinformation has been a part of Russia’s geopolitical strategy since the establishment of the Russian Imperial Police in 1881. How has Russia weaponized information, from the 1800s, Soviet times, and all the way to today? In today’s episode, we discuss the evolution of Russian information warfare alongside Nina Jankowicz, a world-renowned expert on disinformation. Tune in to hear the role disinformation is playing in the Russian-Ukrainian war and what the West and Ukraine can do to fight it.
Politicians have discovered Twitter as a tool for political communication. If the information provided by politicians is circulated in ideologically segregated user networks, political polarization may be fostered. Using network information on all 1.78 million unique followers of German Members of Parliament by October 2018, follower homogeneity across politicians and parties is measured. While the overall homogeneity is low, politicians of the AfD—a right-wing populist party—stand out with very homogeneous follower networks.
9. European politicians duped into deepfake video calls with mayor of Kyiv (The Guardian)
The mayors of several European capitals have been duped into holding video calls with a deepfake of their counterpart in Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko.