No Limits Partnership: The China-Russia Information Nexus - with Bret Schafer

The Institute of World Politics

Event recorded live at IWP, DC, on March 2, 2023. This event is part of the China Lecture Series About the Lecture Throughout Russia’s war in Ukraine, Chinese messengers have surprised many Western observers by framing the conflict on Putin’s terms, promoting pro-Kremlin narratives, and embracing Russian disinformation campaigns, including falsely suggesting that the United States is funding biological weapons laboratories in Ukraine. Though the Ukrainian war is the starkest example of China and Russia’s interest alignment in the information space, China’s drift towards Russian narratives—and its adoption of Russia’s information manipulation tactics—has been evident since at least 2019, when the Hong Kong protests and the start of the global pandemic inspired a more confrontational Chinese approach to global messaging. Understanding the implications of this alignment, its global reach, and its limitations, is critical in formulating an effective, democratic response. About the Speaker Bret Schafer is a senior fellow and head of the Alliance for Securing Democracy’s information manipulation team. Bret is the creator and manager of Hamilton 2.0, an online open-source dashboard tracking the outputs of Russian, Chinese, and Iranian state media outlets, diplomats, and government officials. As an expert in computational propaganda, state-backed information operations, and tech regulation, he has spoken at conferences around the globe and advised numerous governments and international organizations. His research has appeared in the New York Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post, and he has been interviewed on NPR, MSNBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, and the BBC. Prior to joining GMF, he spent more than ten years in the television and film industry, including stints at Cartoon Network and as a freelance writer for Warner Brothers. He also worked in Budapest as a radio host and in Berlin as a semi-professional baseball player in Germany’s Bundesliga. He has a BS in communications with a major in radio/television/film from Northwestern University, and a master’s in public diplomacy from the University of Southern California, where he was the editor-in-chief of Public Diplomacy Magazine. Learn more about IWP graduate programs: https://www.iwp.edu/academic-programs/ Make a gift to IWP: https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/WebLink.aspx?name=E231090&id=18