For 20 years, ISD has delivered field-leading threat detection, analysis and real-world strategies to combat terrorism, extremism and authoritarianism - in all their ideological forms.

Democratic Integrity

ISD works to detect threats to democracy and democratic institutions around the world. Recent work includes safeguarding election integrity in the United States, the UK, Germany, Canada, France, Kenya, Australia, Ireland and Poland. Our work informs capacity-building efforts for civil society, briefings for national, state and local authorities, and expert testimony for federal committees on threats to democratic processes.

May 27, 2026

All operations on Armenia: Russia’s influence machine targets the vote

Multiple Russian information operations are converging on Armenia in an apparent attempt to influence parliamentary elections on 7 June

Democratic Integrity, Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, Information Warfare and Online Manipulation

February 12, 2026

No time to lose: Liberal democracies can win the cognitive and hybrid war against authoritarians

Democratic Integrity, Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, Information Warfare and Online Manipulation

January 13, 2026

Mysterious news source floods Facebook with ads in wake of California redistricting battle

Democratic Integrity, Tech Accountability and Safety

November 28, 2025

Assessment of Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference in the 2025 Czech Parliamentary Election

Democratic Integrity

November 14, 2025

Spoil the vote campaign spreads falsehoods during Irish election

Democratic Integrity, Tech Accountability and Safety

October 31, 2025

Irish Presidential Election 2025: Renewed attacks on election integrity and repeated platform failures

Accountability and Speech Protection, Democratic Integrity

October 30, 2025

From Bucharest to Prague: The spread of the ‘Romanian Scenario’ conspiracy theory in Czechia’s elections

Democratic Integrity, Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference

September 12, 2025

Czechia: Election Risk Assessment | FIMI Response Team Report

Democratic Integrity, Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference

September 8, 2025

Friedrich Merz targeted by Russian campaigns for Support of Ukraine

Democratic Integrity, Information Warfare and Online Manipulation, Targeted Threats, Hate and Abuse

Further Reading

November 24, 2023

Footage from Jan 6: Fuel for bad actors or fact-checking opportunity?

ISD's Jared Holt talks to USA Today about how new footage from the US Capitol riot could offer context to clarify misinformation narratives.

Democratic Integrity, Targeted Threats, Hate and Abuse, Terrorism and Extremism

November 23, 2023

Thousands of hours of recently released Jan 6 security footage being used to spread false narratives

ISD’s Head of Threat Analysis and Prevention, Katherine Keneally, told the NYT how video from Jan 6 released in 2023 was exploited.

Democratic Integrity, Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, Hybrid Extremism and Nihilistic Violence

November 21, 2023

“Letter to America” reaches 719M impressions across social media platforms

ISD’s Moustafa Ayad talks to CNN about "Letter for America," Osama bin Laden's two-decade-old letter went viral during the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Democratic Integrity, Far-Right Extremism, Islamist Extremism, Terrorism and Extremism

November 17, 2023

Social media platforms breathe new life into the legacy of Osama bin Laden

ISD’s Isabelle Frances-Wright speaks to NBC about how Osama bin Laden’s “Letter to America” became popular on TikTok in the span of 48 hours.

Democratic Integrity, Islamist Extremism, Terrorism and Extremism

November 15, 2023

AI in election campaigns: Argentinian presidential candidates give it a first run

ISD's Head of Technology and Society, Isabelle Frances-Wright, told the NYT about the challenge of extensive AI use in Argentina's 2023 election.

Democratic Integrity, Recommender Systems and Algorithms

November 3, 2023

Russia, China and Iran’s online approach to the Israel-Hamas conflict

Our investigation on Russia, China and Iran's role in the information war surrounding the Israel-Hamas conflict features in the New York Times.

Democratic Integrity, Information Warfare and Online Manipulation

October 25, 2023

China, Russia and Iran are exploiting the Israel-Hamas conflict for their benefit

Euronews covers our investigation on China, Russia, and Iran's exploitation of information chaos surrounding the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Democratic Integrity, Information Warfare and Online Manipulation, Targeted Threats, Hate and Abuse

October 16, 2023

Far left, far right antisemitism likely to rise amid Israel-Hamas conflict

POLITICO features our Explainer on far-left antisemitism, explaining how there has been a long history of conflating Jews, Zionism and Israel.

Antisemitism, Democratic Integrity, Far-Left Extremism, Far-Right Extremism, Targeted Threats, Hate and Abuse, Terrorism and Extremism

October 10, 2023

Social media platforms inundated with unverified claims about Israel and Gaza

ISD's Executive Director for AMEA, Moustafa Ayad, told NPR about the dangers of unverified sources being left to gain traction around Israel and Gaza.

Democratic Integrity, Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, Gaming and Alternative Platforms

October 10, 2023

The role of Tucker Carlson in Russian state media’s propaganda strategy

In an op-ed for the Moscow Times, ISD's Elise Thomas discusses Tucker Carlson's ubiquity in Russian media despite not working for or with state media.

Democratic Integrity, Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, Information Warfare and Online Manipulation

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