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.

Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference

Democratic societies face a barrage of influence operations from foreign state actors that threaten election integrity, national security and individual rights. ISD is a world leader in identifying, analysing, exposing and combating Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI), identifying networks of pro-Kremlin, pro-Chinese and pro-Iranian influence that is manipulative in character and conducted in an intentional and coordinated manner. Actors of such activity can be state or non-state actors, including their proxies inside and outside of their own territory.  

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

April 23, 2026

Iran’s diplomats launch a meme war

Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, Information Warfare and Online Manipulation

April 15, 2026

How pro-Iran networks gained a billion views on war propaganda

Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, Information Warfare and Online Manipulation

April 2, 2026

Foreign actors and foreign influence: An exploratory analysis of international state actors targeting Ireland in 2025

Coordinated Inauthentic Behaviour, Data Access and Transparency, Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference

March 31, 2026

Irish unity, Palestine and Soleimani: Analysis of an Iranian information operation targeting Ireland

Coordinated Inauthentic Behaviour, Data Access and Transparency, Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference

March 14, 2026

Iran floods global social media with AI content during ongoing conflict

Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference

March 9, 2026

ISD investigation exposes sophistication of Russian interference in EU and beyond

Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, Information Warfare and Online Manipulation

March 7, 2026

AI floods the Iran conflict narrative with misinformation and state influence

Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, Information Warfare and Online Manipulation

March 5, 2026

A “narrative war” unfolds online after US-Israel strikes on Iran

Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, Information Warfare and Online Manipulation

Further Reading

October 20, 2021

Social media policies against health disinformation aren’t stopping repeat offenders

ISD's Aoife Gallagher spoke to the WaPo about our latest report "Ill Advice: A Case Study in Facebook’s Failure to Tackle COVID-19 Disinformation."

Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, Public Health, Tech Accountability and Safety

June 21, 2021

Desinformationskampagnen gegen die Wahl: Befunde aus Sachsen-Anhalt

In sozialen Medien gibt es Kampagnen, die Zweifel an Wahlen säen. Dieser ISD-Bericht behandelt Desinformation bei der Landtagswahl in Sachsen-Anhalt.

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

April 9, 2021

Arabic-language vaccine misinformation spreads unchecked on Facebook

Moustafa Ayad and Ciarán O'Connor's research on Arabic-language COVID vaccine misinformation on Facebook is exclusively covered by WIRED.

Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, Public Health

March 29, 2021

Irish users targeted with conspiracy theories through Facebook ads

Milo Comerford is quoted in a Times article about the use of Facebook ads to promote conspiracy theories.

Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, Public Health

February 25, 2021

Facebook’s news ban and its effect on online conspiracy communities

Elise Thomas examines how Facebook blocking Australian users from news content tested the impact on disinformation and conspiracy theories online.

Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, Information Warfare and Online Manipulation

February 10, 2021

Podcast: Aoife Gallagher discusses QAnon global reach on Al Jazeera’s The Take

Aoife Gallagher features in this episode of Al Jazeera's The Take: 'How did the QAnon conspiracy go global?'

Far-Right Extremism, Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, Hybrid Extremism and Nihilistic Violence

February 5, 2021

The Long Tail of Influence Operations: A Case Study on News Front

This case study examines News Front, a Crimean news source accused of pro-Kremlin disinformation, revealing the broader disinformation ecosystem.

Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, Public Health

February 4, 2021

The yoga world is riddled with anti-vaxxers and QAnon believers

Cécile Simmons reflects on how her roles as an ISD researcher and yoga teacher have blurred over the past year.

Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, Public Health

January 28, 2021

Cécile Guerin writes for Wired about the yoga world, antivaxxers and QAnon believers

Cécile Guerin writes for Wired about the increasing presence of conspiracy theories, anti-vaxx and QAnon narratives in the wellness community.

Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, Public Health

January 25, 2021

New QAnon conspiracies about Trump spread on TikTok

Aoife Gallagher is quoted in a Rolling Stone article on the increasing convergence between QAnon and the anti-government Sovereign Citizen movement.

Far-Right Extremism, Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference

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