Bret Schafer

Senior Director of Policy & Research, Information Operations

Bret Schafer is the Senior Director of Policy & Research, Information Operations, at ISD-US. Prior to joining ISD, Bret was a Senior Fellow at the German Marshall Fund’s Alliance for Securing Democracy (ASD), where he led ASD’s information manipulation team. As an expert in computational propaganda, state-backed information operations, and tech policy, Bret 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, NBC, CNN, Al Jazeera and the BBC. He previously spent more than 10 years in the entertainment industry, including stints at Cartoon Network and as a freelance writer for Warner Brothers. 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.