Disinformation and How to Counter It Seminar: Session 1

Session 1 begins September 17, 2025

(Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP) AFP - SEBASTIEN BOZON

Hey everyone,

Julie Roginsky

and I are so excited to announce our Fall 2025 seminar: a 6-week discussion on information warfare, disinformation, and media manipulation — exclusively for our paid subscribers.

If you’ve followed our work on Russia, Ukraine, authoritarian influence, disinformation, and the shifting U.S. media landscape, this seminar is the next step. We’ll look at how the Kremlin’s Cold War playbook evolved into one of the most important tools of modern hybrid warfare — and how those same strategies have been used here in the United States over the past decade to manipulate media, co-opt influencers, deepen polarization, and increasingly fuel real-world violence, including through MAGA-aligned and far-right disinformation networks in the U.S.

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Starts: Wednesday, September 17 at 3:00 PM ET
Meets: Weekly on Wednesdays (Sept 17–Oct 22)
Format: Zoom meet

Zoom link will be sent separately on Wednesday at 2:30 PM ET. Cut-off for registration is September 17 at 2:00 PM ET.

Slides will be emailed the following day…

Registration Link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSccVY1gdQvAJLIsN8ahz0oRRl1bsyqDupu1Ixx5SEcWZLZ6kg/viewform?usp=header

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We’ll meet live on Zoom every Wednesday at 3:00 PM ET, and every session will include:

• A focused breakdown of disinformation and information warfare

• Global and U.S. examples — including Kremlin influence, MAGA media ecosystems, and GOP-aligned narrative laundering

• Resistance tools, resources, and discussion

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Here’s what we’ll cover:

Session 1: From KGB Playbooks to Today’s Information War — How It Started and How to Stop It

How Cold War “active measures” evolved into modern disinformation tactics — and what we can learn from their long history to push back today.

Session 2: Weaponized Information Ecosystems — And How to Disrupt Them

An inside look at how authoritarian regimes exploit media platforms, algorithms, and identity politics — and how their tactics have been mirrored in far-right U.S. media spaces.

Session 3: Influence Agents, Front Groups, and Narrative Laundering

How think tanks, NGOs, media figures, influencers, and politicians are co-opted to launder state propaganda — from Kremlin-funded platforms to U.S. propagandists.

Session 4: U.S. Media — Far-Right Echo Chambers and Mainstream Complicity

How MAGA-aligned media disseminate disinformation, echo Kremlin narratives, and how mainstream outlets can unwittingly amplify disinformation through false balance, clickbait, and leaks.

Session 5: Hybrid Warfare and the Move from Online Indoctrination to Offline Violence

How online propaganda fuels radicalization and real-world extremism — from Stop the Steal to Telegram militias to sabotage recruitment efforts across Europe and the U.S.

Session 6: Countering Disinformation — Lessons from Ukraine, the Baltics, and Beyond

Successful strategies for fighting back. We’ll look at what some countries are doing right — and what we can learn from those on the front lines of the information war.

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We look forward to seeing you there!