Zinc Network

Zinc Network
Formation	2012
Founder	•  Scott Brown •  Robert Elliott
Headquarters	London, UK
Membership	•  Robert Elliott •  Scott Brown •  Adam Rutland •  Buster Dover •  Kru Desai •  Scott Brown •  Robert Elliott •  Louis Brooke •  Margherita Watt •  Janet Chambers •  John Montell •  Katie Barnett
A "communications agency" that partnered with the Institute for Statecraft to propose a network of 56 NGOs in a bid for £9.75million of funding from the UK/FCO.

The Zinc Network was set up in 2012 by Scott Brown and Robert Elliott. As well as an HQ in London, there is Zinc Network Australia based in Sydney.

NGO network proposal

proposed a "Network of NGOs" to the UK/FCO, as revealed by a Leak 7 from the Institute for Statecraft. The directors were proposed to be Louis Brooke (ZINC Network), Amil Khan (Aktis) and Chris Donnelly of the Institute for Statecraft.

“Bringing together organisations including Zinc Network, the Institute for Statecraft, Aktis Strategy, Bellingcat, DFR Lab, the Media Diversity Institute, Toro Risk Solutions and Ecorys, our Consortium combines recognised market leaders in understanding, monitoring, and countering Kremlin-backed disinformation... This ecosystem of credible voices will continue to grow, exposing the actors and networks behind Kremlin-backed disinformation, reducing unwitting multipliers of disinformation, and building resilience amongst key target audiences across Europe.

We will mobilise a Network Hub based in London, led by an experienced Project Director, consisting of an agile team with core competencies augmented by a wider pool of vetted experts. Our approach is highly localised, based around regional clusters of actors who can collaborate to effectively undermine the disinformation

ecosystem in their respective areas and engage audiences most vulnerable to disinformation... It is a highly complex project involving coordination of many independent actors, and thus risk must be carefully managed and risk profiles constantly adapted, serving as the basis for all activity. The approach we propose is based on the identification, monitoring and management of risks as they materialise, allowing members to continue taking smart risks as they increase the scale and impact of their activities.”
'

Leadership

The ZINC Network has been managed since 2015 by Louis Brooke whose CV notes he has "more than 10 years’ experience working in complex strategic communications, such as countering violent extremism, countering disinformation and promoting good governance" and in 2018 was on the board of NATO’s Centre of Excellence for Strategic Communications.

 

A Document by Zinc Network

Title	Document type	Publication date	Subject(s)	Description
Document:A Network of NGOs Technical Proposal	project plan	31 August 2018	NGO	A central II document. "Project Risk: Project interpreted as UK-sponsored disinformation or ‘troll factory’, seriously undermining UK reputation and agenda in this space"

 

Known members

2 of the 10 of the members already have pages here:

Member	Description
Louis Brooke	Suggest as director of the UK government propaganda network Zinc Network
Adam Rutland	Diplomat mentioned multiple times in the Integrity Initiative Leak.

 

Related Document

Title	Type	Publication date	Author(s)	Description
Document:British govt funded plan for censorship of factual NATO criticism	Article	3 October 2023	Jack Poulson	Leaked documents reveal British intel contractor Zinc Network singled out The Grayzone’s Max Blumenthal for online censorship, and seeks to redefine factual criticism of NATO as disinformation

Many thanks to our Patrons who cover ~2/3 of our hosting bill. Please join them if you can.