Document:Top 3 deliverables/achievements of phase 1
| An interesting document describing US parts of the network; NATO General Secretary Stoltenberg and other high level contacts;silencing pro-kremlin voices on Serbian TV; Spanish operation to fire Pedro Baños |
file of unspecified type of unknown authorship dated 2 Nov 2018Subjects: Clusters, Integrity Initiative
Example of: Integrity Initiative/Leak/1
Source: 'Anonymous' (Link)
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Top 3 deliverables/achievements of phase 1
1. Developing and proving the cluster concept and methodology, setting up clusters in a range of countries with different circumstances
- Connects previously unconnected expertise and harnesses it to achieve a focused aim
- Connects media with academia with policy makers with practitioners in a country to impact on policy and society: (Jelena Milic silencing pro-kremlin voices on Serbian TV).
- Provides locally rooted responses to counter the local challenge
- Adapts to local conditions (eg set up as a Media Observatory in Greece).
- Brings external expertise from other clusters quickly, linking them in to support a local problem
2. Making people (in Government, think tanks, military, journalists) see the big picture, making people acknowledge that we are under concerted, deliberate hybrid attack by Russia, in which disinformation is but one weapon in their arsenal, which also includes: cyber; energy supplies; corruption; bad business practices, dirty tricks etc Plus kinetic military ops.
- Lectures and presentations (by our core team and clusters)
- Private high level briefings
- Conferences
- Proactive distribution system for getting info and analyses to 350 key people
- Website
- +600 twitter followers, inc influential players
- Brussels Free University (VUB) programme
3. Increasing the speed of response, mobilising the network to activism in pursuit of the “golden minute”
- We have set up a forensic platform to track Russian influence and expose Russia’s shill network in real time
- We are now reacting more quickly than, eg, ACUS, the DFR lab.
- Recent example from Spain of our influencing the appointment of the pro-Kremlin candidate within a few hours of the announcement
- US cluster update- what’s been happening since the Q4 report? Who in the system are you engaging with at what level? (Obviously Todd has numerous contacts!)
- Todd has formally retired wef last week and will work in our team after the summer. He has provided access to the Global Engagement Centre
- Our application for 501 c 3 status as a US registered not for profit organisation is currently going through their IR process. We have a US (DC) office to work from
- We are planning our US clusters (which will be in key states, not in DC). Within DC we are partnering with C N A and CEPA. Our first partners outside DC are
Adventium Labs and the Technical Leadership Institute at the University of Minnesota.
In September, the Integrity Initiative will be briefing the directors of the Minnesota branch of FBI InfraGard on the aims of the project, what we’re seeing, and what we’re seeking to achieve: (“InfraGard is a partnership between the FBI and the private sector. It is an association of representatives of businesses, academic institutions, state and local law enforcement agencies, and other participants dedicated to sharing information and intelligence to prevent hostile acts against the United States”)
The main 2018 event will be held in Seattle (see link)
https://www.adventiumlabs.com/workshop-identifying-and-combating-disinformation-big-data
- Via VUB we have access to Jakub Grygiel in the State dept planning staff and are planning for a session with him this summer
- The Smith Richardson Foundation will work with us on developing our US network when we have received the 501 c 3 status
- We also have a contact to Katharine Gorka - Senior Advisor - US Department of Homeland Security
- To what extent do you engage with the other governments in the other clusters? Details on France and Lithuania were included so we don’t need those.
We engage only very discreetly with governments, based entirely on trusted personal contacts, specifically to ensure that they do not come to see our work as a problem, and to try to influence them gently, as befits an independent NGO operation like ours, viz;
- Germany, via the Zentrum Liberale Moderne to the Chancellor’s Office and MOD
- Netherlands, via the HCSS to the MOD
- Poland and Romania, at desk level into their MFAs via their NATO Reps
- Spain, via special advisers, into the MOD and PM’s office (NB this may change very soon with the new Government)
- Norway, via personal contacts into the MOD
- HQ NATO, via the Policy Planning Unit into the Sec Gen’s office
We have latent contacts into other governments which we will activate as needs be as the clusters develop.
