DFR Lab
The Digital Forensic Research Lab, (the DFR Lab) is a project of the Atlantic Council. It is mentioned in Integrity Initiative Leaks 3, 7 and possibly others.
"It was not considered necessary to conduct due diligence on DFRLab, a project of the Atlantic Council."
Staff
It has had at least two members of staff in common with the Integrity Initiative/Institute for Statecraft group.[1]
Activities
The Grayzone reported in December 2019 that Ben Nimmo and the DFRLab prompted Facebook and Twitter to delete hundreds of accounts.[2]
Related Quotations
| Page | Quote | Author | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Nimmo | “Nimmo’s track record is simply appalling. In this report for the Atlantic Council website, he falsely identified British pensioner @Ian56789 as a “Russian troll farm”, which led to Ian being named as such by the British government, and to perhaps the most surreal Sky News interview of all time. Perhaps still more remarkably, Nimmo searches for use of the phrase “cui bono?” in reference to the Skripal and fake Douma chemical weapons attacks. Nimmo characterises use of the phrase cui bono as evidence of pro-Assad and pro-Kremlin bots and trolls – he really does. Most people would think to consider cui bono indicates a smattering more commonsense than Nimmo himself displays.” | Craig Murray Ben Nimmo | 28 August 2018 |
| Zinc Network | “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.” |
Known members
6 of the 26 of the members already have pages here:
| Member | Description |
|---|---|
| Lukas Andriukaitis | Integrity Initiative forensic researcher |
| Graham Brookie | "Former U.S. government advisor on homeland security and counterterrorism" connected to the Integrity Initiative/Institute for Statecraft complex |
| Andy Carvin | |
| Jeff Moss | Founder of the Black Hat & DEF CON computer Hacker conferences |
| Ben Nimmo | "Nimmo is a former spokesperson for NATO, who has essentially dedicated his career to fear-mongering about Russia." |
| Richard Stengel | Senio US Propagandist "Having once been almost a First Amendment absolutist, I have really moved my position on it, because I just think for practical reasons..." |
