Policy Reports
CAIDAC's researchers are motivated by the real-world impact of their research on practice and policy.
This report presents research by CAIDAC and Digital Public Square detailing Russian efforts to influence Canadians’ perceptions of the war in Ukraine over the last two years. We examined Russian information campaigns tailored to Canadian audiences on Twitter and the supportive ecosystems of accounts that amplify them. This ecosystem included at least 200,000 Twitter accounts that have shared content with millions of Canadians since the war began. Our analysis found that Russian influence operations integrated sophisticated narratives with incendiary images and videos tailored to Canadian audiences. These narratives rapidly evolved, responding to emerging news events in Ukraine, Canada, and Russia. See the full report for additional findings and recommendations.
This report offers a preliminary examination of the Taliban’s online information campaign during the takeover of Afghanistan and its immediate aftermath. Weaponizing Twitter as its primary social media platform, the Taliban pursued a sophisticated information campaign to convince Afghans and the international community that its takeover of Afghanistan was inevitable.
Laura Courchesne and Brian McQuinn explore how the study of insurgencies provides insights into how and why the January 6th insurrection unfolded as it did.
Laura Courchesne and Brian McQuinn argue that analysts and governments are failing to capture the full range and anticipate the potential consequences of armed group social media use.