On this week's Active Measures Newsletter Podcast, Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson discuss the pattern that emerges when you look at the divisive issues being injected into diverse Western media environments--including Canada, Switzerland, and Germany--where a looming election in February is liberal-democracy's next test against a familiar pattern of ethno-nationalist grievance and promises of national renewal.  They also discuss the Chinese AI phenom DeepSeek and its penchant for pro-Beijing disinformation.

On this week's Active Measures Newsletter Podcast, Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson discuss the pattern that emerges when you look at the divisive issues being injected into diverse Western media environments--including Canada, Switzerland, and Germany--where a looming election in February is liberal-democracy's next test against a familiar pattern of ethno-nationalist grievance and promises of national renewal.&nbsp; They also discuss the Chinese AI phenom DeepSeek and its penchant for pro-Beijing disinformation.

From the Pell Center at Salve Regina University and the creators of the Active Measures Newsletter, a weekly dive into the latest trends in political warfare, influence, and information campaigns. 

From the Pell Center at Salve Regina University and the creators of the Active Measures Newsletter, a weekly dive into the latest trends in political warfare, influence, and information campaigns.

A weekly dive into the headlines in the Active Measures Newsletter from the Pell Center at Salve Regina University.

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast

An Ethno-Nationalist International?

AI disinformation is no longer just about deepfakes. It is now about poisoned search results, chatbot hallucinations, meme-driven propaganda, and a fast-growing economy built to exploit chaos. Sam Stockwell and Broderick McDonald from the Alan Turing Institute unpack the new playbook - and why the next information war may be won before the truth even has a chance to catch up.  Hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson also discuss evidence of Russian and American voices in the up-coming Alberta independence referendum as well as a new example of information laundering from the current war with Iran.

AI disinformation is no longer just about deepfakes. It is now about poisoned search results, chatbot hallucinations, meme-driven propaganda, and a fast-growing economy built to exploit chaos. Sam Stockwell and Broderick McDonald from the Alan Turing Institute unpack the new playbook - and why the next information war may be won before the truth even has a chance to catch up.&nbsp; Hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson also discuss evidence of Russian and American voices in the up-coming Alberta independence referendum as well as a new example of information laundering from the current war with Iran.

EPISODE DESCRIPTION - Ready to publish AI disinformation is no longer just about deepfakes. It is now about poisoned search results, chatbot hallucinations, meme-driven propaganda, and a fast-growing economy built to exploit chaos. Sam Stockwell and Broderick McDonald unpack the new playbook - and why the next information war may be won before the truth even has a chance to catch up. Together, they break down the AI Disinformation Incident Repository, an open dataset tracking real-world cases where AI is used to manipulate information during terrorist attacks, riots, wars, and other crisis events. Sam explains how the repository works, why incidents are increasing, and how journalists, fact-checkers, and researchers are documenting the spread of synthetic images, edited footage, and AI-generated claims in real time. Broderick widens the lens, arguing that the real threat is an epistemic crisis - one that reaches beyond deepfakes into the training data, retrieval pipelines, and systems people rely on to decide what is true. You'll discover: Why AI-generated misinformation does not need to be believable to be effective How false content can go viral at 3x the rate of manual disinformation Why crisis moments like Southport, Belfast, and the Iran conflict create perfect conditions for manipulation How foreign-linked, domestic, and financially motivated actors now overlap Why "shadow influencers" are turning outrage into income How chatbots can be poisoned by fake or misleading source material Why transparency around model weighting and data hygiene matters now more than ever The conversation also explores how state and non-state actors are using AI to flood the information environment with content designed for both human audiences and machine ingestion. From fake news articles meant to corrupt LLM outputs to AI-generated videos that do not need to look real in order to shape perception, this episode shows how the battle over truth has changed. If you care about national security, media literacy, AI safety, or simply understanding why it is getting harder to tell what is real online, this is essential listening. The tools are changing fast, the tactics are adapting even faster, and the consequences are reaching far beyond the feed.

The AI Disinformation Incident Repository with Sam Stockwell and Broderick McDonald

TikTok is a potent tool for the Chinese Communist Party’s psychological warfare against the United States. In this conversation, the Hudson Institute’s Michael Sobolik highlights how TikTok's algorithm can shape public opinion in the U.S., particularly among younger audiences, and raises concerns about national security. The discussion also covers the potential for crisis scenarios where the CCP could manipulate information during conflicts, such as a hypothetical situation involving Taiwan.  Hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson also discuss other reporting about Russian actors trying to rhetorically divide Germany, again, while China has become active in exploiting the emerging divide over America’s future AI infrastructure.

TikTok is a potent tool for the Chinese Communist Party&rsquo;s psychological warfare against the United States. In this conversation, the Hudson Institute&rsquo;s Michael Sobolik highlights how TikTok's algorithm can shape public opinion in the U.S., particularly among younger audiences, and raises concerns about national security. The discussion also covers the potential for crisis scenarios where the CCP could manipulate information during conflicts, such as a hypothetical situation involving Taiwan.&nbsp; Hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson also discuss other reporting about Russian actors trying to rhetorically divide Germany, again, while China has become active in exploiting the emerging divide over America&rsquo;s future AI infrastructure.

The TikTok algorithm's continued control by ByteDance poses national security risks. Public opinion on Israel-Palestine has shifted due to TikTok's influence. Crisis scenarios could see TikTok used to manipulate American perceptions. Social media platforms run experiments that can affect user behavior. The CCP could use TikTok to spread pro-China narratives during conflicts. U.S. leaders must effectively communicate the importance of Taiwan. Influencers on TikTok hold more credibility than the CCP. Foreign policy challenges are exacerbated by domestic political divisions. Mixed messaging from U.S. officials undermines the seriousness of the threat.

TikTok is a Potent Weapon of CCP Political Warfare with Michael Sobolik

AI is already writing more than half of X’s helpful Community Notes, and that changes everything about who gets fact-checked, what gets fact-checked, and what happens when “the community” starts looking a lot more synthetic. Alexios Mantzarlis, co-founder of Indicator and a self-described “recovering fact checker,” breaks down the surprising rise of AI-written notes, why bots sometimes outperform humans, and the bigger danger hiding underneath the numbers: a moderation system that can look healthier on paper while quietly losing human participation, language diversity, and political coverage.  Hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson also unpack the recent migrant crisis in Ceuta, Spain, and increasing evidence of adversarial manipulation.

AI is already writing more than half of X&rsquo;s helpful Community Notes, and that changes everything about who gets fact-checked, what gets fact-checked, and what happens when &ldquo;the community&rdquo; starts looking a lot more synthetic. Alexios Mantzarlis, co-founder of Indicator and a self-described &ldquo;recovering fact checker,&rdquo; breaks down the surprising rise of AI-written notes, why bots sometimes outperform humans, and the bigger danger hiding underneath the numbers: a moderation system that can look healthier on paper while quietly losing human participation, language diversity, and political coverage.&nbsp; Hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson also unpack the recent migrant crisis in Ceuta, Spain, and increasing evidence of adversarial manipulation.

AI bots are now writing more than half of X’s helpful community notes, and that shift may be quietly reshaping how truth is judged online. In this episode, Alexios Mantzarlis explains why machine-written fact checks can outperform humans in some cases, where they fail on breaking news and politics, and how platform design may be pushing AI contributors toward safer, less consequential targets. The conversation also explores who is building these bots, why Grok matters, and how tactics like “no notes needed” can be used to game the system. Together, the hosts unpack the growing tension between crowdsourced truth and the risk of automating it into something easier to manipulate.

An Ethno-Nationalist International?

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