FSI scholars offer expert analysis and commentary on contemporary global issues.
FEATURED NEWS
Remembering Alexei Navalny, Russia's Unwavering Opposition Leader
Scholars from the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies share their memories and perspectives of Navalny, who died while incarcerated in a Russian penal colony.
Slovak President Optimistic about Democracy, but Warns about Russian Misinformation
During a visit to FSI, Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová reminded the Stanford community that the stakes of the war in Ukraine are high and will impact democracies far beyond Eastern and Central Europe.
Confronting the Climate Crisis: Kumi Naidoo's Call to Action
At the 2024 Payne Distinguished Lecture, Kumi Naidoo highlighted how creative storytelling blended with scientific evidence can move societies toward longer-term solutions for climate change, social injustice, and war.
Recent developments suggest possible links between some ransomware groups and the Russian government. We investigate this relationship by creating a dataset of ransomware victims and analyzing leaked communications from a major ransomware group.
In an essay for Lawfare Blog, Samantha Bradshaw of American University and Shelby Grossman of the Stanford Internet Observatory explore whether two key platforms, Facebook and Twitter, were internally consistent in how they applied their labels during the 2020 presidential election.
Shelby Grossman shares what she and her team watch for when analyzing social media posts and other online reports related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Appeared first in Stanford News)
In The Politics of Order in Informal Markets: How the State Shapes Private Governance, Grossman explores findings that challenge the conventional wisdom that private good governance in developing countries thrives when the government keeps its hands off private group affairs.
We identify hundreds of scam social media accounts across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and TikTok targeting individuals in Nigeria. These accounts post on compromised accounts claiming to have earned money through a fake investment scheme, and encourage others to “invest”. The potential for harm is high: by one estimate thousands have been scammed.
A cluster of pro-Saif Gaddafi Facebook Pages suspended for inauthentic behavior worked to create the impression that Saif has broad support among Libyans, and tried to undermine the recognized government, including by pushing COVID-19 conspiracies.
