Eliot Higgins: Russian Disinformation in Syria

CSIS Babel

Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman and Will Todman

Published November 5, 2019

Russia is spreading disinformation in the Middle East, especially in Syria, in order to discredit its critics and advance its interests. This week Jon, Amber, and Will discuss the scope of the issue and its consequences. Then Eliot Higgins, founder of Bellingcat, sits down with Jon to explain how his citizen journalist platform detects and counters disinformation.

Eliot Higgins, “Chemical Weapons and Absurdity: The Disinformation Campaign Against the White Helmets,” Bellingcat, December 2018.
Mark Katz, “When the Friend of My Friends Is Not My Friend,” The Atlantic Council, May 2019.
Mark Katz, “What Do They See in Him? How the Middle East Views Putin and Russia,” Russian Analytical Digest, May 3, 2018.
Suzanne Spaulding, “Democracy and Justice in the Age of Disinformation,” CSIS, May 1, 2019.

Jon B. Alterman

Jon B. Alterman

Senior Vice President, Zbigniew Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy, and Director, Middle East Program

Will Todman

Will Todman

Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, Middle East Program