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In recent decades, the Russian Federation has started to pursue sophisticated social media disinformation campaigns, aiming to weaken social cohesion and exacerbate political tensions around the world. From spreading propaganda in the run-up to the 2016 U.S. presidential election, to perpetuating falsehoods about COVID-19 vaccines, this kind of manipulation has become a prominent tool of the Russian establishment. How can democratic countries counter these campaigns? How do we learn to spot disinformation? And could this online antagonism spill over into real-life conflict?

Prominent Russian politician and dissident Konstantin Borovoi, Chair of the Western Choice political party, recently fled his home country to seek refuge in the United States. His recent book, Russia Against USA: Russia's Disinformation Campaign Against USA and Its Citizens, warns about the extent of Russia’s disinformation activities worldwide.

Join Perry World House and the University of Pennsylvania’s Russian and East European Studies Department for a wide-ranging conversation on this issue with Konstantin Borovoi and Mitchell A. Orenstein, Professor and Chair of Russian and East European Studies at Penn.

Please note that this event is virtual only. Details of how to take part can be found in your order confirmation email.

Speaker

Konstantin Natanovich Borovoi is a Russian politician and entrepreneur, and has been Chair of the Western Choice Party since 2013. He previously served as Chair of the Party of Economic Freedom from 1992 to 2003 and as a Member of the Russian Parliament from 1995 to 2000.

Moderator

Mitchell A. Orenstein is Professor and Chair of Russian and East European Studies at University of Pennsylvania and Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. His sole-authored and co-authored works on the political economy and international affairs of Central and Eastern Europe have won numerous prizes. He is the author of The Lands in Between: Russia vs. the West and the New Politics of Hybrid War. He is a Faculty Affiliate at Perry World House.