Latest posts by Aric Toler from October, 2015
Want to Research the Russian Internet But Don't Speak Russian? We Can Help.
Conducting open-source research is especially challenging when you don't speak the language of your research topic. Thanks to the Internet, however, even these obstacles don't make it impossible.
What You Need to Know About Russian Social Networks to Conduct Open-Source Research
Outside of the familiar English-language social networks of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and others, there is a handful of social media platforms used either exclusively or primarily in the post-Soviet world.
So You Want to Conduct Open-Source Research
These general instructions address specific ways to assess the reliability of photographs, videos, and human sources, with a special focus on the Russian Internet.
The Murky Ethics of Publishing Data on Russian Servicemen ‘Bombing Syria’
Ukrainian "civic investigation" project Mirotvorets, previously preoccupied with exposing the Russian military presence in eastern Ukraine, has published personal data of Russian servicemen allegedly engaged in airstrikes in Syria.
New Leak Details Kremlin’s Plans For a Russian ‘National Internet’
The leak by Anonymous International reveals plans for the concept of a “national information platform” in Russia, which effectively describes the creation of an alternative Russian Internet.