NATO StratCom COE Virtual Manipulation Brief
Recurring analytical publication series from NATO's Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence on Russian information-warfare tactics; Osavul has co-produced editions, including analysis of generative-AI-driven Russian propaganda.
Launched in October 2022, the Virtual Manipulation Brief extends NATO StratCom COE's earlier Robotrolling series (started 2017, focused narrowly on automated Russian messaging about NATO's Baltic/Poland presence) to cover Russia's broader discourse about the Alliance and disinformation campaigns targeting Ukraine, publishing on an irregular, roughly semi-annual cadence for an audience of NATO member-state officials, researchers, and the open-source disinformation-research community. Methodology has increasingly relied on AI-assisted social-media and Telegram analysis — including the partnership with Osavul — to detect coordinated inauthentic behavior and hostile narrative campaigns.
Program detail
- Agency
- NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence
- Acronym
- VMB
- Budget
- Phase
- Not applicable — ongoing analytical publication series, not a phased acquisition program
- Domain
- Disinformation and information-warfare analysis
Contracts0
No linked records yet.
Frequently asked
- What is NATO StratCom COE Virtual Manipulation Brief?
- Launched in October 2022, the Virtual Manipulation Brief extends NATO StratCom COE's earlier Robotrolling series (started 2017, focused narrowly on automated Russian messaging about NATO's Baltic/Poland presence) to cover Russia's broader discourse about the Alliance and disinformation campaigns targeting Ukraine, publishing on an irregular, roughly semi-annual cadence for an audience of NATO member-state officials, researchers, and the open-source disinformation-research community. Methodology has increasingly relied on AI-assisted social-media and Telegram analysis — including the partnership with Osavul — to detect coordinated inauthentic behavior and hostile narrative campaigns.
- Which agency runs NATO StratCom COE Virtual Manipulation Brief?
- NATO StratCom COE Virtual Manipulation Brief is run by NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence and is also known as VMB.
Sources & citations2
Each claim links to its underlying source. Confidence reflects how directly the source supports the claim.
- 1
Osavul co-produced an edition of NATO StratCom COE's Virtual Manipulation Brief analyzing the increased role of generative AI in Russian propaganda
NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence: Virtual Manipulation Brief 2024/1: Hijacking Reality — The Increased Role of Generative AI in Russian PropagandaVerified2024-01-01 - 2
The Virtual Manipulation Brief, launched October 2022, builds on the Centre's earlier Robotrolling series tracking how Russian bots and trolls manipulate the flow of information online.
NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence: Virtual Manipulation Brief, Issue 1/2022: Russia's Struggle to Circumvent Sanctions and Communicate Its War Against UkraineVerified2022-10-12