Joseph Bodnar

Research Analyst, Alliance for Securing Democracy
Washington, DC Office
Alliance for Securing Democracy
Staff,
GMF Expert
My Areas of Expertise:
Authoritarian Interference Cybersecurity Disinformation
Russia

Joseph Bodnar is a research analyst with the Alliance for Securing Democracy (ASD) at GMF. He is part of ASD’s information manipulation team and focuses on Russian propaganda and disinformation. 

Prior to joining ASD, Bodnar worked with the Atlantic Council’s Global Strategy Initiative. He holds a master's degree in international affairs from American University and a bachelor’s degree in history with a minor in political science from Kennesaw State University. His capstone project at American involved working with the State Department’s Global Engagement Center to identify trends in foreign disinformation targeting the 2020 US presidential election. Bodnar’s writings have been published in the National Interest, Inkstick, and the Dallas Morning News, among other media outlets, and his research has been cited in The Economist, Foreign Policy, and Bloomberg.  

Media Mentions

by
Joseph Bodnar
“ The world should no longer take the platforms' word that they are doing everything possible to stop the distribution of malicious content - the EU requires evidence. ”
Security Lab Russia
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Joseph Bodnar
“ State-sponsored hackers regularly target or pose as journalists. Reporters have information and access that most people don’t have. Masquerading as a journalist can be an easy way for hackers to gain and exploit a target’s trust. ”
VOA
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Joseph Bodnar
“ Twitter is still a critical place for people to find and understand the news, and if they can’t find NPR, then that's a problem. ”
Washington Post
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Joseph Bodnar
“ This is a huge win for Russian propaganda that they’re able to reach such large audiences on TikTok. ”
AP
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Joseph Bodnar
“ Kremlin-linked accounts launched one of their highest-volume propaganda drives of the war to convince the world that Ukraine blew up this dam, but they couldn’t generate the type of engagement that they normally draw. ”
The Record
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Joseph Bodnar
“ At first, state-linked accounts insisted that Prigozhin’s comments were fake and that there were no Wagner troops moving across Russia. Others echoed claims that the Wagner Group was moving but that Prigozhin was coordinating with the Kremlin in some way. Eventually, they settled on calling Prigozhin a traitor, who had deceived patriots and lost the public’s support. ”
Bloomberg
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Joseph Bodnar
“ Russia’s efforts to spread disinformation about Ukrainian refugees are designed to undermine the EU’s global standing, reduce the European public’s support for Ukraine, and cause political disruption within the EU. ”
Bloomberg
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Joseph Bodnar
“ Russia's Spanish-language social media accounts are some of the most powerful microphones in the Kremlin. ”
Translated from Spanish
DW
by
Joseph Bodnar
“ [Russian propaganda] used Pelosi's trip to paint the United States as an aggressive and reckless power and they framed China as a victim that was justified in safeguarding its interests. ”
RFE/RL
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Joseph Bodnar
“ With Bucha, Russian propagandists were caught trying to distort facts after they came to light. Now Russian officials are getting out in front of events and claiming that Ukraine is staging scenes of violence in areas where Russian troops are just starting to leave. ”
Bloomberg

Featured Work