| CHINA'S INFORMATIONAL INROADS IN THE CAUCASUS Since it formalized a strategic partnership with Beijing in 2023, the Republic of Georgia's information environment has become increasingly shaped by Chinese influence — with narratives communicated through local proxies, and with pro-Kremlin broadcasters and government aligned publications serving as primary conduits. A new report from media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) details that China's embassy in the country now funds a weekly program in the country which dedicates an hour to celebrating China's achievements while steering clear of "sensitive topics like the repression of Uyghurs in the autonomous region of Xinjiang or the protests in Hong Kong." Party-aligned Chinese publications likewise have begun appearing regularly in Georgian media, blurring the line between local reporting and foreign propaganda and reinforcing narratives that already echo those promoted by Russia. The campaign has found a willing partner in Georgia's current political leadership, with Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and the ruling Georgian Dream party publicly championing China as an alternative to Western power and a potential partner relating to the country's unresolved territorial disputes. Georgia's deteriorating media environment, where independent outlets face mounting financial and political pressure from an increasingly assertive and authoritarian government, has made the country especially vulnerable to this kind of influence, the report concludes. (RSF, March 16, 2026) THE IRANIAN REGIME VERSUS STARLINK When the latest round of protests broke out in Iran in late 2025, the Iranian regime moved quickly to contain the protests — and to constrain the information space enabling them. On January 8th, the Islamic Republic instituted a sweeping internet blackout, severing the country's population from the World-Wide Web. Under cover of that media darkness, the regime moved to brutally suppress the protests, resulting in as many as 40,000 regime opponents killed and disappeared, according to various estimates. Back then, Western governments placed their hopes in Starlink, the satellite internet system pioneered by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, as a possible solution. Accordingly, a number of governments (including the United States) facilitated the delivery of hundreds of Starlink units into the country. They quickly discovered, however, that the tech was less effective than expected, thanks in large part to sophisticated jamming equipment provided to the Iranian regime by Russia and China. Even so, the Starlink option was robust enough to be seen as a threat by Iranian authorities. And now, as it consolidates domestic control amid an ongoing political stalemate with the Trump administration, Iran's remaining regime is moving to limit the capability — and to punish Iranians who dare to use it. In late March, Iranian authorities arrested some four dozen people and seized more than a hundred Starlink terminals in a crackdown on commercial networks within the country selling the devices. Those individuals now face draconian punishments; use of the terminals carries the potential risk of capital punishment, a measure that regime authorities have imposed in an effort to deter usage of the technology. Even so, the challenge facing the Iranian regime is daunting. There are now estimated to be 50,000 terminals across the country, creating a residual connectivity capability that Iranian authorities will find difficult to suppress. (Bloomberg, March 31, 2026) RUSSIA'S EUROPEAN INFORMATION OFFENSIVE A new report from the Henry Jackson Society think tank in London details that Russia has dramatically intensified its information warfare operations against NATO member states, leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and deepfake technology to erode Western public support for Ukraine. Russian disinformation targeting NATO countries, the study details, doubled in early 2023 as the Kremlin sought to compensate for battlefield reversals and rising Western aid to Ukraine. Moscow's informational objective is to isolate Ukraine from its allies and render it more vulnerable, with disinformation increasingly employed as a coercive instrument. Key narratives have included portraying Ukraine as a "Nazi state," depicting Ukrainian refugees as criminals in Poland and Germany, and circulating fabricated stories mimicking trusted Western outlets. Deepfake videos of purported Ukrainian soldiers expressing fear or refusing to fight, some produced using stolen Russian social media images, simultaneously have aimed to degrade domestic morale while signaling to Western audiences that Ukraine cannot sustain its war effort. Authorities have corroborated the threat. According to MI5 Director General Ken McCallum, Russian actors are increasingly leveraging proxies and criminals to conduct influence operations targeting Western democratic institutions. The report urges NATO governments to develop coordinated counter-disinformation frameworks before AI-amplified operations further erode Alliance cohesion. (Henry Jackson Society, April 2026) |
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