Disinfo Docket 20 January
DisinfoDocket curates influence operations-related academic research, news, events and job opportunities.

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Highlights
- G7 Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) statement on Russian Influence Campaign (EEAS, 17 January)
- Uganda's feminist movement under threat as foreign donors back conservative groups: Gendered disinformation is being weaponized against women and minority groups (Global Voices, 19 January)
- What’s happening on RedNote? A media scholar explains the app TikTok users are fleeing to – and the cultural moment unfolding there (The Conversation, 19 January)
- TikTok says it’s coming back online after Trump vowed to halt ban (Washington Post, 19 January)
- To fight disinformation, treat it as organised crime (ASPI, 20 January)
1. Platforms & Technology
- An information dark age is upon us. I’m logging off (Guardian, 19 January)
- AI isn’t very good at history, new paper finds (Tech Crunch, 19 January)
- Crucial Conversations About DEI (Anchor Change, 16 January)
- Instagram Debuts New Video-Editing App, as TikTok Deals With a Ban (NYT, 19 January)
Meta
- From cow vigilantes to military propaganda: Facebook's cuts risk violence in Asia (ABC, 18 January)
- Influence by Design: How Meta Accepted Russian Propaganda Payments Despite Sanctions (Check First, 17 January)
TikTok
- TikTok already changed their lives forever (Washington Post, 20 January)
- How TikTok grew from a fun app for teens into a potential national security threat (AP, 19 January)
US TikTok ban
- Was the whole TikTok drama a bait-and-switch to make Trump look good? (Independent, 20 January)
- Trump says he will issue an executive order Monday to get TikTok back up (AP, 19 January)
- TikTok goes dark 90 minutes before deadline but posts message suggesting Trump could save it (Independent, 19 January)
Implications of US TikTok ban in other jurisdictions
- TikTok users posting cat videos do not threaten UK national security, minister says (Guardian, 19 January)
- Could TikTok ever be banned in the UK too? (BBC, 19 January)
- What’s going on with TikTok in the US, and what will this mean for Australia? (The Conversation, 20 January)
TikTok Ownership
- Trump security adviser doesn't rule out continued Chinese ownership of TikTok (Reuters, 19 January)
- Trump says he’ll delay TikTok ban, but the platform must be sold / The incoming president also says he wants the US government to buy it. (Verge, 19 January)
RedNote
- TikTok refugees are pouring to Xiaohongshu. Here’s what you need to know about the RedNote app (AP, 18 January)
- TikTok, RedNote and the Crushed Promise of the Chinese Internet (NYT, 20 January)
- RedNote scrambles to hire English-speaking content moderators (Wired, 18 January)
X (Twitter)
- EU asks X for internal documents about algorithms as it steps up investigation (Guardian, 17 January)