The Weaponization of Social Media

Title: The Weaponization of Social Media This lecture is a part of The Institute of World Politics Capitol Hill Speaker Series. About the Lecture: Ethan Burger will examine the relevance of the Russian concepts ‘Hybrid War’ and ‘Cyberwarfare’ as applied to Russian intervention in the 2016 Brexit Referendum and U.S. Presidential Election. This lecture will focus on the similarity of Russia’s social media campaigns which used false information, fake news, and other content aimed at exploiting the fears and passions of the UK and U.S. electorates. The Kremlin did not rely on the use of social media alone to obtain favorable electoral outcomes. In both cases, Russian ties to supporters of Brexit and the Trump campaign remained largely unnoticed until after voting. Finally, Mr. Burger will explore some steps that might be taken to reduce the vulnerability of countries’ citizens to foreign manipulation. About the Speaker: Ethan S. Burger, Esq., is a Washington-based international legal consultant and educator, and he is an adjunct professor at the Institute of World Politics. His areas of interest include corporate governance, transnational crime (corruption, cybercrime, and money laundering), and Russian affairs. After working as an attorney on Russian commercial, investment, and risk issues, he segued into academic, research, and advisory roles. Mr. Burger has been a full-time faculty member at American University (School of International Law) and the University of Wollongong (Faculty of Law), and he has also been an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown University Law Center, University of Baltimore, and Washington College of Law. Mr. Burger has lectured in Colombia, India, and Singapore, and he has taught on cyber issues at Vilnius University on a Fulbright Foundation grant. He holds an A.B. from Harvard University and a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center.