Policy Currents | The newsletter for policy people
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** Sep. 3, 2024
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Lessons from Ukraine's Resistance to Russian Disinformation
Throughout its war in Ukraine, Russia has disseminated large volumes of false information aimed at Ukrainians, those living in Russia, and audiences around the world. Moscow's disinformation efforts--and Ukraine's response to them--offer unique insights into how other nations can counter disinformation and propaganda during conflict.
A new RAND report highlights some key takeaways:
- Ukraine's efforts to "prebunk" Russian information campaigns before the war helped lay the groundwork for further successful Ukrainian counterdisinformation initiatives.
- During the war, Ukraine's efforts to counter Russian disinformation have largely been successful within Ukraine.
- However, Ukraine has fared the worst in countering the Kremlin's targeted disinformation inside Russia.
- Ukraine's success in the international arena can best be measured in international support for the war, which has decreased over time--perhaps particularly in the United States.
The authors also identify specific actions that the United States could take to counter adversary disinformation in a potential future conflict. These include rebuilding and maintaining public trust in the government and other key institutions; strengthening U.S. troops' resilience to disinformation; and outsourcing counterdisinformation efforts to creative, agile partners that can create engaging content.
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These Five Charts Show the State of Public Education
Every year, RAND surveys educators throughout the United States to better understand the pressures facing teachers, how instruction is changing, and much more. As the new school year kicks off, it's a good time to see what the last 12 months of data reveal about the state of America's public schools. Among the big takeaways, most teachers don't consider their base pay to be adequate; teachers need more support to deliver grade-level-appropriate reading instruction; and teaching and learning may be starting to diverge in liberal and conservative communities.
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Overcoming the Fallacies of AI Cybersecurity
Despite the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, there has been an overall lack of focus on AI cybersecurity. According to RAND's Chad Heitzenrater, this has opened the door for the development of AI cybersecurity models to emerge from outside the cybersecurity community. Some of these models have been based on faulty reasoning. For instance, there's a tendency to believe that AI cybersecurity is new. It's not, Heitzenrater says. AI is not fundamentally different than the systems that the cybersecurity field has been concerned with throughout its history. Thus, there is already real research, valuable guidance, and hard-won lessons that can--and should--be applied to AI cybersecurity efforts.
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** RAND Recommends
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- In Education Week, RAND's Heather Schwartz discussed her recent study on the persistent problem of chronic absenteeism in America's schools: "The reasons for absenteeism are diffuse," she said, and so a "blunt, one-size-fits-all approach" to responding will be limited in its effectiveness.
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- RAND's William Courtney spoke to Vox about potential paths to ending the war in Ukraine, including a sustained cease-fire. The danger with such an arrangement, he said, is that Russian leaders "are notorious for violating their international commitment."
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- RAND's Mahshid Abir discusses key factors that could increase the survival rate for those who experience out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
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** Events
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Policy Lab: New Evidence for the Effects of U.S. Gun Policies
Thursday, September 26, 2024 (Online)
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