New Knowledge is a team of national security, digital media and machine learning experts with decades of experience who are dedicated to defending public discourse and providing brands with disinformation protection.
We are living in a crisis of trust - and societies in which citizens can’t trust their information sources are vulnerable to collapse. It’s no secret that in today’s information-rich society, the lines between fact and fiction have blurred.
New Knowledge is on a mission to make it easier to monitor and defend against damaging social media security risks and disinformation so the truth will prevail in our public discourse.
In August 2014, the world was shocked by a gruesome video of journalist James Foley's brutal murder, broadcast on platforms normally reserved for debating the news and sharing family photos. The information was a weapon, deployed from a small army of coordinated social media accounts, intended to infect western media, manipulate public perception, and impact US counter-terrorism policy.
That same month, the gaming community was rocked by a massive harrassment campaign. Tens of thousands of people coordinated high-volume, ruthless attacks against female game developers -- the campaign was so relentless that it's become synonymous with online abuse. This anonymous, leaderless movement also used information as a weapon to manipulate public perception and impact a $75B industry.
Whether terrorists or culture warriors, it was clear to us that these weren't isolated incidents. From our positions in media, technology, and national security, we knew this was a critical vulnerability in the design of our information ecosystem. Using tactics that are cheap, repeatable, and effective, this vulnerability would be exploited by extremists, governments, and eventually corporations conducting computational propaganda that shape buying behavior and even influence democratic elections.
By 2016 we'd developed the disinformation protection tools to track disinformation operations in real time, and were the first organization outside the US intelligence community to identify Russia's campaign to influence the US presidential election. As the information war escalated, we believed it was our responsibility to provide a reliable disinformation solution to national security agencies and corporations.
We formed New Knowledge to defend public discourse.
Jonathon has spent the past 12 years building new technologies and digital products. He's also published research with the Brookings Institution, served as a Special Advisor to the State Department, and leads Data for Democracy, a volunteer collective of 3,700 data scientists and technologists.
Ryan spent 15 years at the NSA championing next-generation SIGINT solutions, driven to support national security interests. Prior to his civilian roles as a Counter Terrorism Fellow and NSA Representative European SIGINT partners, he served under U.S. Joint Special Operation Command (JSOC), as a CNO Analyst for the U.S. Army.
Renee has a decade of experience in technological, marketing, and business capacities in a variety of industries including supply chain logistics, venture capital, and derivatives trading. She has served as an advisor to the State Department, Congress, and other state and federal government institutions concerned with the spread of disinformation and propaganda. She is the Head of Policy at Data for Democracy.
Reach out to learn more about how New Knowledge can keep your brand safe from damaging disinformation.