Digital Forensic Research Lab

Name

Digital Forensic Research Lab

Legal name

Digital Forensic Research Lab

Website

https://digitalsherlocks.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Atlantic Council Funding: DFRLab operates as the digital forensics research arm of the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank. The organization is funded through the Atlantic Council's institutional funding model, which includes government grants, private foundations, corporate sponsors, and individual contributions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

DFRLab conducts open-source digital forensic investigations to identify, attribute, and document information manipulation, foreign influence operations, and disinformation campaigns. It publishes investigative research reports, policy briefs, election monitoring analysis, and capacity-building training (Digital Sherlocks) freely to governments, media, civil society, and the public.

Product overview

DFRLab is a research organization within the Atlantic Council focused on studying information manipulation, digital authoritarianism, and online disinformation. The organization produces in-depth research reports, operates the Democracy + Tech Initiative for policy development, and runs the Digital Sherlocks Training Program to build global capacity for combating disinformation. The research division publishes ongoing reports tracking influence operations, election interference, and state-sponsored propaganda networks.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Digital Sherlocks Training Program: A training program that builds capacity of individuals worldwide to combat disinformation in their own communities.
• Democracy + Tech Initiative
• The Source

Products and services

• Digital Sherlocks Training Program A global capacity-building training program that equips individuals worldwide with skills in open-source intelligence (OSINT), digital verification, geolocation, and information analysis to identify and counter disinformation in their local communities. Built around the #DigitalSherlocks community brand, the program distributes DFRLab's expertise through a decentralized network of trained investigators.
• Democracy + Tech Initiative A policy program that develops research and policy practices aligning global stakeholders toward technology governance that reinforces open societies rather than undermining them. Produces policy briefs, hosts expert events, and provides frameworks for democratic resilience, platform regulation, and counter-disinformation strategy.
• DFRLab Research Reports and Publications Investigative research reports, election monitoring analysis, and policy briefs produced through open-source digital forensic analysis of information manipulation, state-sponsored disinformation campaigns, election interference, and digital authoritarianism. Distributed freely to governments, media, civil society, and the public.

Quantifiable outcome

• Tracked information manipulation across 83 elections in 78 countries in 2024
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Atlantic CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2025DFRLab is the dedicated digital forensic research arm of the Atlantic Council, operating within the think tank's broader democracy and security mission. The organization leads the Atlantic Council's study of information manipulation to promote transparency and accountability online.
• OpenMindsflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2025Partnership launched in July 2025 with OpenMinds to uncover how thousands of fake Telegram accounts were used in a covert Russian influence campaign targeting Ukrainians in occupied territories. The joint report was titled 'Digital occupation: Inside Russia's Telegram battle in Ukraine.'
• Eurasia CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center on joint reports analyzing Russian information operations in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, including the Telegram battle in Ukraine research.
• Democracy + Tech InitiativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDFRLab is closely integrated with the Atlantic Council's Democracy + Tech Initiative, which creates policy practices aligning global stakeholders toward tech and governance that reinforces open societies. Hosts joint events and publishes policy research together.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• OpenMinds: OpenMinds is a Ukraine-focused social-media investigations initiative that partnered with DFRLab on the 'Digital occupation' Telegram research. It is an emerging player with strong methodology overlap and regional complementarity.
• NewsGuard: NewsGuard rates the credibility of news and information websites using a journalism-driven methodology, serving advertisers, platforms, and governments. It overlaps with DFRLab's misinformation focus but applies a commercial, productized model.

Direct peers

• Stanford Internet Observatory: Stanford Internet Observatory was a leading academic research program on election interference, platform manipulation, and disinformation until its recent closure. It was a top peer in methodology, output quality, and policy impact.
• Information Futures Lab (formerly First Draft): Information Futures Lab at Brown University continues the First Draft mission of training journalists and building infrastructure around misinformation research. It is directly comparable to DFRLab's training and capacity-building activities.
• AFP Fact Check: AFP Fact Check is the verification and fact-checking operation of Agence France-Presse, one of the largest international news agencies. It produces comparable debunking and verification content at global scale for media partners and the public.
• Bellingcat: Bellingcat is an independent OSINT investigations collective focused on conflict, human rights, and disinformation. It is the closest direct peer to DFRLab, sharing methodology (open-source verification, geolocation, network analysis) and target audiences (media, governments, civil society).
• Graphika: Graphika is a social network analysis firm that maps influence operations, disinformation campaigns, and coordinated inauthentic behavior. It competes directly with DFRLab on platform manipulation research and attribution analysis, serving similar enterprise and government clients.
• EU DisinfoLab: EU DisinfoLab is a Brussels-based non-profit studying disinformation campaigns with a European policy focus. It mirrors DFRLab's combination of research, policy translation, and capacity building for journalists and civil society.
• Global Disinformation Index (GDI): GDI is a non-profit that assesses the disinformation risk of media outlets to support advertisers in avoiding funding misinformation. It is a peer in the disinformation research domain with overlapping methodologies on outlet reliability assessment.

Broad incumbents

• Recorded Future: Recorded Future is a large commercial threat-intelligence firm that has expanded into disinformation and influence-operation tracking. It is a broader incumbent with overlapping capability on nation-state information operations, though its core focus is cybersecurity intelligence.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/DFRLab
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@DFRLab
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dfrlab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Digital Forensic Research Lab