Alliance for Securing Democracy

What Alliance for Securing Democracy does

The Alliance for Securing Democracy (ASD) is a nonpartisan policy initiative housed at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, founded in 2017 in response to Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and ongoing efforts to undermine democratic institutions across Europe. The organization develops comprehensive strategies to deter, defend against, and impose costs on authoritarian interference, working with policymakers, private sector actors, and civil society organizations to advance research and policy recommendations on threats to democratic institutions.

ASD's core product is a suite of open-source research tools built around the Hamilton 2.0 Dashboard, which applies natural language processing and auto-translation to summarize narratives promoted by Russian, Chinese, and Iranian government officials and state-backed media across Twitter, Telegram, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and official press channels. Complementary tools include the Authoritarian Interference Tracker, which catalogs more than 600 instances of Russian and Chinese interference across 40+ transatlantic countries since 2000 across six categories (information manipulation, cyber operations, malign finance, civil society subversion, economic coercion, and kinetic operations); the Information Laundromat, an OSINT tool for identifying shared website architecture; the Social Data Search archival engine; and the Information Integrity Map.

ASD operates as a nonprofit funded by philanthropic foundations and individual donors and explicitly does not accept funding from social media companies. All research, tools, and analysis are provided publicly at no cost. The organization maintains staff in Washington, D.C. and Brussels and has announced a merger with the Institute for Strategic Dialogue-US (ISD-US) effective January 1, 2026, under which its mission will continue.

Name

Alliance for Securing Democracy

Legal name

Alliance for Securing Democracy

Website

https://securingdemocracy.gmfus.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Alliance for Securing Democracy is a bipartisan transatlantic policy initiative that builds open-source research tools to track and analyze Russian, Chinese, and Iranian information operations, serving policymakers, civil society, researchers, and journalists.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Policy Research Services

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), International Affairs (92812)

SIC

International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro primary industry

Human Rights Monitoring, Documentation & Advocacy (BPADAGAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Communications, Transparency & Open Government (BPAIAAAH), Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations (MPAJADAF), Media Freedom, Access to Information & Digital Rights (BPADAGAE), Electoral Support & Election Observation (BPADAGAA)

Keywords

• Foreign interference tracking
• Information manipulation research
• Democracy defense policy
• Authoritarian threat monitoring
• Open source intelligence tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Foundation Funding: ASD receives primary funding from philanthropic foundations. The organization does not receive financial support from social media companies.
2. Individual Donors: ASD receives funding from individual donors who support their mission to counter foreign information manipulation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Alliance for Securing Democracy develops open-source research tools and policy analysis to track and counter state-backed information manipulation and authoritarian interference by Russia, China, and Iran in democratic institutions. Its flagship offerings are the Hamilton 2.0 Dashboard for monitoring state-backed media narratives across multiple social platforms and the Authoritarian Interference Tracker cataloging more than 600 documented instances of interference across 40+ transatlantic countries. All tools, research, and analysis are provided free of charge to policymakers, the private sector, civil society, and researchers worldwide.

Product overview

Alliance for Securing Democracy operates as a research and policy organization that has developed a suite of open-source research tools to track and analyze foreign information manipulation and authoritarian interference. The core products include the Hamilton 2.0 Dashboard for monitoring state-backed media narratives, the Authoritarian Interference Tracker for cataloging interference activities, and the Information Laundromat for detecting information laundering. These tools are complemented by Social Data Search for archival research, the Information Integrity Map, and specialized trackers for military bloggers and information operation archives. The organization also produces policy papers, Hamilton Reports, and blog posts analyzing threats from Russia, China, and Iran to democratic institutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hamilton 2.0 Dashboard: A research tool that provides summary analysis of narratives and topics promoted by Russian, Chinese, and Iranian government officials and state-backed media on Twitter, Telegram, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, state-sponsored news websites, and official press releases.
• Authoritarian Interference Tracker
• Information Laundromat
• Social Data Search
• Information Integrity Map

Products and services

• Hamilton 2.0 Dashboard A tool that provides summary analysis of narratives and topics promoted by Russian, Chinese, and Iranian government officials and state-backed media across Twitter, Telegram, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, state-sponsored news websites, and official press releases. It uses natural language processing and machine learning to track information manipulation and is offered free to researchers and policymakers.
• Authoritarian Interference Tracker A database that catalogs Russian and Chinese governments' activities to undermine democracy in more than 40 transatlantic countries since 2000 across six categories: information manipulation, cyber operations, malign finance, civil society subversion, economic coercion, and kinetic operations. It documents more than 600 instances of interference and is publicly accessible free of charge.
• Information Laundromat An OSINT lead generation tool used to determine if and how websites share architecture and content, helping researchers identify information laundering operations. Provided free for public use.
• Social Data Search A multi-platform search engine and data discovery tool that supplements Hamilton 2.0's native search capabilities, allowing researchers to access full archival data with advanced boolean search operators, fuzzy search, and proximity search features.
• Information Integrity Map A tool listed in the ASD Toolbox for mapping information integrity issues and tracking information manipulation activities.
• War In Ukraine: Military Bloggers A tracking tool for monitoring military bloggers during the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
• Information Operation Archive An archive documenting information operations for research purposes, publicly accessible.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 600 documented instances of authoritarian interference tracked in the Authoritarian Interference Tracker
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD-US)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026ASD and ISD-US announced a merger effective January 1, 2026, combining their expertise in countering digital authoritarianism, foreign interference, and hybrid threats. The two organizations had previously co-developed tools like the Information Laundromat and published joint analyses of disinformation campaigns. Together they will continue ASD's mission under the ISD-US banner.
• German Marshall Fund of the United StatescoreOthersASD is an initiative housed at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a transatlantic institution that provides the organizational platform for ASD's operations. ASD thanks GMF for providing the platform from which ASD launched and thrived over the past eight years.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bellingcat: Open-source investigations collective producing high-impact reporting on state-sponsored activity and information warfare, frequently covering similar geopolitical and election integrity topics.
• Atlantic Council Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab): Atlantic Council's DFRLab conducts open-source research on disinformation and foreign influence campaigns, directly overlapping with ASD's Hamilton 2.0 and Information Laundromat work.
• Graphika: Commercial social network analysis firm mapping influence operations and online communities; competes for research visibility and uses similar multi-platform monitoring techniques.
• Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD): Direct peer and merger counterparty that also produces research and counter-interference programming on disinformation, extremism, and foreign influence; has co-developed tools with ASD and will absorb it in 2026.
• Stanford Internet Observatory: Academic research center studying abuse on major internet platforms, election integrity, and state-sponsored information operations, with comparable tooling and policy engagement.

Broad incumbents

• Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Think tank producing substantial research on democracy, technology policy, and authoritarian influence that intersects with ASD's thematic agenda.
• German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF): Transatlantic policy institution that has housed ASD since 2017; broader foreign policy and democracy portfolio provides overlapping analytical infrastructure.
• Freedom House: Independent watchdog organization tracking democracy and freedom worldwide, producing adjacent indices and reports on authoritarian interference relevant to ASD's mandate.

Emerging players

• Election Integrity Partnership: Coalition including Stanford Internet Observatory focused on rapid response to election-related disinformation, overlapping with ASD's election security focus areas.
• NewsGuard: Rates the credibility of news and information websites, addressing the same information integrity problem from a journalism/credibility-rating angle rather than state-backed narrative tracking.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/securedemocracy?lang=en
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCsqohhQRKZewaJmeQIOd7AQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/securedemocracy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gmf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Alliance for Securing Democracy