About

Disinformation on chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threats aims to undermine non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament efforts, weaken trust in multilateral institutions, and complicate cooperative threat reduction work. Foreign state and state-adjacent actors use coordinated campaigns across traditional media, social media, and diplomatic fora to spread false or misleading narratives about weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

 

In 2024, the G7 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction established the Countering WMD Disinformation Initiative to provide a comprehensive, coordinated and multi-institutional response to these threats. Funded by Global Affairs Canada, the initiative is implemented by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, King’s College London and Open Nuclear Network.

 

Following a pilot phase (2024-2025) focused primarily on disinformation related to Russia’s war against Ukraine, the initiative has now entered Phase II which significantly expands the initiative’s scope to address a wider range of CBRN disinformation threats globally, with increased attention to Africa, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific. The Initiative is also expanding its partnership to include regional and local implementers. Currently, Ambit Advisory have joined to support and further Initiative efforts in the Middle East region.

 

The initiative combines research, analysis, outreach, training and stakeholder engagement to help decision-makers identify harmful narratives, understand their impacts and respond with evidence-based tools and strategies. Our work includes:

 

  • delivering evidence directly to decision-makers
  • detecting disinformation and developing tailored, timely responses
  • producing long-term trend and impact assessments
  • building trusted regional and international networks
  • developing briefers, infographics, videos and other practical resources
  • conducting workshops, trainings and targeted stakeholder engagement
  • supporting resilience against disinformation in key diplomatic and security fora

The initiative aims to strengthen the ability of GP members, diplomats, policy officials and other partners to detect, understand and counter CBRN disinformation, while supporting more informed, coordinated and anticipatory responses to emerging threats and building long lasting resilience.