The Critical Mass is proud to be partnering with the Media Development Foundation (MDF) on various projects in #Eurasia (and beyond), and we're thrilled to be quoted in this new comparative #report developed by remarkable Georgian NGOs in partnership with the Prague-based European Values Center for Security Policy on Russian and Chinese influences in #Georgia.👇 https://mdfgeorgia.ge/eng/view-library/221/

We're happy to see USAID launching a new website supporting stronger relationships with local partners. As TCM strives to increase and sustain impact at local levels, we're happy to share this resource with partners https://www.workwithusaid.org/ USAID has put substantial effort into making resources available. Learn more and list your org here: https://www.workwithusaid.org/resource-library

The Critical Mass stands with Ukrainian friends and colleagues in these challenging times, and condemns all forms of violence and foreign military intervention on Ukraine's sovereign territory. TCM has had the great privilege and honor of working on past and current projects in Ukraine, and we look forward to continuing to support this great nation and our partners on the ground in their collective pursuit of strengthening democratic values and stability, and the courageous fight to maintain the country's territorial integrity and security within the Euro-Atlantic framework. #СлаваУкраїні

TCM is proud to be featured as a key organization specializing in media and digital literacy in The Baltic Centre for Media Excellence and Media Development Fund's Media Literacy Sector Mapping In Georgia, Latvia, Moldova And Ukraine - Georgia Country Report, 2021. Download their report below and learn more about TCM's work with MDF on behalf of the Department of State Global Engagement Center in our recently published report. #ContaminatedTrust

The Critical Mass growing team continues to drive progress, continuity and sustainability by convening top industry professionals, processes, and technology and facilitating their collaboration with practitioners across the security enterprise. Looking forward to exciting new projects in 2022, we wanted to look back at TCM’s 2021 milestones: 👉 Formed and led an international, multidisciplinary team, which included over a dozen leading academic, government, media, and technology partners, to design and implement a year-long integrated research project evaluating impacts of COVID and health disinformation in #Georgia, #Kazakhstan, and #Ukraine. TCM designed, published, and disseminated research findings and associated policy recommendations in four languages for partner country stakeholders and decision makers. Our team conducted media landscape and audience analysis which informed the creation and execution of a multi-prong information and messaging campaign focused on building momentum and sharing strategies between sectors and countries to sustain trust in public health institutions. Read our U.S. Department of State GEC-funded report: https://lnkd.in/enknWzNB #ContaminatedTrust 👉 Designed a needs-based program to provide advanced English language training to Georgian #Scientists tasked with key security initiatives such as the Bio-Surveillance Network of the #SilkRoad. TCM collaborated with implementers, including Georgetown University, to integrate multiple LOEs into a cohesive program which improved the scientists’ ability to participate in multinational research, publishing, and conferences, as well as solicit funding and execute grants. 👉 Trained #Iraq border security operational unit-level commander and civilian equivalent level operators on inter-agency synchronization, joint operations, and task-force integration skills. This professional development and capacity-building initiative funded by the U.S. Department of State’s #EXBS, in coordination with the US Embassy in Baghdad, targeted mid-grade and junior leaders responsible for activating and practicing inter-agency activities in response to threats at a single border crossing point. 👉 Collaborated with Sandia National Laboratories to enhance regional security through regulation and control of #dualusegoods transiting a major regional trade hub in #Panama. Through sequenced engagements, provision of case studies and proof points, research, and needs analysis, TCM is building local support for the project and setting conditions for partner-led adoption and sustainment of resulting risk assessment and mitigation tools. 👉Published 5th International CBRN Safety and Security Conference #CBRNIraq2020 Magazine alongside University of Babylon in partnership with CBRNe World, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Culmen International: https://bit.ly/3qsuDA Elizabeth Jordan Wilhelm Scott Eshom Tinatin Japaridze Arielle Mattes Alan Spadone Nidal Abu Sammour Christopher Stotts

The Critical Mass is excited to announce our newest addition - Mr. Christopher Stotts - who will be serving as our CBRNE Planning and Operations Lead. Chris adds extensive subject matter experience to the team through his history as a team leader-certified US Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal #EOD professional with 12+ years of both tactical and strategic operational experience. His global mindset on International Affairs was significantly influenced through his travels to 22 different nation-states throughout the world and his graduate education in The United Kingdom, King's College London. Learn more about Chris and TCM at the link below. https://lnkd.in/eEvYV-99 Tinatin Japaridze Elizabeth Jordan Wilhelm Scott Eshom Nidal Abu Sammour Alan Spadone Arielle Mattes The Critical Mass

As we continue to look back at 2021 in anticipation of the new year, we are delighted to report that in following our mission to spark and sustain action across the security enterprise, TCM has reached several noteworthy milestones: 👉 8 University Partnerships, including Columbia University in the City of New York, Georgetown University, Louisiana State University, and University of Babylon 👉 8 Countries with Projects, including #Iraq, #Georgia, #Morocco, and #Panama 👉 4 Courses Developed and Delivered and 2 Publications Issued on Public Health #Disinformation & #CBRN Safety and Security 👉 3 National Laboratory Partnerships: Sandia National Laboratories, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and National Center for Disease Control and Public Health Georgia 👉 10 Global Collaborative Events and 50+ Teaming Partners Worldwide, including Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs, Media Development Foundation (MDF), and Culmen International 👉 In collaboration with The George Washington University, the IIE and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, this past summer, TCM was honored to host a Distinguished Humphrey Fellow, Inese Liepiņa, a Latvian journalist at The Baltic Center for Investigative Journalism, Re:Baltica. 👉 And last but certainly not least, this year, our founder and CEO, Ms. Elizabeth Jordan Wilhelm was honored by the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce as a 2021 #40under40. We are grateful for a very dynamic year, and are excited about everything that is in store for us in 2022. Meanwhile, our team at TCM wishes you all a happy, healthy, peaceful and productive new year and we look forward to connecting and reconnecting with many of you in 2022! #securitysector #milestones #startup #team #development

Congrants Tinatin!

The Critical Mass is proud to present our new report, “Contaminated Trust: Public Health Disinformation and Its Societal Impacts in Georgia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine”—the culmination of our year-long research study generously supported by the U.S. Department of State Global Engagement Center (GEC). Research in this report provides front-line perspective on how medical #disinformation impacts healthcare decision-making at the individual level in #Georgia, #Kazakhstan, and #Ukraine. To develop this report, members from TCM’s research team and partners comprised of in-country research firms, and The Harriman Institute at Columbia University's regional scholars designed a three-phase field study. We are immensely grateful to the incredible group of researchers and subject matter experts, in-country partner organizations, the hosts of our webinars in June 2021—Media Development Foundation (MDF), Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs, and Ukraine's Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security—as well as all of the participants of the study itself for making this research possible in the midst of the global pandemic. Our sincerest hope is that the findings of this project will be valuable not only for the local stakeholders in our three countries of study, but also media professionals, public health experts and media personnel, as well as civil society organizations and whole of society at large in and outside of #Eurasia, as we continue to battle negative impacts of COVID-19 and mis- and disinformation. Your support in helping us spread the word is of vital importance, and we welcome your feedback! https://lnkd.in/efjNrq2e Elizabeth Jordan Wilhelm Tinatin Japaridze Scott Eshom Alan Spadone Arielle Mattes #publichealth #misinformation #covid19 #researchstudy #report

Proud to have our founder & CEO Ms. Elizabeth Jordan Wilhelm featured in the recent VIP Alexandria Magazine - Alexandria Chamber of Commerce spotlight. We’re extremely proud to do business in and live in Alexandria. ALX Community #TheNewOldTown #AlexandriaVA

We're excited to profile our Research Associate, Ms. Arielle Mattes, who brings experience in WMD nonproliferation, multiple languages (notably bilingual in French), and technical and programmatic experience after recently supporting various programs at Sandia National Laboratories. She's a proud graduate of The University of New Mexico and has been an invaluable asset to active and develiping TCM projects in Iraq, Morocco, and Panama, among others. We're so fortunate to be working with her. Welcome, Arielle! https://lnkd.in/eMn5dwec Scott Eshom Elizabeth Jordan Wilhelm Nidal Abu Sammour Tinatin Japaridze Alan Spadone #TCM #Iraq #Morocco #CBRNe #WMD #nonproliferation #NewMexico The Critical Mass #research

Thanks to Alex Yanevskyy at Voice of America for covering our new The Critical Mass report, “Contaminated Trust” on public health disinformation and its societal impacts in Georgia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. Огромное спасибо, Александр, за нашу интересную беседу, особенно о способах решения проблемы связанной с нарастающей инфодемией с которой столкнулись не только Грузия, Казахстан и Украина—это, на самом деле, глобальная проблема. «Если мы не сможем ей противостоять и, если мы не сможем остановить дезинформацию, нам придется как-то сосуществовать с ней – так же, как мы учимся сосуществовать с пандемией коронавируса. Да, большая часть нашего исследования была сосредоточена на дезинформации российского происхождения. Но давайте не будем забывать тот факт, что есть и местные кампании по дезинформации, и тогда она распространяется намного быстрее, и существует больше доверия к вашему родному языку». #publichealth #disinformation #misinformation #interview #VOA #Georgia #saqartvelo #kazakhstan #Ukraine https://www.golosameriki.com/a/ron-covid-19-disinformation-report/6357826.html

We're excited to profile our lead Program Manager, Mr. Alan Spadone, who comes to TCM with years of experience in foreign policy and international security. A graduate of Columbia University in the City of New York where he served as Senior Editor of the Journal of International Affairs and US Army veteran, Alan has been a fantastic addition to our growing team. Learn more about Alan and TCM in the link below. More announcements to come! https://lnkd.in/evzEftU Tinatin Japaridze Elizabeth Jordan Wilhelm Nidal Abu Sammour Arielle Mattes

We continue to share highlights from The Critical Mass's new U.S. Department of State-funded report, "Contaminated Trust: Public Health Disinformation and its Societal Impacts in Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine." The second trend our study identified in these three countries is that religious officials are viewed as highly credible, and their contribution to the spread of #publichealth#misinformation and #disinformation during the #COVID19 pandemic is significant. In both Georgia and Ukraine, faith-based institutions wield considerable influence and have played a role in spreading misinformation and disinformation related to COVID-19. By contrast, in Kazakhstan’s leading Muslim and Russian Orthodox Church religious leaders were not perceived by in-country experts to endorse anti-vaccine rumors or engage in disinformation messaging. For additional reading on strengthening partnerships with #faithleaders in supporting national responses to COVID-19, please see the World Health Organization's strategy for engaging #religiousleaders, faith-based organizations and faith communities in health emergencies: https://bit.ly/3Fii94J To read TCM's report, "Contaminated Trust" online, please visit: https://lnkd.in/enknWzNB Elizabeth Jordan Wilhelm Tinatin Japaridze Scott Eshom Alan Spadone Arielle Mattes World Health Organization #healthdisinformation #religiousleaders #community #faithinstitutions #leaders

Last month, The Critical Mass released a much-anticipated U.S. Department of State Global Engagement Center-funded report, “Contaminated Trust” on #publichealthdisinformation in Georgia, 🇬🇪 Kazakhstan, and Ukraine. Our team will be sharing highlights and trends identified by our study in these three countries, #engagement as well as additional reading material on relevant topics. Meanwhile, you can read TCM’s report here: https://lnkd.in/enknWzNB #disinformation #misinformation #study #report #publichealth #Eurasia Elizabeth Jordan Wilhelm Tinatin Japaridze Scott Eshom Alan Spadone Arielle Mattes

Here's Trend #4 identified in our new U.S. Department of State Global Engagement Center-funded study, "Contaminated Trust: Public Health Disinformation and its Societal Impacts in Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine." #ContaminatedTrust Russian state-affiliated or proxy local actors considered to be exploiting domestic political strife and unrest during the pandemic. These actors are presumed by the interviewed experts to be financially or ideologically motivated to delegitimize and undermine national authorities to increase Russian influence in the countries of study. For more on local disinformation campaigns in Georgia, one of the countries of this study's focus, please see our partners Media Development Foundation (MDF) #MythDetector: http://mythdetector.ge/en To read TCM's report, "Contaminated Trust" online, please visit: https://lnkd.in/enknWzNB Elizabeth Jordan Wilhelm Tinatin Japaridze Scott Eshom Alan Spadone Arielle Mattes #disinformation #Georgia #Kazakhstan #Ukraine #saqartvelo #research #covid #publichealth #Russianinfluence

As we continue to share highlights from our new U.S. Department of State Global Engagement Center-funded study, "Contaminated Trust: Public Health Disinformation and its Societal Impacts in Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine," here's another finding from this report. #ContaminatedTrust The third trend our study identified is that particularly with the outbreak of the #COVID19#pandemic, medical professionals are increasingly perceived as sources of mis- and #disinformation across all three countries. #Doctors and other #medicalprofessionals are presumed to lack expertise in applying evidence-based science to their practice. This distrust was most pronounced within older generations and rural populations. Medical practitioners throughout #Eurasia have made significant strides in battling an entrenched distrust in public health institutions, but the COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying #infodemic have presented new challenges to their credibility and shaken faith even in trusted public health authorities. The strain of COVID-19 has magnified systemic public health capacity restraints and inflamed resourcing issues that plague post-Soviet nations. For additional reading on this topic, please see Armenak Artinyan et al's study on "Trust in the Health System and COVID-19 Treatment." Findings of this research study conducted in another former #Soviet country, #Armenia, posit that a more trustworthy #healthcare system enhances the probability of potential treatment-seeking behavior when observing the initial symptoms. https://bit.ly/30QMOqF To read TCM's report, "Contaminated Trust" online, please visit: https://lnkd.in/enknWzNB Elizabeth Jordan Wilhelm Tinatin Japaridze Scott Eshom Alan Spadone Arielle Mattes #healthdisinformation #medical #trust #health #leaders #medicalsector #medicine #Georgia #Kazakhstan #Ukraine #saqartvelo #research #covid #science #publichealth