Clint Watts
Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute & NBC News National Security Contributor
In 2014, long before Russian interference in American politics was a daily headline, Watts discovered the complex and coordinated social media propaganda campaign emanating from Russia. After his team conducted an in-depth study and published their findings, he warned that this campaign sought to influence American public opinion and sow chaos on major political issues.
Categories :
Full Bio
In 2014, long before Russian interference in American politics was a daily headline, Watts discovered the complex and coordinated social media propaganda campaign emanating from Russia. After his team conducted an in-depth study and published their findings, he warned that this campaign sought to influence American public opinion and sow chaos on major political issues. Watts has since become the preeminent expert on misinformation campaigns, fake news, and electronic espionage operations. At the podium, Watts discusses the sprawling fake news operation in detail—its implications on our First Amendment right to free speech, the future of social media, its effect on public opinion in both the US and Europe, and its impact on U.S. foreign policy going forward. By examining a range of social media platforms and the nefarious actors using them, Watts illuminates for audiences how exactly social media is being used against them. He explains how he’s learned to engage with hackers, terrorists and even foreign nations to learn the best ways for audiences to survive and thrive in a hyperconnected social media world.
Clint Watts is a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and at the Center for Cyber and Homeland Security at the George Washington University, as well as a national security contributor for NBC News and MSNBC. He’s the author of the book Messing with the Enemy: Surviving in a Social Media World of Hackers, Terrorists, Russians and Fake News.
His research and writing focuses on terrorism, counterterrorism, social media influence and Russian disinformation. Clint’s Tracking of terrorist foreign fighters allowed him to predict the rise of the Islamic State of al Qaeda in 2014. From 2014-2016, Clint led a team of researchers who tracked and modeled the rise of Russian Influence operations via social media leading up to the U.S. Presidential election of 2016. This research led Clint to testify before four different Senate committees in 2017 and 2018 regarding Russia’s information warfare campaign against the U.S. and the West.
Clint’s writing has appeared in a range of publications to include The New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Daily Beast, Politico, Lawfare, War on the Rocks, World Politics Review and the Huffington Post.
Before becoming a consultant, Clint served as an U.S. Army infantry officer, a FBI Special Agent, the Executive Officer of the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point (CTC), a consultant to the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division (CTD) and National Security Branch (NSB), and as a counterterrorism analyst on a range of programs supporting the U.S. Intelligence Community and U.S. Special Operations Command.
Testimonials
Ernie was perfect for our Elders Conference at Little River Casino Resort in Manistee, Michigan. We will definitely be using PDA again!
LITTLE RIVER BAND OF OTTAWA INDIANS
Our speaker was great and the crowd enjoyed her! She was very engaging. Thank you again PDA for the great list of suggestions!
MEDTRONIC
Everything went great! and our speaker was wonderful! Thank you so much for all your help PDA! Looking forward to the next one.
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI – KANSAS CITY
I hope that this message finds you well. We had a phenomenal time with Atsuko this past Thursday. We wanted to just let you know how amazing she was. All those that were in attendance thoroughly enjoyed her and had nothing but amazing things to say about her. Thank you for working with us to make sure this happened!
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY CAMPUS
We had a fantastic day with Inge! She was very engaging with all those that attended. Her personal stories about the holocaust were very special and we were moved that she was willing to share them with everyone. Thank you again, PDA for all your hard work and dedication to make this program such a success!
SALT LAKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Dear PDA Group, Thank you so much for your hard work in scheduling our speaker! From the moment we reached out to you the first time, you worked with us on all details and logistics and kept us up-to-date on the progress. Thank you for all your hard work on making our event such a success! We couldn't have done it without you and your team!
SAP COMPANY
Thank you again, Dr. Kimbrough, for a great presentation, our attendees are still talking about it!
CAMPUS LABS
Dr. Henry Lee's presentation was entertaining, insightful and wise. I, and everyone at Pfizer, especially appreciate the remarks you directed about following your passion and preparing yourself to excel. Thank you, everyone, at PDA for helping to make this happen!
PFIZER
The event was successful! I received many messages expressing how awesome, outstanding and inspiring Ms. Webb-Christburg's speech was."
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL BREAKFAST, BOSTON, MLK SPEAKER
Everything went well. Atsuko was very easy to work with and the students enjoyed her performance! Thank you again for your recommendation and I hope to work with you again in the future!
CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Dr. Novello left this morning after a very successful event on our campus! Thank you PDA Group for your help from the first phone to the last you were with us every step of the way.
GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
Jordan Carlos was very very entertaining! A majority of students who answered the event survey indicated they really enjoyed Jordan and definitely will bring him back!
WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
On behalf of myself and my organization Entertainment Unlimited the Campus Programming Board of Ferris State University, we thank you PDA and Dan for a successful event!! Dan was magnificent! Students really enjoyed the presentation. I know I did. Can't wait to bring in more programs with PDA Group.
FERRIS STATE UNIVERSITY
It was a great pleasure to work with PDA Group! The communication was always prompt, friendly and helpful. We loved the speakers and events we booked through Mr. Peter Walker (PDA Group).
WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Thank you, Peter, for all your help, you'll be happy to know that the event went incredibly well! Aneesa Ferreira was by far one of the best speakers we've ever had!
FURMAN UNIVERSITY
Topics
Countries, Corporations and Citizens: How Do You Survive in a Social Media World of Hackers, Terrorists and Authoritarians
Videos
Clint Watts On New Jan. 6 Insurrection Reports
Clint Watts Believes Extremism ‘Has Gone From National To Local
News
Testimonials
GET IDEAS
1 HOUR OR LESS
