亚色影库

Lessons on Work and Political Culture from a DC Thinktank Leader

This semester I took 鈥淥nline Communication and Global Society鈥� with Professor Matt Sienkiewicz, which fulfilled the History, Culture, and Society requirement of my IS major. The class combines international studies and communications curriculum, and covers material on the history of the internet, its role in international politics, and humans鈥� relationship with technology. Professor Sienkiewicz frequently arranges guest speakers on a variety of topics pertinent to the class; we have heard from famous 鈥渉acktivists,鈥� youtube video creators, technology experts and more. A few weeks ago , the Director and Managing Editor of the Digital Forensic Research (DFR) Lab spoke in our class. The DFR Lab is a branch of , a Washington, D.C. based foreign policy think tank, and its mission is identifying, exposing, and explaining disinformation using open source research. This means Brookie鈥檚 team compiles different sorts of data including photos, tips from social media, and more; verifies their accuracy using methods such as geolocation; then writes up their findings. We practiced geolocation after Brookie鈥檚 presentation by matching street level photos with satellite images taken in the corresponding areas - it was tough!

I had the opportunity to chat with Brookie after class to learn more about the DFR Lab, his career, and his best advice for students. As the Director and Managing Editor, Brookie describes his daily work as being "directed by operational needs" of the organization. The DFR lab has a team of twenty five people on five continents, so coordinating across time zones is key. An essential function of his job is trying to beat the speed of disinformation, which leads to one of the most rewarding parts of his job: nailing that disinformation, making new discoveries, or achieving success with new topics. Another rewarding aspect is coordinating with people who really believe in what they鈥檙e doing, as it creates a sense of mission around the world. Conversely, Brookie described the hardest part of his job to be the nature of disinformation, as the practices are ever evolving; the vulnerabilities exponential, despite growing awareness of the practice.

I asked Brookie what advice he would give college students as we move into the labor market. He emphasized the importance of doing work we want to be doing rather than looking for positions we want to have: if we work hard on issues we are passionate about, the positions will come. He also mentioned that working hard will put you in the position to say "yes" to opportunities. In Washington, D.C., he said, there is a saying that yopu should "be nice to your interns - you never know when they might become your boss." But he added that we ought to be everyone else, too, because it is the right thing to do. In D.C., he said, it can feel like all interactions are strategic, and that unfortunately, life in D.C. can "turn young people into cyncial operators instead of idealistic contributors."

Brookie described his experience with the Washington, D.C. culture more generally. He has lived there on and off for 11 years, starting as a student and transitioning into life as a professional. He spent time in various positions at the White House and National Security Council before joining the DFR Lab. One of his favorite parts about living in D.C. is that everyone there wants and gets to be a part of something bigger than themselves and believes in participating in the system. The cit