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State-sponsored agenda setting: Measuring the impact of narrative laundering

PNAS 123/36 pp. e2534920123-e2534920123 2026-09-04 Original State-sponsored agenda setting: Measuring the impact of narrative laundering Patrick L. Warren, Darren L. Linvill, Camille J. Saucier Abstract Foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) is an important part of the digital information ecosystem, yet its effects are poorly understood. Most research analyzing FIMI to date is descriptive, exposing efforts to erode trust, promote favorable narratives, and target specific communities. Existing work evaluating the impacts of FIMI contrasts those directly exposed to FIMI messaging (by viewing the original messages) with those who were not, finding little evidence of changes in beliefs or behavior. Rather than persuading individuals directly, we argue FIMI often operates through agenda-setting processes that shape which issues and narratives dominate public discourse. A key component of this process is narrative laundering, whereby misleading content is scrubbed of its origins and circulated into mainstream channels. This study examines the Russian-aligned Storm-1516 campaign, which uses state media, fabricated sites, and paid influencers to elevate false narratives, especially those that implicate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in corrupt acts. By analyzing the dissemination of these narratives, we assess how Storm-1516 shifts the public agenda, illustrating how foreign influence can exert substantial effects on information environments even when individual-level persuasive effects may be limited.

Dead Ends and Policy Change in Chinese Experimental Governance

GOV 39/4 2026-09-04 Original Dead Ends and Policy Change in Chinese Experimental Governance Vincent Brussee Abstract ABSTRACT Not all policy change is expansive, yet non‐expansive trajectories remain underexamined. This article introduces the concept of dead ends: a stage of the policy process in which initiatives cease to develop or be implemented in their existing form, structuring subsequent policy change such as rollback, redirection, or termination. To examine such trajectories, the article combines large‐scale analysis of 27,103 policy experiments announced in the People's Republic of China between 2013 and 2018 with qualitative case studies. The findings suggest that a substantial majority—up to 90%—of experiments reach dead ends. These dead ends are associated with leadership turnover, policy complexity, and misalignment with bureaucratic incentives and socio‐economic conditions. Altogether, the article provides new frameworks for understanding alternative directions of policy change. In doing so, it also sheds new light on the adaptive capacity and structural constraints of China's governance system.