Benjamin Shultz

Hi, I'm Ben! I study the not-so-nice corners of the internet.

I serve as Lead Researcher at The American Sunlight Project, a bipartisan organization that analyzes and counters online harms that undermine democracy. I am also affiliated with the Institute of Digital Innovation at Hochschule Neu-Ulm as an External Doctoral Researcher, and from time to time the Council of Europe Conference on Drug Control Networks as an Artificial Intelligence Expert. In 2025, I held a Fellowship at the Humboldt Institute for Internet & Society, where I worked on issues of democratic backsliding and science hostility. Additionally, I teach courses on open-source investigative techniques and media literacy.

I am a subject matter expert on foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI). My research is focused on three primary areas: 1) the efforts of the Kremlin to undermine democracy through disinformation campaigns; 2) the digitalization of organized crime, cartel operations, and cartel recruitment; and 3) malicious / nonconsensual uses of deepfakes in politics, including identity-based attacks. My experience includes two years as a Lead Analyst at Deloitte in Washington, D.C., where I analyzed Russian influence operations for government clients. I hold an M.A. in International Relations from the Maxwell School of Citizenship at Syracuse University (New York) and a B.A. in Political Science from Sonoma State University (California).

As a graduate student, I served as a Trainee at the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France and worked with DebunkEU, a media literacy organization based in Vilnius, Lithuania. In my free time, I enjoy mapmaking, playing piano and skiing. I am professionally proficient in German, can read French and Spanish, and am learning Russian.