April 19, 2024 | Article
Human Rights and Humanitarian Issues
Propaganda and Disinformation
Public Diplomacy and Information Operations
Russia International Relations
Russia Domestic Politics
Strategic Communications
Russia and Ukraine Program
Future of Public Diplomacy Project
Thomas Kent joined the American Foreign Policy Council in February 2024 as Senior Fellow for Strategic Communication. He is a specialist in Russian propaganda, the world information war, international journalism, and media ethics. He teaches at Columbia University about disinformation, and consults for governments, NGOs, news organizations and corporations.
Until 2018, Kent was president and CEO of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a congressionally-financed company providing independent news in 27 languages to 23 countries. Before that, he was a correspondent and executive at the Associated Press, serving as standards (ethics) editor, deputy managing editor, head of international news, Moscow bureau chief, chief of operations in Iran during the Islamic Revolution, and NATO and European Union correspondent.
Kent is the author of two books, How Russia Loses: Hubris and Miscalculation in Putin’s Kremlin (2023) and Striking Back: Overt and Covert Options to Combat Russian Disinformation (2020), both released by the Jamestown Foundation. His articles have been published in the New York Times, Washington Post, The Hill, The American Interest, and a range of other outlets.