The decentralized and infrequent nature of U.S. elections makes them a ripe target for foreign adversaries, cybercriminals, hackers and more to prop up one side or the other; foment chaos, nihilism or cynicism; or just extract cash from the ever-burgeoning economic scale of political campaigns.

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Worse, new technologies are increasing threat complexity. AI and big data combine to offer a level of personalization that was previously non-existent. Americans continue to digitalize their lives in the aftermath of Covid-19, while the inexorable rise of the influencer industry offers ample targets for targeting U.S. voters.

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In an election security fusion cell, can public and private officials cooperate to connect disparate clues and identify the threats that could undermine American democracy? In DeepFaked and DeepSixed — time is not always on your side.

Characters

In DeepFaked and DeepSixed, up to 54 players assume the roles of leaders across the public sector, non-profit world, international organizations and private companies. Everyone has unique information to offer on the security of U.S. elections.

Intelligence Community

Four Roles

Includes CIA Director and National Counterintelligence and Security Center Director

Department of Justice

Five Roles

Includes U.S. Attorney General and FBI Director

Department of Homeland Security

Four Roles

Includes CISA Director and Homeland Security Investigations Director

Department of Defense

Two Roles

Includes the Secretary of Defense and Commander, U.S. Cyber Command

State Department

Six Roles

Includes Secretary of State, Ambassador to Russia and Global Engagement Center Director

Election Agency and Organization

Four Roles

Includes the Executive Director, U.S. Election Assistance Commission

Civil Society

Three Roles

Includes President, Protecting America's Vote Equity (PAVE) and Executive Director, Alliance for Ballot Integrity

Technology Company

Four Roles

Includes Head of Elections Policy, MacroHard and Vice President for Public Policy, Amazing Web Services

Traditional Media

Five Roles

Includes Vice President for Programming, TNN Cable News

Social Media

Four Roles

Includes Vice President of Content, WeTube and Head of Cyber Policy, WhutsUpp

Telecom

Three Roles

Includes SVP, Public Policy & Public Affairs, VastHorizon

White House

Ten Roles

Includes Director for AI Policy, National Security Council and Director, Council of Economic Advisors

Official Game Kit

Download all materials required to run this scenario

characters

scenes

60 min

Difficulty:

Easy

Download .Zip

Game Scenario and Rules

Full Scenario and Rules Booklet

Download

Role Lanyards

Double-sided lanyards for printing

Download

Briefing Deck

Description of Riskgaming and Game Scenario

Download

Acknowledgements

This game was triggered by a conversation with Miles Taylor and Evan Burfield in late 2023 and was formally conducted in January 2024 with a distinguished group of 54 citizens concerned about the future of America’s election integrity. I want to thank everyone who participated as well as our hosts at TheFuture\.us and Galaxy Interactive for their engagement and support.

Credits

Game Designer and Editor-in-Chief, Danny Crichton
Director of Programming, Laurence Pevsner
Front Cover Illustration, Tiya Tiyasirichokchai
Production Designer, Justin Barber
Website Designer, James Clements