New DC Think Tank Staffed Entirely By Robots (Seriously)

The fake operation has a curious tendency to defend the Pakistan military

Understanding how to most effectively wield influence in Washington can mean the difference for a foreign government between a coup and a bailout. The high-stakes great game has attracted industries filled with advisers ready to walk you through the process for a healthy retainer. Finding the right firm can be a challenge.

At least one government appears to have tried to solve the problem by conjuring a think tank/lobby shop from their own imagination, or that of Chat GPT. Check out their website before they take it down.

Enjoy this latest story from Waqas Ahmed, Murtaza Hussain and me — it’s a doozy.

-Ryan

Stock photo of “diverse business people team in office” used by “Beltway Grid Policy Centre.” Image: Freepik.

In October, a new foreign policy think tank calling itself the Beltway Grid Policy Centre quietly entered D.C.'s diplomatic fray. While there was no launch party and no K Street office we could find, the think tank nevertheless began producing its intellectual product at a startling pace, issuing reports, press releases, and pitching journalists on news coverage—much of it focused on South Asia, and, in particular, the ongoing political crisis in Pakistan.

At first glance, Beltway Grid—which describes itself as "a forward-thinking research institute that dives deep into the modern dynamics of lobbying" whose mission is "to illuminate the hidden tactics shaping global politics"—might be one of many marginal DC-based think tanks trying to shape elite opinion and press coverage. Yet a closer look (and not even that much closer) suggests something a bit more innovative is at play.

Beltway Grid's lack of a physical footprint in Washington — or anywhere else on the earthly plane of existence — stems from more than just a generous work-from-home policy. The organization does not appear to require its employees to exist at all.

That celestial quality begins at the top at Beltway Grid, which does not list an executive director, president, CEO, or any other leader, but does include 12 staff on its "about us" page. None of those employees have any trace of experience—not just professional, but of even living in the world—before arriving at Beltway Grid. Some appear to be plucked from 19th century Elizabethan novels, including Jimmy Prescott, given the rather unique title of "Research Consultant, Lobbying Techniques & Ethics." Then there's Hugh Bradford-Smythe, listed as "Lead Analyst, Political Trends & Impactlicy."

Efforts to reach Bradford-Smythe to get a deeper understanding of his role analyzing "impactlicy" were unsuccessful. Dr. Eleanor Pemberton, the "Director of Policy Research and Impact," was also unavailable for comment and Drop Site could not find any trace of her doctorate or indeed her attendance at any university. (A web search did find an Eleanor Pemberton who was born in 1808 but tragically died that same year.) Similarly unfindable were Ben Templeton, "Senior Fellow, Lobbying and Regulatory Affairs," and his colleague Sebastian Fairchild, serving as "Public Policy and Engagement Coordinator."

An image on the page, “Our Principles,” is a stock photo of a “diverse business people team in office,” according to a reverse Google Image search:

The unusual nature of Beltway Grid's staffing leaves open several possibilities. The organization may be so hard at work defending the policies of the Pakistan military and criticizing former Prime Minister Imran Khan, the team simply hasn't had time to lead previous lives or respond to requests for comment. They may be early alien settlers, dropped off by drones on the coast of New Jersey, who are fans of Jane Austen and have come to study "the modern dynamics of lobbying." Or, more likely, somebody with a small budget asked ChatGPT to set up a fake think tank. Using AI to make a think tank adds a deeper layer of irony, since AI proponents regularly admonish the public not to conflate the operations of an AI program with “thinking.”

Beltway Grid's work product has left a few other clues as the motivations of its creator. One recent report, "Democracy Under Siege: Economic Fallout and Diplomatic Implications of Protests in Pakistan," argues that the November 2024 protests, which lasted just a few days and were led by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party under former Prime Minister Imran Khan, resulted in higher inflation, a currency collapse, a loss of 0.8% of GDP, a cumulative cost of 3 trillion rupees. The numbers are eerily similar to a report distributed internally by the army and obtained by Drop Site News. Independent analysts have suggested the economic malaise may be more closely linked to the overall policies of the military government, but according to the author of the report Beltway Grid's "Chief Strategic Analyst, Political Influence," Alexandra Caldwell, the problems all belong at the foot of Khan. Caldwell could not be reached for further comment, but her report was convincing enough for Pakistani news to turn it into a broadcast. And its report on Imran Khan's bid for Oxford Chancellor—Beltway Grid took a dim view, believe it or not—can be found reported on PR wire services and even republished on Yahoo News.

One giveaway, ironically, that Beltway Grid is not a real DC lobby operation is that it uses the word "lobbying" all over its website. Lobbying in Washington is dirty business, which is why lobby shops eschew the term, euphemistically referring to their activity as "government affairs" or some such. Yet Tariq Mouawad titles himself "Co-ordinator, Lobbying Operations & Policy." Despite lobbying in Washington being a highly regulated business with routine public disclosures required, Mouawad has landed the top lobbying gig at Beltway Grid without ever having worked for any other lobbying firm, any other client, any member of Congress, or any administration. The same is true for Omar Khalil Haddad, listed as "Senior Researcher, Influence Networks & Tactics" and Dr. Yasmine Al-Hariri, "Head of Strategy & Influence Research."

Another giveaway as to the maker of think tank is its liberal use of the term "5th Generation Warfare"—a favorite of the Pakistan military, a term that in Rawalpindi more or less considers mean posts about its army chief, Asim Munir, to be threats to national security. Beltway Grid Policy Centre takes 5th Generation Warfare very seriously. Staffers Elijah Bowers and Lina Abi-Saab hold positions, "Research Specialist, 5th Generation Warfare" and "Policy Analyst, 5th Generation Warfare," respectively.

The easiest employee of Beltway Grid to reach ought to be Fiona Hartley, who is said to serve as "director of public affairs and media strategy" for Beltway Grid but the only findable Fiona Hartley works for a magazine in England. Despite the English spelling of “centre,” she doesn’t appear to have anything to do with Beltway Grid.

The D.C. beltway, by the way, is not a grid, and Washington’s streets are infamously not laid out in a coherent grid, but rather sliced through with diagonals. If we hear back from Hartley or anybody else, we will update this report.

A real think-tank suddenly gets millions of dollars

As Donald Trump prepares to take oath as the president of the United States, the Pakistani military has been scrambling for influence in Washington after being close to the Biden administration, which overlooked its human rights abuses for the past 2 years. The fake DC think-tank Beltway Grid, whose website domain was registered on October 11 of last year, seems to be part of a covert effort to shape U.S. policy in Pakistan’s favor by spreading disinformation online as a means of influencing mainstream discourse.

The use of fabricated think tanks to disseminate such narratives is a cheap and common tactic. A previous investigation by Drop Site revealed that the Pakistani military itself was deputizing its own officers to post online using fictitious identities, as part of a program known as the "Army Agahi Network." Following the publication of Drop Site's report, the Pakistani government throttled the internet in the country and influencers linked to the military regime began issuing threats of legal action to shut down further coverage.

The EU DisinfoLab's 2020 investigation, "Indian Chronicles," uncovered a 15-year operation involving fake NGOs and media outlets designed to influence international institutions and public opinion by the Indian government. Despite growing scrutiny of the practice, foreign states seeking to sway global public opinion have continued to invest heavily in the cheap yet dubious tactic of spreading fake information online, including by running troll farms aimed at shaping discourse on social media.

Pakistan is also clearly investing in Washington influence with the incoming Trump administration. The Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI), a prominent think tank closely associated with the Pakistani military, recently engaged the U.S. lobbying firm Team Eagle Consulting at a substantial fee of $1.5 million per year. This expenditure is particularly striking given that, according to anonymous sources within IPRI, the institute's annual budget traditionally ranges between $200,000 to $300,000. Another organization listed in the FARA documents registering the contract, Hyperfocal Communications, announced in October on that it had begun working on building a consortium whose, "primary goal is to reshape the U.S. public narrative about Pakistan and build enduring relationships with current and future administrations"—specifically through creating a "grassroots movement" in the diaspora that will become "a political force across the United States."

The decision to hire a U.S. lobbying firm coincides with efforts to counteract growing influence from opposition groups in the U.S., particularly supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan that have lobbied members of Congress for the past two years about human rights violations by the Pakistani military-backed government. This development suggests a strategic move by the Pakistani military establishment to bolster its narrative and influence within U.S. policy circles, utilizing IPRI as a conduit for these endeavors.

Sources close to the Pakistani military suggest rising unease within Pakistan’s military establishment regarding potential shifts in U.S. policy under a Trump administration. The Pakistani military establishment has instructed the civilian government to engage another Washington-based PR firm to help repair the administration’s image following the brutal suppression of protestors in Islamabad in November last year and to counter growing criticism from the vocal Pakistani diaspora in the U.S. A dedicated committee has been formed to oversee this initiative, signaling the seriousness of the effort.

The Pakistani government has also announced that it was setting aside the equivalent of an addition $7 million to "fight fake information against state institutions." The military has repeatedly prioritized the fight against what it calls fake news, even while it continues to employ its own fake accounts on social media.

In recent weeks, Richard Grenell, tapped to be Trump's presidential envoy for special missions, has been outspoken in his call for the release of Imran Khan from prison in Pakistan. Allies of the Pakistan military, shaken by the sudden reversal of fortune, responded with a novel argument: the X account posting as Richard Grenell was not, in fact, Richard Grenell, they argued, but instead a fake account produced to sow discord in Pakistan. Drop Site can confirm, however, that Grenell's account truly is Grenell. Every accusation, the saying goes, is a confession.

But who knows? Perhaps the Beltway Grid Policy Centre's next report may persuade us otherwise.