Wikistrat

Rather than employing a stable of in-house analysts, Wikistrat maintains a network of hundreds of academics, consultants, journalists, and retired government/military personnel. Contributors are invited to participate in a given project if they have relevant expertise, and each individual is compensated for his or her time. Analysts can accept or refuse invitations on a case-by-case basis.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}

The company uses gamification to incentivize analyst participation. CEO Joel Zamel, said in 2013, "[Wikistrat's platform] uses a gamification engine we created that incentivizes analysts by ranking them at different levels for the work they do on the platform. They are immediately rewarded through the engine, and we also track granular changes made in real time. This allows us to track analyst activity and encourages them to put time and energy into Wiki analysis."{{cite web|last=Ungerleider|first=Neal|title=Why This Company Is Crowdsourcing, Gamifying the World's Most Difficult Problems|date=6 December 2013|publisher=Fast Company|url=http://www.fastcompany.com/3022299/why-this-company-is-crowdsourcing-gamifying-the-worlds-most-difficult-problems|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307202850/https://www.fastcompany.com/3022299/why-this-company-is-crowdsourcing-gamifying-the-worlds-most-difficult-problems|archive-date=March 7, 2016}}

Among the notable members of Wikstrat's analytic community are Richard Weitz, Daniel Pipes, Parag Khanna, Kenneth R. Timmerman, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Shaukat Qadir, James Joyner, James C. Bennett, Leon Hadar, Michael Rubin, Mark Galeotti and Anne-Marie Slaughter.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}

The company was founded in 2010 in Israel by Joel Zamel and Daniel Green. After studying counter-terrorism, Zamel founded Wikistrat Inc. and became CEO, while Green came aboard as the company's chief technology officer. Thomas P.M. Barnett joined the firm as chief analyst a year later. Barnett is no longer with the firm. The company’s annual revenue exceeded $100 million by October 2019.{{cite news |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-the-mysterious-intelligence-firm-now-in-muellers-sights |title=Inside Wikistrat, the Mysterious Intelligence Firm Now in Mueller's Sights |last=Klippenstein |first=Ken|date=March 4, 2019 |newspaper=The Daily Beast |publisher=Daily Beast |access-date=September 10, 2021}}

Between June and July 2011, Wikistrat hosted an "International Grand Strategy Competition" which tested the company's collaborative competition approach. More than thirty teams of MA and PhD students representing universities and think tanks participated in the month-long competition in which teams simulated thirteen countries. Participants' affiliations included the UK Defence Forum,{{cite web|title=UK Defence Forum competes with world's best|url=http://www.defenceviewpoints.co.uk/articles-and-analysis/uk-defence-forum-competes-with-worlds-best|accessdate=15 January 2012}} the New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies' Center for Global Affairs,{{cite web|title=CGA student team in global Wikistrat Grand Strategy Competition|date=6 June 2011|url=http://nyuglobalcitizen.wordpress.com/2011/06/06/cga-student-team-in-global-wikistrat-grand-strategy-competition/|publisher=The Global Citizen|accessdate=15 January 2012}} the University of Kentucky's Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce,{{cite news|last=Ziegler|first=Erin Holaday|title=Patterson Students WikiStrat Globally|url=http://uknow.uky.edu/content/patterson-students-wikistrat-globally|accessdate=15 January 2012|newspaper=University of Kentucky News|date=13 June 2011}} Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service,{{cite web|title=Four Students Compete in Wikistrat International Strategy Competition|url=http://msfs.georgetown.edu/226834.html|accessdate=15 January 2012}} and the University of Sussex.{{cite web|last=Hakner|first=James|title=Sussex students battle top strategic minds in global comp|url=http://www.admin.susx.ac.uk/staff/newsandevents/?id=8760|accessdate=15 January 2012}} The team from Claremont Graduate University's School of Politics and Economics won the competition and a $10,000 prize.{{cite web|title=CGU team takes first place, $10,000 prize in International Grand Strategy Competition|url=http://www.cgu.edu/pages/4546.asp?item=5301|accessdate=15 January 2012}}

The NYU team's predicted that Russia would ultimately have to outsource its security if it were to continue experiencing demographic decline, and if its economy were to remain heavily dependent on commodity exports.{{cite news|last=Barnett|first=Thomas P.M.|title=Future grand strategists: Russia will someday be forced to outsource its security |url=https://nation.time.com/2011/06/23/future-grand-strategists-russia-will-someday-be-forced-to-outsource-its-security/|access-date=15 January 2012|newspaper=Time|date=23 June 2011}} Participants from the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies argued that India was rooting for Pakistan's disintegration, considering the collapse of the Muslim state as a prerequisite to fully institutionalizing India's alliance with the United States.{{cite news|last=Ottens|first=Nick|title=Is India Rooting For Pakistan's Disintegration?|url=http://atlanticsentinel.com/2011/06/is-india-rooting-for-pakistans-disintegration/|accessdate=15 January 2012|newspaper=Atlantic Sentinel|date=28 June 2011}} Students at Sussex believed that North Korea would collapse without Chinese support and therefore recommended that the nation diversify its allies.{{cite web|title=North Korea could collapse without China, say student strategists|url=http://www.sussex.ac.uk/staff/newsandevents/index?id=8620|accessdate=15 January 2012}} Organizers were surprised by the level of interest in the competition.{{cite news|last=Apps|first=Peter|title=As China rises, "grand strategy" talk back in style|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/world-strategy-idUSLDE74B29G20110513|accessdate=15 January 2012|newspaper=Reuters|date=13 May 2011}}

In 2010, it ran a simulation on the death of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il, the results of which were referenced (in articles by the organization's chief strategist) on CNN,{{cite news|title=China eyes North Korea's minerals; what's next?|url=http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/27/china-eyes-north-koreas-minerals-whats-next/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120712230444/http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/27/china-eyes-north-koreas-minerals-whats-next/|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 12, 2012|accessdate=15 January 2012|newspaper=CNN|date=27 December 2011}} Time{{cite news|last=Barnett|first=Thomas P.M.|title=How America Painted Itself Into A Corner on North Korean Succession|url=https://nation.time.com/2012/01/06/how-america-painted-itself-into-a-corner-on-north-korean-succession/|access-date=15 January 2012|newspaper=Time|date=6 January 2012}} and World Politics Review{{cite news|last=Barnett|first=Thomas P.M.|title=Over the Horizon: The Art of the Reasonable in North Korea|url=http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/11010/over-the-horizon-the-art-of-the-reasonable-in-north-korea|accessdate=15 January 2012|newspaper=World Politics Review|date=21 December 2011}} after Kim died in late 2011.

The firm has been cited by such media outlets as CNN, Reuters, Russia Today, Fox News and NPR as a consultancy of reference for geopolitical issues.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}

In 2013, Wikistrat ran a simulation for AFRICOM that explored various futures for illicit trafficking in the Trans-Sahel region of Africa.{{cite web |url=http://www.africom.mil/Newsroom/Article/11746/wikistrat-briefs-alternative-futures-to-africom-staff |title=WikiStrat Briefs Alternative Futures to AFRICOM Staff {{!}} United States Africa Command |website=www.africom.mil |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313040048/http://www.africom.mil/Newsroom/Article/11746/wikistrat-briefs-alternative-futures-to-africom-staff |archive-date=2014-03-13}}

In January 2014, Wikistrat analysts predicted the rise of a separatist movement in Crimea seeking Russian annexation. This process unfolded in March 2014,{{cite news|last1=Kelley|first1=Michael B|title=AFTER CRIMEA: Top Intelligence Analysts Forecast The 5 Things That Putin Might Do Next|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/wikistrat-the-next-russian-military-invasion-2014-3|accessdate=13 July 2014|agency=Business Insider|date=21 March 2014}} prompting digital magazine InformationWeek to write that Wikistrat "beat the CIA."{{cite news|last1=Mitzner|first1=Dennis|title=Crowdsourcing: The Future of Consulting|url=http://www.informationweek.com/government/big-data-analytics/crowdsourcing-the-future-of-consulting/a/d-id/1278614?piddl_msgid=223949#msg_223949|accessdate=13 July 2014|agency=Information Week|date=8 June 2014}}

{{update|section|reason=The Mueller Report has been issued. Its findings, especially as related to this organization, should be included here|date=July 2021}}

In 2015 Zamel's company Wikistrat spent a week running scenarios called the Cyber Mercenaries project on how a U.S. election interference campaign could be made by Russian cyber actors which was reported to Donald Trump Jr in 2016.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/mueller-witness-team-gamed-out-russian-meddling-in-2015|title=Mueller Witness' Team Gamed Out Russian Meddling … in 2015|last=Banco|first=Betsy Woodruff{{!}}Erin|date=2019-01-30|access-date=2019-06-04|language=en}}

Zamel's company Psy Group formed a partnership with Cambridge Analytica to jointly bid for contracts with the American Government after the 2016 Trump election win.{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/israeli-intelligence-company-formed-venture-with-trump-campaign-firm-cambridge-analytica-1527030765|title=Israeli Intelligence Company Formed Venture With Trump Campaign Firm Cambridge Analytica|last1=Tau|first1=Byron|date=2018-05-23|work=Wall Street Journal|access-date=2019-06-04|last2=Ballhaus|first2=Rebecca|language=en-US|issn=0099-9660}}

US Special Counsel Robert Mueller ― who investigated Russian meddling in the 2016 American elections ― questioned Wikistrat founder Joel Zamel about his relationship with George Nader, a witness who cooperated in the Special Counsel investigation. Mueller also asked questions about the work of Wikistrat.{{cite news|first1=Byron|last1=Tau|first2=Rebecca|last2=Ballhaus|first3=Aruna|last3=Viswanatha|title=Mueller Probe Into U.A.E. Influence Broadens|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/mueller-probe-into-u-a-e-influence-broadens-1522718922|date=2018-04-02}}

Donald Trump Jr. had met with Zamel, Nader, and Erik Prince in Trump Tower in August 2016. Their discussion reportedly included an offer on the part of Zamel for pro-Trump manipulation of social media.{{cite news|first1=Mark|last1=Mazzetti|first2=Ronen|last2=Bergman|first3=David D.|last3=Kirkpatrick|title=Trump Jr. and Other Aides Met With Gulf Emissary Offering Help to Win Election|work=New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/19/us/politics/trump-jr-saudi-uae-nader-prince-zamel.html|date=2018-05-19}}

On April 5, 2019, the Senate Intelligence Committee sent a letter to Walter Soriano, the owner of USG Security Limited based in Britain and Israel for his communication with Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, Psy-Group, Wikistrat, and Black Cube, Orbis Business Intelligence (a firm co-founded by Christopher Steele).{{Cite web|url=https://politi.co/2Ik7OsB|title=Senate Intelligence Committee summons mysterious British security consultant|last=Bertr|first=Natasha|website=POLITICO|language=en|access-date=2019-06-07}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/report-us-senate-asks-to-interview-israeli-brit-in-connection-with-russia-probe/|title=Report: US Senate asks to interview Israeli-Brit in connection with Russia probe|last=staff|first=T. O. I.|website=www.timesofisrael.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-07}}

According to a July 2018 email, Oren Kesler told a Wikistrat employee that Jamal Khashoggi worked for the firm.{{Cite web|title=Israeli private intelligence firm claimed recruitment of Khashoggi prior to murder|url=https://forensicnews.net/2019/10/22/israeli-private-intelligence-firm-claimed-recruitment-of-khashoggi-prior-to-murder/|last1=Stedman|first1=Scott|last2=Hulvalchick|first2=Alex|date=2019-10-22|website=Forensic News|language=en|access-date=2020-05-29|last3=DeNault|first3=Robert J.|last4=Levai|first4=Eric|last5=Jr|first5=Xavier Gonzalez|last6=Cobb|first6=Adrienne|last7=Coleman|first7=Jess}} In a separate email sent shortly after Khashoggi's death, Kesler denied that Khashoggi ever worked for Wikistrat. In late 2019, Wikistrat finally admitted to Forensic News that Khashoggi had in fact worked for the firm. According to The New York Times and The Daily Beast, the founder of Wikistrat, Joel Zamel, met with General Ahmad Asiri, the Saudi general who ordered Khashoggi's assassination, along with Trump advisor, Michael Flynn, in early 2017 to discuss covert operations to destabilize Iran.{{Cite news|last1=Mazzetti| first1=Mark| last2=Bergman |first2=Ronen |last3=Kirkpatrick |first3=David D. |date=November 11, 2018 |title= Saudis Close to Crown Prince Discussed Killing Other Enemies a Year Before Khashoggi's Death |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/11/world/middleeast/saudi-iran-assassinations-mohammed-bin-salman.html |url-access=limited |issn=0362-4331 |accessdate=July 6, 2021}}{{Cite news |last1=Banco |first1=Erin |last2=Swan |first2=Betsy |date=October 25, 2018 |title= Saudi Spy Met With Team Trump About Taking Down Iran |language=en |work=The Daily Beast |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/saudi-spy-met-with-team-trump-about-taking-down-iran |url-access=subscription |access-date=July 6, 2021}} One of the topics discussed at these meetings was the use of covert operations to assassinate dissidents. According to Zamel's lawyers, Zamel turned down the offer to participate in "lethal operations."

• David Shedd - Previously the acting Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency and a Central Intelligence Agency operative.
• General (ret.) Michael Hayden - Previously the Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
• Ambassador Dennis Ross - Diplomat and author
• Elliott Abrams - Best known{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-pol-abrams-congress-venezuela-20190213-story.html|title=Elliott Abrams, U.S. envoy for Venezuela, faces combative House hearing as policy stalls|last=Wilkinson|first=Tracy|website=Los Angeles Times|date=13 February 2019|access-date=2019-02-14}} for his involvement in the Iran-Contra scandal during the Reagan administration, which led to his conviction in 1991
• John P. Hannah - Former national security adviser to U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and member of Trump's first State Department transition team.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/top-cheney-aide-in-muellers-sights-as-probe-expands|title=Top Cheney Aide in Mueller's Sights as Probe Expands|last=Woodruff|first=Erin Banco{{!}}Betsy|date=2018-11-16|access-date=2019-06-18|language=en}}
• Sandra Charles
• Steve Cambone
• Jerry J. Brennan. - CEO of the Security Management Resources Group of Companies an executive level international security management search firm{{Cite web|url=https://www.wikistrat.com/about/advisory-council/|title=Advisory Council {{!}} Wikistrat|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-07}}

• Psy-Group
• Joel Zamel

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.wikistrat.com Wikistrat's official site]

Category:Israeli companies established in 2010

Category:Intelligence websites

Category:Companies based in Washington, D.C.

Category:Wikis