News & Features

Moira Whelan, BlueDot Founding Partner, was featured on a panel for the 2019 French Series hosted by the Embassy of France on Tuesday, May 21st. This year’s panel series, an annual event at the embassy, addressed the matter of failing diplomatic exclusivity of international communications. The French Embassy promoted the panel series indicating that social…

This is an excerpt from an article co-authored by Craig Fugate, senior adviser at BlueDot Strategies. For the second year in a row, hurricane season has deliveredunprecedented devastation. Communities across the southeastern United States face a challenging recovery after Hurricanes Florence and Michael destroyed homes, schools, and businesses with record-setting flooding and winds. Florence cost…

BlueDot Founder Moira Whelan was featured on the Politico PlaybookPlus’s Birthday of the Day! How/where are you celebrating your birthday and with whom? “This is a big week for us. My brave kids are overcoming their fears and indulging me with a spin on the National Harbor Ferris Wheel. The next day is my daughter’s…

As Hurricane Florence approaches the Carolinas’ coastline, Stephanie Ruhle speaks with a former senior FEMA official about what measures the organization will take to prepare for when Florence makes landfall. Fmr. FEMA Official’s top concern: people who did not evacuate As Hurricane Florence approaches the Carolinas’ coastline, Stephanie Ruhle speaks with a former senior FEMA…

Document shows DHS transferring $29M from Coast Guard to ICE Rachel Maddow reports on a DHS document from Senator Merkley that shows nearly $10 million dollars being transferred from FEMA’s budget to fund ICE detentions, and $29 million being taken from the Coast Guard, ahead of the 2018 hurricane season. Moira Whelan, a former DHS…

Big Question: Is the federal government as ready for the 2018 hurricane season as it could be? President Trump continues to insist that the federal government is ready for Hurricane Florence by using their response to Hurricane Maria as an example, but nearly 3,000 people died as a result of Hurricane Maria. Former Senior FEMA…

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts a 75 percent chance that this year’s hurricane season, which began June 1, will be equal to or worse than average (the season has already produced two hurricanes, a benchmark that isn’t reached until Aug. 28 in an average year). Last year’s destruction from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria caused more than $270 billion in losses. Even now, 10 months after the last of those storms, many Americans continue to grapple with their losses and unsettled insurance claims, and many communities struggle with how and where to rebuild.

When the media takes notice of digital diplomacy in action, they call on Moira Whelan, a founding partner at BlueDot Strategies, for expert insights. Answering questions for the Observer, she calls on her experience at the U.S. State Department shed light on the present and future of digital diplomacy.

In 2017, Americans were stunned to learn how social media was utilized by foreign entities to destabilize the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Shockingly, the State Department had completely directed focus on social media, specifically Facebook, prior to said election as a means of expanding digital diplomacy. Efforts to counter fake news were attempted, but as effective as these sources are for reach, the U.S. government has to back away before their credibility and trust are lost completely.

With more natural disasters coming more frequently, the “disaster-recovery” model is no longer useful. According to ex-FEMA official Lars Anderson, disaster response is due for a paradigm shift.