Resume

Investigative Journalist • War Correspondent • Disinformation & Digital Warfare Analyst

Founder & Executive Editor — NatSecMedia (Kyiv, Ukraine)
📍 Based in Kyiv, Ukraine | 🌐 NatSecMedia.com | X: @natsecmedia / @sampsonlive
IG: @natsecmedia | @sampsonshotscom | YouTube: NatSecMedia

CORE SKILLSETS

• War Reporting (Ukraine)

• Counter-disinformation / Influence Operations

• Russian Hybrid Warfare & IO

• Cyber-terrorism / Extremism Analysis

• POW/Families Advocacy Documentation

• Drone Warfare / Defense Tech Reporting

• On-the-Ground Crisis Photography & Video

• Narrative Non-fiction & Long-form Interviews

• OSINT / Digital Verification

• Documentary Production & Multiplatform Storytelling

CURRENT ROLES

Founder & Executive Editor — NatSecMedia

Kyiv, Ukraine • 2022–Present

• Produce frontline reporting across Ukraine (Chernihiv, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Donbas).

• Conduct in-depth interviews with survivors of torture, liberated civilians, POW families, Marines, TDF units, drone operators, and civic leaders.

• Document war crimes sites (Bucha, Irpin, Izyum, Vinnytsia, Okhmadyt) and Russian missile/drone strikes.

• Lead investigative series on Russian disinformation, Telegram networks, Iranian/Shahed drone tech, and Kremlin influence operations.

• Photo and video documentation used by Kyiv Post, international NGOs, and Ukrainian ministries.

• Develop long-form documentary projects on Ukrainian defenders, digital sovereignty, and wartime innovation.

International Contributor — Kyiv Post

2022–2025
Reporter and photojournalist covering:

• Airstrikes, missile attacks, and civilian destruction

• POW family protests (ICRC, US Embassy Kyiv)

• War crimes testimonies

• Religious, cultural, and historical reporting

• Multi-photo features with journalists (Jeremy Dirac, Julian Knysh)

BOOKS & RESEARCH WORK

Author

• Hacking ISIS: How to Destroy the Cyber Jihad (Skyhorse Publishing, 2017)
  Author; overview of Sampson’s daily work specialty, cyber investigations, and ISIS media ecosystem mapping.

Lead Researcher / Contributing Researcher

(Tasked with coordinating collection, analysis, and preparation of research material across major national security publications; built foundational expertise in terrorism, cyber jihad, Russian influence operations, and extremist networks.)

• The Terrorists of Iraq (2nd Edition) — Researcher

• Defeating ISIS — Lead Researcher

• The Plot to Hack America — Lead Researcher

• The Plot to Destroy Democracy — Lead Researcher

• The Plot to Betray America — Lead Researcher

• They Want to Kill Americans — Lead Researcher

• Foreword feature: Putin’s Asymmetric Assault on Democracy – Cited contributor

MAJOR REPORTING & INVESTIGATIONS (SELECTED)

War Crimes & Human Stories

• A Day in Bucha — First-hand documentation of mass killing sites

• The Liberation of Izyum & A Return to Izyum

• Vinnytsia Terror Attack

• The Destruction of Okhmadyt

• Kharkiv Oblast frontline interviews (May ’22)

• Dozens of Ukraine strikes, including Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa, Mykolaiv

POW & Family Reporting

• Tetiana Waits — Seminal POW family article

• The Mariupol MIAs

• Ukrainian POW Families Rally at the U.S. Embassy

• Mom Stands Strong

• 1000 Days in Captivity Vigil

• Olenivka Community

Disinformation & Hybrid Warfare

• Ukraine’s Digital Warriors (Parts 1 & 2)

• Russian Influence Operation Leads to Indictment…

• The Disappeared: Russia’s Abducted Authority

• Collaborators for Russia

• Breaking the Oath (Oathkeepers)

Defense Tech, Cyber, Drone Industry

• How AI Development Joins Ukraine’s Innovation Economy

• Modern Positional Warfare (Zaluzhny)

• Drone evolution series (ongoing)

• Digital Warriors documentary series

TELEVISION & VIDEO APPEARANCES

MSNBC — Election threats, extremist networks
BBC — Assassination of Gen. Igor Kirillov; Ukraine war
CTV (Canada) — London Bridge, El Paso, Strasbourg, Christchurch, Huawei
ABP Ananda (India) — Lviv airstrike
CGTN (China) — Las Vegas mass shooting
YouTube / NatSecMedia — Live reporting from Kyiv

PRINT / DIGITAL MEDIA APPEARANCES

• Washington Post — disinformation after Santa Fe shooting

• NBC News — extremists moving to encrypted channels

• Daily Dot — far-right migration to Telegram

• The Root — MAGA extremists on encrypted platforms

• Kyiv Post — multiple bylines and photo features

• ZMINA Human Rights Center — torture in Kupyansk

RADIO / PODCAST APPEARANCES

• BBC Radio

• LBC (London)

• Counter Intelligence Podcast

• WCPT Chicago (Hal Sparks Show)

• KPFT 90.1 Houston

• Veracity Radio

• NatSecMedia Insights Podcast (host)

DOCUMENTARY & FILM PROJECTS

• Brothers in Captivity (501st Marine Battalion) — feature

• The Art of Drone War — feature

• Digital Warriors: The Invisible Front — series

• Voice of Return — journalists in captivity

• Zhemchugov & The Partisans

• Mala Rohan: Natalia, Oleksandra, Oksana, Viktor

• POW Families Book & Documentary

• Mykolaiv & Chernihiv Revisit Films

PHOTOGRAPHY & VISUAL WORK

Published by:

• Kyiv Post

• NatSecMedia

• International NGOs

• Ukrainian ministries

• Numerous photo essays (Bucha, Irpin, Izyum, Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Odesa, Kherson, Mykolaiv)

Instagram portfolios:

• @natsecmedia — frontline documentation, documentary work

• @sampsonshotscom — photography, portraits, cultural + music coverage

SOCIAL MEDIA

• X/Twitter: @natsecmedia • @sampsonlive

• Instagram: @natsecmedia • @sampsonshotscom

• YouTube: NatSecMedia

• Substack: thechrissampson.substack.com

• Website: NatSecMedia.com | ChrisSampson.com

ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE

• Former host/producer: Veracity Radio

• Former senior researcher, TAPSTRI (Terror Asymmetric Project)

• Media commentator on U.S. terrorism, ISIS media networks, and Russian hybrid warfare since 2007.Ch