United States

An Analysis of the Social-Media Technology, Tactics, and Narratives Used to Control Perception in the Propaganda War over Ukraine

Abstract:

Framed by the historic 2013-2015 conflict in Ukraine—widely described by Western media as a ‘Cold-War’-style clash between the Russian Federation and the United States/NATO alliance—this qualitative case study examines how social media was used as a platform for propaganda warfare waged by clandestine bloggers and special operations commandos (known as trolls) deployed worldwide by state and non-state actors, and digitally linked and informed by data-mining, to manipulate public perceptions of the events by controlling an element of rhetoric known as narratives.

Global and National Take on State Information Warfare

ABSTRACT

Information power has a crucial effect on success and because today information is mostly stored in digital form, attempts to establish information supremacy have logically migrated into cyberspace. Information warfare, which first developed in the military and political sphere, has become, due to recent technological developments, extremely aggressive and widespread, and is now used as a tool to achieve goals in all societal spheres. Leading countries even integrate this technique into their national policies and strategies for achieving their political goals. Transference of information warfare into cyberspace has led to the combining of two of the most dangerous and least investigated forms of criminality – cybercrime and organized crime – so the dilemma how to protect ourselves from them is now even greater. The international community has been avoiding this issue and information warfare is totally neglected. The absence of legislation and the will to bring order to this area has created a situation in which anyone can use cybercrime techniques to gain information power. This paper presents the authors’ opinion on the nature of information warfare, its steady migration into cyberspace and its exponential growth. The analysis of the current normative acts at national and international levels and our overview of the developments in leading countries illuminate the present state of affairs in this field.

When Military Public Relations Professionals Enter the News Business: Assessing the Effectiveness of a News Website Operated by the US Department of Defense Trans-Regional Web Initiative

ABSTRACT

The United States Department of Defense is concerned that, in important regions, journalists are not properly communicating its message. Therefore, the department has created eight news websites designed to look like regular news websites such as CNN.com and Aljazeera.com. This study examined one such website, Setimes.com, to ascertain whether it excels as a news website and as a public relations website. Findings show that the website excels as a public relations website but is flawed as a news website. This shows that the Department of Defense needs to rethink how it presents news via the news websites.

Journal of Information Warfare

The definitive publication for the best and latest research and analysis on information warfare, information operations, and cyber crime. Available in traditional hard copy or online.

Keywords

A

AI
APT

C

C2
C2S
CDX
CIA
CIP
CPS

D

DNS
DoD
DoS

I

IA
ICS

M

S

SOA

X

XRY

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The definitive publication for the best and latest research and analysis on information warfare, information operations, and cyber crime. Available in traditional hard copy or online.

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