Digital Influence Warfare in the Age of Social Media

Digital Influence Warfare in the Age of Social Media PDF Author: James J. F. Forest
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
This timely book spotlights how various entities are using the Internet to shape people's perceptions and decision-making. It also describes detailed case studies as well as the tools and methods used to identify automated, fake accounts. This book brings together three important dimensions of our everyday lives. First is digital-the online ecosystem of information providers and tools, from websites, blogs, discussion forums, and targeted email campaigns to social media, video streaming, and virtual reality. Second, influence-the most effective ways people can be persuaded, in order to shape their beliefs in ways that lead them to embrace one set of beliefs and reject others. And finally, warfare-wars won by the information and disinformation providers who are able to influence behavior in ways they find beneficial to their political, social, and other goals. The book provides a wide range of specific examples that illustrate the ways people are being targeted by digital influencers. There is much more to digital influence warfare than terrorist propaganda, "fake news," or Russian efforts to manipulate elections: chapters examine post-truth narratives, fabricated "alternate facts," and brainwashing and disinformation within the context of various political, scientific, security, and societal debates. The final chapters examine how new technical tools, critical thinking, and resilience can help thwart digital influence warfare efforts.

Digital Influence Warfare in the Age of Social Media

Digital Influence Warfare in the Age of Social Media PDF Author: James J. F. Forest
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 356

Get Book Here

Book Description
This timely book spotlights how various entities are using the Internet to shape people's perceptions and decision-making. It also describes detailed case studies as well as the tools and methods used to identify automated, fake accounts. This book brings together three important dimensions of our everyday lives. First is digital-the online ecosystem of information providers and tools, from websites, blogs, discussion forums, and targeted email campaigns to social media, video streaming, and virtual reality. Second, influence-the most effective ways people can be persuaded, in order to shape their beliefs in ways that lead them to embrace one set of beliefs and reject others. And finally, warfare-wars won by the information and disinformation providers who are able to influence behavior in ways they find beneficial to their political, social, and other goals. The book provides a wide range of specific examples that illustrate the ways people are being targeted by digital influencers. There is much more to digital influence warfare than terrorist propaganda, "fake news," or Russian efforts to manipulate elections: chapters examine post-truth narratives, fabricated "alternate facts," and brainwashing and disinformation within the context of various political, scientific, security, and societal debates. The final chapters examine how new technical tools, critical thinking, and resilience can help thwart digital influence warfare efforts.

Digital Influence Warfare in the Age of Social Media

Digital Influence Warfare in the Age of Social Media PDF Author: James J. F. Forest
Publisher: Praeger
ISBN: 1440870098
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This timely book spotlights how various entities are using the Internet to shape people's perceptions and decision-making. It also describes detailed case studies as well as the tools and methods used to identify automated, fake accounts. This book brings together three important dimensions of our everyday lives. First is digital—the online ecosystem of information providers and tools, from websites, blogs, discussion forums, and targeted email campaigns to social media, video streaming, and virtual reality. Second, influence—the most effective ways people can be persuaded, in order to shape their beliefs in ways that lead them to embrace one set of beliefs and reject others. And finally, warfare—wars won by the information and disinformation providers who are able to influence behavior in ways they find beneficial to their political, social, and other goals. The book provides a wide range of specific examples that illustrate the ways people are being targeted by digital influencers. There is much more to digital influence warfare than terrorist propaganda, "fake news," or Russian efforts to manipulate elections: chapters examine post-truth narratives, fabricated "alternate facts," and brainwashing and disinformation within the context of various political, scientific, security, and societal debates. The final chapters examine how new technical tools, critical thinking, and resilience can help thwart digital influence warfare efforts.

Influence Warfare

Influence Warfare PDF Author: James J. F. Forest
Publisher: Praeger
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
Nation-states and violent nonstate actors (VNSAs)-- including terrorists and insurgents-- rely on positive perceptions (or at least acceptance) among key constituencies in order to muster support necessary for achieving their strategic objectives. As illustrated in the chapters of this volume, the information domain requires a sophisticated strategic communications ability in order to influence the policy and behavior of states as well as the hearts and minds of citizens. A core objective of this volume is to help develop a deeper understanding of this ongoing struggle for what some have called strategic influence, and particularly how states can counter the role that ideologies, the media and the Internet play in radicalizing new agents of terrorism.

Democracy in the Disinformation Age

Democracy in the Disinformation Age PDF Author: Regina Luttrell
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000390780
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
In this book established researchers draw on a range of theoretical and empirical perspectives to examine social media’s impact on American politics. Chapters critically examine activism in the digital age, fake news, online influence, messaging tactics, news transparency and authentication, consumers’ digital habits and ultimately the societal impacts that continue to be created by combining social media and politics. Through this book readers will better understand and approach with questions such as: • How exactly and why did social media become a powerful factor in politics? • What responsibilities do social networks have in the proliferation of factually wrong and hate-filled messages? Or should individuals be held accountable? • What are the state-of-the-art of computational techniques for measuring and determining social media's impact on society? • What role does online activism play in today’s political arena? • What does the potent combination of social media and politics truly mean for the future of democracy? The insights and debates found herein provide a stronger understanding of the core issues and steer us toward improved curriculum and research aimed at a better democracy. Democracy in the Disinformation Age: Influence and Activism in American Politics will appeal to both undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as academics with an interest in areas including political science, media studies, mass communication, PR, and journalism.

Digital Influence Mercenaries

Digital Influence Mercenaries PDF Author: James J. F. Forest
Publisher: US Naval Institute Press
ISBN: 9781682477229
Category : BUSINESS & ECONOMICS
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"This book examines the rapidly growing industry of "digital influence mercenaries"-shady online marketing firms and entrepreneurs who use online technologies to exploit the uncertainties, fears, and biases of their targets to gain profit and power. Students, researchers, policymakers, and the general public need this book to help them make sense of how and why each of us is being manipulated, and what we can do about it"--

Digital Influence Mercenaries

Digital Influence Mercenaries PDF Author: James (J.F.) Forest
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
ISBN: 1682477525
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 143

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Book Description
In today's online attention economy, supply and demand have created a rapidly growing market for firms and entrepreneurs using the tactics, tools, and strategies of digital influence warfare to gain profit and power. This book focuses on the more malicious types of online activity such as deception, provocation, and a host of other dirty tricks conducted by these "digital influence mercenaries." They can be located anywhere with an Internet connection--Brazil, China, Iran, Macedonia, Russia, Zimbabwe--and the targets of their influence efforts can be whomever and wherever they are paid to attack. They can do this for state governments willing to pay and provide their targeting instructions (usually in support of foreign policy objectives) and may have specific metrics by which they will assess the mercenaries' performance. Non-state actors (including corporations and political parties) can pay for these kinds of digital influence services as well. And in addition to being paid for services rendered, digital influence mercenaries can also profit simply by manipulating the targeted advertising algorithms used by social media platforms. James J. F. Forest describes in detail the various tools and tactics these mercenaries use to exploit the uncertainties, fears, and biases of their targets including bots, deep-fake images, fake news, provocation, deception and trolling. He also shows how they weaponize conspiracy theories and disinformation to manipulate people's beliefs and perceptions. Forest also highlights how government agencies and social media platforms are trying to defend against these foreign influence campaigns through such tactics as shutting down offending websites, Facebook pages, and YouTube channels; tagging disinformation with warning labels; identifying and blocking coordinated inauthentic behavior; and suspending social media accounts, often permanently. European and North American governments have launched numerous investigations against these mercenaries, and in some cases have brought criminal charges. Forest concludes with suggestions for how each of us can learn to identify disinformation and other malicious efforts and defend ourselves in the future.

Information Warfare in the Age of Cyber Conflict

Information Warfare in the Age of Cyber Conflict PDF Author: Christopher Whyte
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429893922
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 250

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Book Description
This book examines the shape, sources and dangers of information warfare (IW) as it pertains to military, diplomatic and civilian stakeholders. Cyber warfare and information warfare are different beasts. Both concern information, but where the former does so exclusively in its digitized and operationalized form, the latter does so in a much broader sense: with IW, information itself is the weapon. The present work aims to help scholars, analysts and policymakers understand IW within the context of cyber conflict. Specifically, the chapters in the volume address the shape of influence campaigns waged across digital infrastructure and in the psychology of democratic populations in recent years by belligerent state actors, from the Russian Federation to the Islamic Republic of Iran. In marshalling evidence on the shape and evolution of IW as a broad-scoped phenomenon aimed at societies writ large, the authors in this book present timely empirical investigations into the global landscape of influence operations, legal and strategic analyses of their role in international politics, and insightful examinations of the potential for democratic process to overcome pervasive foreign manipulation. This book will be of much interest to students of cybersecurity, national security, strategic studies, defence studies and International Relations in general.

War in 140 Characters

War in 140 Characters PDF Author: David Patrikarakos
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465096158
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
A leading foreign correspondent looks at how social media has transformed the modern battlefield, and how wars are fought Modern warfare is a war of narratives, where bullets are fired both physically and virtually. Whether you are a president or a terrorist, if you don't understand how to deploy the power of social media effectively you may win the odd battle but you will lose a twenty-first century war. Here, journalist David Patrikarakos draws on unprecedented access to key players to provide a new narrative for modern warfare. He travels thousands of miles across continents to meet a de-radicalized female member of ISIS recruited via Skype, a liberal Russian in Siberia who takes a job manufacturing "Ukrainian" news, and many others to explore the way social media has transformed the way we fight, win, and consume wars-and what this means for the world going forward.

Likewar

Likewar PDF Author: Peter Warren Singer
Publisher: Eamon Dolan Books
ISBN: 1328695743
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 421

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Book Description
Social media has been weaponized, as state hackers and rogue terrorists have seized upon Twitter and Facebook to create chaos and destruction. This urgent report is required reading, from defense experts P.W. Singer and Emerson T. Brooking.

Routledge Handbook of the Influence Industry

Routledge Handbook of the Influence Industry PDF Author: Emma L. Briant
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1040121985
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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Book Description
This Handbook provides the first comprehensive examination of the influence industry and how it operates worldwide across different domains. The rapid evolution of emerging technologies and data-driven persuasive practices has been linked to the spread of misleading content in domestic and foreign influence campaigns. This has prompted worldwide public and policy discussions about disinformation and how to curb its spread. However, less attention has been paid to the increasingly data-driven commercial industry taking advantage of the opportunities these new technologies afford. The handbook uses the term ‘influence’ here to include not only messaging and public relations (PR), which fell within the traditional focus of propaganda studies, but to consider the infrastructure and actors behind an advanced array of capabilities that can be used in a coordinated way to affect an audience’s emotions, ideas and behaviors in order to advance a state or non-state actor’s objectives – increasingly based on data-driven profiling. The volume fills a gap in scholarship exploring the recent technical, political and economic development of this industry, surveying the extent of different technologies and services offered to clients worldwide across multiple domains (commercial, political, national security and government). The chapters are divided into three thematic sections and evaluate Influence Industry practices, aims and effectiveness across audiences; business practices and economics; and democratic structures and human rights. They also offer advice for researchers and consider key ethical issues and new regulatory approaches. This volume will be of much interest to students of political science, propaganda studies, sociology, communication studies and journalism.