Information war and next-generation propaganda are among the most important challenges facing the world today, manifesting themselves in different forms in different places notes the latest ‘Beyond Propaganda‘ paper from the Legatum Institute’s Transitions Forum.
They manifest themselves in different forms in different places. Among them are the far right’s deliberate spread of conspiracy thinking in the US and Europe; China’s use of disinformation to extend its power in the South China Sea; and the online activities of violent extremists such as ISIS. The challenges are far different from those of the Cold War. Thanks to the globalization of information, media and messages move easily across borders and into smartphones, notes the paper, which considers Ukraine as a laboratory of information war.
Movements and interests join and separate in constantly shifting trans-border alliances, making talk of “offence” and “defense” outdated. Inside democracies, the continued rise of political PR and candidates who reinvent reality at whim has led some commentators to claim we are living in a ‘post-fact’ world. Ukraine has been at the cutting edge of these challenges since Russia’s annexation of Crimea, described by the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO as the greatest “information blitzkrieg” in history.
Domestically, Ukraine’s information space is deeply distorted by oligarch-controlled media with scant respect for accuracy or objectivity. What can we learn from Ukraine’s responses? Did any of the strategies created in Ukraine succeed? Did others backfire? Authored by Marina Pesenti and Peter Pomerantsev, the publication examines initiatives undertaken by the government, media, and civil society and seeks to identify techniques that can help other democracies counter new forms of disinformation.
