Russia is actively “attacking” the country of Georgia, and has been for over a decade. In 2008 Russia seized and occupied both Abkhazia and South Ossetia and continues to occupy both to this day. Now Russia is actively seeking to block a strategic logistic hub of Georgia’s under construction in the Black Sea. Russia continues… Continue reading Georgia: Russia Tries to Bog Down the Anaklia Deep Sea Port Project
Russian propaganda is often laughable, if it wasn’t so serious. Even worse, Russian people and Russian trolls believe it and circulate it widely. </end editorial> 30 January 2019 A new whistleblower has now emerged from inside a Russian state media organisation. This time it is Leonid Krivenkov, a former camera operator on the state TV… Continue reading How to Get a 146% Election Result
Public Diplomacy and Propaganda: Their Differences (2008) [Blast from a soon-to-be-disappearing past] [Found on the Web:] Public Diplomacy and Foreign Policy Tailored Review of the Marshall Aid Commemorative Commission:Written statement – HLWS1029 Public Diplomacy and Propaganda: Their Differences (2008) [Blast from a soon-to-be-disappearing past] Posted: 05 Nov 2018 02:51 PM PST unc.edu This page is… Continue reading John Brown’s Public Diplomacy Press and Blog Review
I attended a conference this past week and I realized that the terminology of IO/IW/Propaganda/SC/PD and every other ‘information term’ is being abused. Seriously abused. Some of the terms receiving serious abuse: Information Operations Information Warfare Propaganda Cyberwar/Cyberwarfare Strategic Communications Public Diplomacy Disinformation Misinformation Malinformation It was seriously disconcerting to hear cyber experts stating they… Continue reading The Use And Abuse Of Information Terms – Solution?
Webcast available Register Please join the Atlantic Council for an event entitled Putin’s Propaganda: Pushing Back Against Kremlin-Run Television, on Tuesday, September 11, 2018, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Atlantic Council headquarters (1030 15th Street NW, 12th Floor, West Tower Elevators, Washington, DC 20005). Putin’s regime has been accused of using politically motivated assassinations as a tool to silence… Continue reading Event: Putin’s Propaganda—Pushing Back Against Kremlin-Run Television
It’s interesting that the term “war propaganda” is used, as if to differentiate from ‘propaganda during peace’. Surprisingly, there is no reference to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum’s exhibit on propaganda, which became a traveling show a few years ago. </end editorial> How is hawkish fanaticism whipped up at home? One exhibition offers insight. By BRADLEY… Continue reading The Dark Side of War Propaganda
The 2018 US midterm election is hereby in session. More Russian fake news sites are popping up. The quote is fake, it is old (2017 allegations), and let’s take a look at the source. The NY Evening @TheNYevening Bio: Truth, Justice and Wisdom New York, NY nyeveningnews.com Joined November 2016 The first line, “Truth, Justice and… Continue reading New Russian Fake News Site Pops Up: The NY Evening
I just read a moving article. It was heartfelt, emotionally evocative, and for someone not conversant in Russian Information Warfare, convincing. I was sent the entire article by a close friend. This is my review of “Our democracy is more important than Facebook’s profits“. While the article contains quite a few very good points, to… Continue reading On “Our democracy is more important than Facebook’s profits”
March 30, 2018 – 23:18 By Kseniya Kirillova, for Defencereport Recently, Russian propaganda has committed another abomination against the dissident Ilya Yashinand his elderly grandmother. The camera crew “Life” broke into a nursing home, where the sick 84-year-old woman lived, and, having written down several of her comments, wrote a story directed against her grandson based on these comments.… Continue reading Propaganda as a drug – even for Putin’s Russia
Guys and Gals of the information warfare community, information operations world, strategic communications, public diplomacy, cybersecurity, cyberwarfare, electronic warfare, etc – InfowarCon is THE event that you should attend. I’ve been to quite a few of these through the years. Founded by Winn Schwartau back when the concept of information warfare was just gaining traction… Continue reading InfowarCon 2018: CALL FOR PAPERS
By Associated Press January 2, 2018 | 12:19pm MOSCOW — The Russian Armed Forces has unveiled its latest cutting-edge weapon in a New Year greetings video: cuddly puppies. After a year of showing off its military might in Syria, the Defense Ministry has taken a softer approach. The one-minute video shows dozens of puppies sharing food and cuddling with… Continue reading Russia unleashes newest secret weapon: puppies
Quote: “We don’t know who places ads on Facebook or how” “Russia was never involved in this.” “[W]e have never heard about this.” Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman, said on a conference call, as quoted by state-run RIA Novosti news agency. Russian official strategy whenever confronted: Deny, deny, deny Attack the messenger Attack the message Say “we have… Continue reading Kremlin Says It Doesn’t Know Who Buys Political Ads on Facebook
It should register as an agent of a foreign government. By James Kirchick September 20 James Kirchick is a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution and the author of “The End of Europe: Dictators, Demagogues, and the Coming Dark Age.” Last week, the Russian government-funded cable network RT announced that its American arm had been asked by the Justice… Continue reading RT wants to spread Moscow’s propaganda here. Let’s treat it that way.
@DPRK_News is the Twitter handle of DPRK News, the North Korean news outlet. In this case, there is no news, it is just commentary about the West. In their comments, they reveal just how little they actually know about the West. It makes for good reading if you need comic relief. Yesterday, @DPRK_News tweeted this.… Continue reading DPRK News Service Provides Hilarity, Not News
By EU’s East StratCom Task Force RT (Russia Today) and Sputnik are the two foreign language flagships of Russia’s campaign to influence international public opinion. Both outlets present themselves as media that provide alternative views to the mainstream in international news reporting. However, before accepting this premise, three fundamental differences between these outlets and what is… Continue reading Three things you should know about RT and Sputnik
The Russian troll farm at St. Peterburg, Russia, has a new name. Glavset. Facebook May Have More Russian Troll Farms To Worry About reminded me that the Internet Research Agency is now known as Glavset. I reported on them previously, in March 2017: Investigation of RBC: how a “media factory” grew out of the “troll factory, but I… Continue reading Glavset Is New Name For Russian Internet Research Agency, The Russian Troll Farm
A senior Russian official in the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a link to an article in Russian. Most of the readers of his page are Russians, he posts a breakdown of his readership weekly. Mysteries of the American tragedy of September 11, 2001 (Загадки американской трагедии 11 сентября 2001 года) The article is in… Continue reading Russian Propaganda Targeting Russians
Yet another discovery of the vast efforts by Russia to wage information warfare, indeed political warfare, against the United States. Every day a new disclosure seems to be revealed about how Russia waged a comprehensive, total war against not only the American democratic process but the very fabric of the United States itself. It eroded our faith… Continue reading The Fake Americans Russia Created to Influence the Election
By THOMAS ERDBRINK AUG. 26, 2017 TEHRAN — It’s a common theme in the state-controlled media in Iran: The armed forces are not to be trifled with; they’re tough men doing a tough job, defending a country permanently under threat. Nevertheless, it was a shock to some young Iranians when a video appeared featuring a well-known rapper delivering… Continue reading As ‘Death to America’ Chants Lose Power, Iran Retools Propaganda With Rap Videos
The searing propaganda is aimed to embolden the country and urge its people to resist US imperialism – with an arsenal of missiles eyed as the ultimate threat Arnel Hecimovic Sunday 20 August 2017 16.11 EDTLast modified on Sunday 20 August 2017 16.13 EDT A propaganda poster with loaded imagery reads, ‘Our answer!’ A North Korean propaganda poster declares, ‘Kick… Continue reading North Korea’s bold wave of propaganda art – in pictures
Published on July 20, 2017 by Jieun Choi A woman with curled up hair and enamel white pumps flashes her legs in an archetypal Marilyn Monroe posture — wind blows from below, ballooning up her flowing dress, which she pushes down just before revealing too much. “WHO’S STOPPING YOU?” “IF YOU RUN, IT TAKES JUST FIVE MINUTES!”… Continue reading Ppira: Women’s Bodies as Bait in Propaganda War Between Two Koreas
Before anybody panics, the source of the news report is People’s Daily Online, not exactly a hardcore propaganda outlet. On the other hand, China prefers its official propaganda to be much more subtle than does Russia. Yes, both TASS and the People’s Daily Online are state owned and both tend to publish some highly skewed pieces,… Continue reading China, Russia to further strengthen media cooperation
http://www.stopfake.org/en/advanced-guide-on-verifying-video-content/ July 01, 2017 – 14:29 By Aric Toler, Bellingcat One of the most common issues for researchers and journalists is verifying user-generated video content, most often found on social networks and file sharing platforms, such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and so on. There is no silver bullet to verify every video, and it may be… Continue reading Advanced Guide on Verifying Video Content
By Andrew Roth June 20 MOSCOW — Bots airing pro-Kremlin views have flooded the Russian-language portion of the social media platform Twitter, in what researchers from the Oxford Internet Institute say is an effort to scuttle political discussion and opposition coordination in Russia. In a new study of “political bots” on the social media platform, the sheer scale… Continue reading Pro-Putin bots are dominating Russian political talk on Twitter
By Lillian Michel “Good morning. This is the El Bus TV newscast, we’ve come to bring you these headlines.” What sounds like the start of the five o’clock evening news is surprising Venezuelans in the least expected of places — the city bus. El Bus TV is a new initiative launched by a group of journalists,… Continue reading Venezuelans turn city buses into newsrooms in order to fight disinformation
This appears to be an attempt for a coup in Venezuela. Unfortunately the helicopter attack on the Supreme Court complex in Caracas was underwhelming and the masses did not join. The pilot and his compadres have not been apprehended. This is an indication of growing unrest, The reason I post is due to the huge… Continue reading Venezuela’s Maduro: Helicopter attacked Supreme Court
JEMIMAH STEINFELD 16 June 2017 People see propaganda as a modern problem – manipulation by mass media. But the story is far older, and the tactics are timeless. While the game has moved on, the rules remain the same. The EU’s police agency, Europol, recently revealed evidence that Isis is creating its own social media… Continue reading What the Romans did for us: on the age-old art of propaganda
As I read this article, I could not shake the feeling that Professor Stephan Lewandowsky wants to withhold data in order to prevent dissenting or opposing opinions from being developed from the originator’s data. Yes, that may include for political use, and he cites tobacco studies as an example of misuse. “I think we’re entitled… Continue reading Calls for open data adjudicator to combat ‘disinformation’
Notice this essay was first published in 2011, republished in 2014, and, furthermore, Russia keeps trying, today, to hijack Ukraine history. The central point is that much of early Russian “history” has been fabricated for propaganda purposes – the notion of alternate realities has deep roots in Russia. Posting Eupedia maps – Moscow region is… Continue reading How Moscow hijacked the history of Kyivan Rus’
I must say, if all else, this article makes one wonder at the inherent bias of the Washington Post. I took a look through the stories the blogger mentions and I can understand his perspective. I cannot disagree. I then reviewed various reports from the Washington Post, through the years, and again, the overall bias… Continue reading Washington Post Accused Of Peddling Palestinian Propaganda
News in the section ‘Context’ are not fakes. We publish them in order to provide you with a deeper understanding of the techniques and methods used by the Russian government in its information war. May 21, 2017 – 23:47 Context By Paul Goble, Window on Eurasia Earlier this week, Vladimir Putin had a meeting with… Continue reading Putin’s Latest ‘Hybrid’ Move Against Russia’s Opposition Media
Turkey summoned the U.S. ambassador on May 22 to protest what it called the “aggressive and unprofessional actions” of U.S. authorities against the bodyguards of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his visit to Washington last week. The move prompted a rebuke from the U.S. State Department, which said the conduct of the Turkish security personnel… Continue reading Ankara Summons U.S. Ambassador In Dispute Over Washington Brawl
Pravda means “Truth” in Russian. But not according to their latest published fib. Actually, fib is too generous a word, it is a bold, blatant, absolutely boldly fabricated lie. A doozy! Just published in the last 30 minutes, I almost couldn’t believe the story when I clicked on it. “New secret documents hold Ukraine… Continue reading Pravda Tells A Doozy Of A Lie
By Christian Caryl May 19 The president of Ukraine did an extraordinary thing this week: He issued a decree banning several Russian social media networks. The free-speech liberal in me initially flinched at the news. Ukraine is struggling with its efforts at reform, and the last thing it needs is another unforced error by President… Continue reading Ukraine declares war on Russian social media — and some say it’s long overdue
A strongly biased, deeply troubling report. Only one side is presented: all case studies are of Trump and the US political far right embellishing the truth, manipulating the facts, and presenting a false narrative. There are a plethora of basic problems with this report. Starting with the title, this is a review of various… Continue reading Strongly NOT Recommended: Media Manipulation and Disinformation Online
A very unusual set of stories out of China. The first story is at the bottom, the “PR Save” story is on top. A failed photoshop showing China’s first domestically made aircraft carrier, the Liaoning was also accompanied by land-based China J-15 planes, Russian F-35 fighters, and American amphibious ships. The South China Morning Post… Continue reading Chinese Defence Ministry’s Propaganda Fail Turnaround
Like most reports from Russia about their ‘capabilities’, this article in Popular Mechanics exposes the article by the Sun as pure fluffed-up horse ca-ca propaganda. In the report, Russians recall the story of a Russian plane buzzing the USS Cook in the Black Sea in 2014. ‘They incapacitated the entire ship, all the electronic… Continue reading Don’t Buy the Reports About Russia’s Scary E-Weapons
12 April 2017 NATO in the Disinformation Age: Understanding the Threat A Seminar with the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) and the NATO Strategic Communications Center of Excellence. Thursday, April 27, 2017 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. ***Location: Park Inn by Radisson Riga Valdemara, 1 Krogus Street, Riga, LV-1048, Latvia*** In today’s information… Continue reading Event: NATO in the Disinformation Age: Understanding the Threat
Tracing the “false flag” claim back to a pro-Assad website Diagram of how the “false flag” claim spread. US President Donald Trump’s decision to launch strikes against Syria in the wake of a major chemical weapons attack provoked outrage from the far-right groups who were his most aggressive supporters. As rumors of the impending strikes broke,… Continue reading How the alt-right brought #SyriaHoax to America
Elsewhere, in the news, the overt use of propaganda continues. In New Zealand, however, practitioners of Falun Gong do not tolerate propaganda aimed at their persecution and are using legal tools at their disposal to object. It is not quick, it is not easy, but they do have a recourse. </end editorial> Tuesday, 4… Continue reading Kiwis Say No to Chinese Communist Propaganda
This is a compilation of news, articles, essays, and reports on strategic communications, Public Diplomacy, public affairs, U.S. government international broadcasting, and information operations. The editorial intent is to: share with busy practitioners the academic and policy ferment in Public Diplomacy and related fields from long speeches, testimonies, and articles, flag the portions that bear… Continue reading Strategic Communications and Public Diplomacy “Seen on the Web” – March 30, 2017
April 02, 2017 – 16:37 Context A snapshot of online manipulation on the eve of a parliamentary vote Source: Twitter. Accounts posting the same wording and image ahead of the Armenian election Armenians go to the polls on April 2 for the first election under a new law which marks the transition towards a parliamentary… Continue reading Fakes, Bots, and Blockings in Armenia by Russia
Note the faux fact-checking effort by the Russian MFA, which by itself was fake news, is not listed, nor is it operational. The website was widely trounced for making claims that stories were false while providing absolutely no proof, no evidence, and no substantiation of claims. The effort appears to have lasted about one day… Continue reading There are now 114 fact-checking initiatives in 47 countries
Today Prometheus Center has released an English version of the book ““. The guide is intended for journalists, researchers, war experts and general readers seeking to form their own opinion on the war in the eastern part of Ukraine. The book is distributed free of charge. You can download PDF version here: https://prometheus.ngo/…/2…/03/Donbas_v_Ogni_ENG_web_1-2.pdf If you… Continue reading Donbas in Flames. Guide to the Conflict Zone
Here is some light weekend reading! ht to Chris Nethery for the introduction! </end editorial> Kate Starbird Asst. Professor of Human Centered Design & Engineering at UW. Researcher of crisis informatics and online rumors. Aging athlete. Army brat. Mar 14 Information Wars: A Window into the Alternative Media Ecosystem Conspiracy Theories, Muddled Thinking, and Political Disinformation Background:… Continue reading Information Wars: A Window into the Alternative Media Ecosystem
BY KATIE BO WILLIAMS, JOE UCHILL AND MORGAN CHALFANT – 03/30/17 09:41 AM EDT Senate Intel Committee kicks off rare open hearing on alleged Russia interference Video at link. 00:0500:58 Autoplay: On | Off The Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday is holding its first open hearing in its investigation into Russian interference in the presidential… Continue reading Senate Intelligence Committee holds first public Russia hearing
Coalition official says slain jihadists were part of efforts to recruit foreign fighters and encourage terror attacks in West BY AFP March 31, 2017, 4:05 am The US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group said Thursday that it had killed a propaganda chief and associates in an airstrike in the western Iraqi town of Al-Qaim.… Continue reading IS propaganda team killed in Iraq airstrike
How George Creel sold the Great War to America, and America to the world. By Nicholas J. Cull Mar 21 2017 Committee on Public Information poster from 1917 promoting the United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation. W. D. Stevens/Library of Congress. In 1917, on the brink of the U.S. entry into the Great War, a… Continue reading Master of American Propaganda
I had the honor of reviewing an earlier version of this excellent piece. PropOrNot took most of my suggestions, great job. Russian Black propaganda rule 101, do not reveal who you are, where you are, or anything about yourself. Broken. Because one Russian troll forgot to reset his IP address to one in Westerly,… Continue reading Anatomy of a Russian Propaganda Troll: Geotagging Marks the Spot
The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee has scheduled a second public hearing on March 30 connected with its investigation into alleged Russian interference during last year’s presidential election. Republican committee Chairman Richard Burr and ranking Democrat Mark Warner said the hearing will focus on ways that Russia works to influence election campaigns and public opinion. They… Continue reading U.S. Senate Committee To Hold Hearing On Russian Influence Campaigns
To Inform is to Influence 