The term "information operations," interpreted broadly, could cover anything from old-school psychological warfare like the kind of leaflet bombing schemes that have gone on since the First World War, to blocking internet access or faking the origin of a cyber attack. Recognizing this, U.S. Army planners hope to further integrate all aspects of information operations … Continue reading Army looks to further integrate psy-ops with electronic warfare
Tag: psychological operations
A new social media simulation program gives the U.S. military the capability to train its information operators for a wide range of cyber deception and propaganda operations without going on the real internet. The tool, called the Social Media Replication Toolkit System (SMRTS) and developed by the San Diego-based Cubic Corporation, "harvests and remixes real … Continue reading Military using fake internet to train trolls
The Pentagon's propaganda activities -- what it now euphemistically refers to as "military information support operations" (MISO) -- have a long history of both using trickery and deception to provide incredible tactical advantages in some cases, and failing spectacularly in others. "When employed correctly Military Information Support Operations (MISO--formerly PSYOP [psychological operations]) as a force … Continue reading U.S. should test propaganda before using it, psy-ops commander says
The day after NBC News aired an exclusive interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and just days before former FBI Director James Comey's highly anticipated testimony on his investigation into potential Trump administration collusion with Russia, another sensational storyline related to Russian meddling in the U.S. election emerged June 5 -- this one threatening to … Continue reading Truth, lies and Reality Winner
"I think the idea that fake news on Facebook ... influenced the election in any way is a pretty crazy idea," CEO Mark Zuckerberg said back in November, following Donald Trump's poll-defying win. A new report from the company, however, titled "Information Operations and Facebook," shows just how far the social media giant's position has … Continue reading Facebook releases ‘information operations’ report, update on govt. data requests
Alex Jones, radio show host and founder of the popular fringe news site InfoWars.com, has long been a controversial figure -- for everything from his outspoken support for President Donald Trump to his promotion of outlandish conspiracy theories such as the idea that extraterrestrial reptilian shapeshifters secretly rule the world. Jones has not only stoked … Continue reading ‘Performance artist’ Alex Jones ‘playing a character,’ his lawyer says
The U.S. Army's "Special Forces Guide to Information Operations" comes complete with a "destruction notice" on its cover, urging the reader to get rid of it "by any method that will prevent disclosure of contents or reconstruction of the document." Dramatic disclaimers aside, though, a 2013 edition of this document surfaced this week on the … Continue reading Leaked information ops guide reveals psychological warfare tactics
Last week, a top propagandist for the Islamic State extremist group (a.k.a. ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) was reportedly killed in an airstrike. The death comes as new details of the group's internal propaganda instruction strategy are emerging. Despite such setbacks for the media-savvy terrorist organization's psychological warfare initiatives, however, ISIS' propaganda continues to threaten the … Continue reading ISIS propaganda suffers setbacks, but remains steps ahead of US
So much has been written in the wake of the U.S. presidential election on the topic of Russian propaganda that it can be hard to keep up, especially given that some of America's most supposedly-reputable news outlets such as the Washington Post have routinely published questionable material on the subject. But a few new developments … Continue reading U.S. and Russia escalate information war
In the past year it's been reported that the U.S. Department of Defense may not be able to meet its "audit readiness" deadline of September 30 this year for its first ever audit. A big part of the problem is that the Army has reportedly been making improper financial statements amounting to trillions of dollars … Continue reading Pentagon online psyop against ISIS revealed as mess of incompetence, corruption
MirrorWilderness.com 