Below is a review of the recent article in the Fall 2021 of The Cyber Defense Review titled “Information Advantage Activities.”  The Army is struggling a bit in sorting out its Information Operations (IO) career force, the organizations that have supported IO in the Army since the 1990s.  The author of this article summarizes the...Read More

I know many of you (me too!) have been looking for the posting of recordings and a summary of the proceedings of the Phoenix Challenge conference conducted 13 April.  It’s coming soon. The truth is there was so much good discourse that the Phoenix Challenge staff in San Antonio, TX has taken on the task...Read More

Outsourcing disinformation and its impact on future conflict and that “firehose” Manufacturing is far from the only thing that can be outsourced or offshored.  Who hasn’t wondered if that call center or help line person to whom we’re talking is located more than 6 time zones away?  It’s likely been going on for some time...Read More

It’s been a big week for Information Operations/Information Warfare/Information Advantage.  I read with interest the testimony this week of Acting ASD(SOLIC) Christopher Maier, and two senior officials from USD(I) on “Disinformation in the Gray Zone:  Opportunities, Limitations, Challenges.”  Download the whole thing here:  https://docs.house.gov/Committee/Calendar/ByEvent.aspx?EventID=111323 The title of the hearing and testimony was a bit mis-labeled...Read More

Rolling Stone has a an article out (February 24th..sorry, somewhat delayed here) about the ethical issues swirling around ‘big tech’ and their decisions (or lack thereof) to police the spaces they create for the exchange of information.  Much has been written about the algorithmic propagation of misinformation on social media platforms which is why this...Read More

Note:  All opinions on the IPA blog are those of the author and except where noted not official positions of the Association. This CFR blogger was echoing my own thoughts as well many of yours: 2020 was a plague year, and not only from an epidemiological standpoint: disinformation went mainstream, and conspiracy theories that previously...Read More

If you’ve paid even minimal attention to the discussion about today’s media environment then you know that market forces, the deleterious effects of social media, and the subsequent division of all media markets into tiny segments means that we can no longer count on a paid, investigative reporter showing up at local or county-level government...Read More

Editor’s note:  Defense One put up a nice summary filled with data on the spread of misinformation leading up to the US election.  It’s far from reassuring.  Despite the concerted efforts of social media companies and most media outlets, misinformation spread quickly and remains very entrenched with a backlash suggesting a surge in lack of...Read More

Editor’s Note – Now, this is refreshing.  How many times have we read the following words?: “This is not just a local or national threat, but a global one. Europe and the West are experiencing a flood of disinformation campaigns. Although this menace predates the current COVID-19 global pandemic, the public health crisis has provided...Read More

The Supply of Disinformation Will Soon Be Infinite Editor’s Note:  A ‘much mentioned’ but rarely discussed aspect of online discourse that’s happening before our eyes:  The use of fake personas and AI algorithms to produce content with the intent merely to sow discord.  Today it’s the Russians and Chinese and tomorrow…..almost anyone…?  These tools don’t...Read More