A recently released CNA study examines how, in this disorienting information environment, normal information-processing and social psychological mechanisms can be exploited by disinformation campaigns. The report, The Psychology of (Dis)Information: A Primer on Key Psychological Mechanisms , identifies four key psychological mechanisms that make people vulnerable to persuasion. The four key psychological principles are: initial information...Read More

COL (U.S. Army-Ret.) Carmine Cicalese, an Information Professionals Association member and advisor, remains a tireless advocate for the improvement of DoD’s activities in the information environment supporting military operations. He recently authored an article titled, “Information Advantage – Not Your Daddy’s Information Operations” on CYBER CIC, LLC’s blog supporting the Army’s recent introduction of doctrine...Read More

A bipartisan “Commission on Information Disorder” sponsored by the Aspen Institute released its final report Nov. 15, 2021, detailing a series of recommendations for all of society – government and private sector – to address the “crisis of trust and truth” resulting from online disinformation and misinformation. “It is the Commission’s belief that information disorder...Read More

DoD recently released it’s “2020 Report on Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China” (also referred to as the China Military Power report). Compared to last year’s report, there is nothing radically different from the 2020 report; though it does appear to elaborate more on some of the previous findings. The 2021...Read More

The Information Professionals Association conferred the Order of Hermes Award on Colonel Jason Logue of the Australian Defense Force (ADF) at the 10th Annual Pacific Information Operations & Electromagnetic Warfare Symposium on October 20, 2021. Colonel Logue was presented the award by IPA Board Member Austin Branch for his contributions to the information operations field...Read More

Leading researchers offered recommendations for increasing cognitive resilience in the face of the weaponization of social media and information during a program October 28, 2021 hosted by the U.S. Department of Defense Strategic Multi-layer Assessment (SMA) program. SMA, a multidisciplinary, multi-agency portfolio of projects that studies and assesses challenging problems associated with planning and operations...Read More

There are signs that the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is increasing its efforts to understand sentiment in support of information operations. A recent article from Mark Pomerleau of C4ISRNET highlighted a nearly $1 billion contract awarded by DoD to Peraton to support four Combatant Commands with influence planning, content development, dissemination of messages, and...Read More

The Washington Post reviews the latest book from photojournalist Jonas Bendiksen, “The Book of Veles,” a book that is a compendium of fakery intended to shock even the most discerning news organization and make us wonder if anything we see or read is real. Bendiksen’s project is complicated. On its surface, “The Book of Veles”...Read More

Good morning! You may have noticed that the Information Professionals Association (IPA) blog has been quiet these past few months and that you haven’t received your usual weekly IPA e-mail newsletter. The IPA Board, Advisors, and staff have been hard at work making some improvements, and I wanted to take this opportunity to update current...Read More

The Information Professionals Association (IPA) is planning to launch a new annual Cognitive Security (COGSEC) survey to assess respondents’ personal level of COGSEC and their understanding of key issues related to COGSEC. IPA hopes to complete our first pilot project by the end of the year. But we can’t do it without your help and...Read More