THE UNPRECEDENTED GROWTH OF digital access in our time has revolutionized online user access to information. Yet, the same phenomenon is behind the growing power of individuals, groups and state actors to create and disseminate misinformation and disinformation with unprecedented intensity.
In the case of
misinformation, false, mistaken or otherwise misleading information is
disseminated by unsuspecting users. When these actors are acting
deliberately with the intention to mislead, deceive or confuse, their
actions amount to disinformation.
Both phenomena are dangerous, especially
when utilized by well-organized malicious actors with political motives,
as part of broader influence operations aimed to shape public
narratives and mass perceptions. Moreover, as the methodologies and
techniques of misinformation and disinformation continue to mature,
increasingly sophisticated actors engage in such practices in pursuit of
broader goals. The latter can be associated with rapidly evolving forms
of hybrid warfare. This worrying phenomenon can be said to pose direct
challenges to our understanding of national and international security.
Disinformation in particular has been termed by a number of observers as
the existential threat of our time.
What is to be done? In an article entitled “Information Warfare: Methods to Counter Disinformation”, published last week in the peer-reviewed journal Defense & Security Analysis,
two experts suggest that a military approach to the challenge may be
beneficial. The authors, Dr. Andrew Dowse, of Edith Cowan University,
and Dr. Sascha Dov Bachmann, of the University of Canberra, argue that
the military concept of “kill chains” could form the basis of an
effective strategy to counter disinformation. The military approach,
they point out, takes us away from other approaches to the problem, such
as the planning approach, the truth theory approach, and the systems
approach.
The planning approach focuses on
re-active or pre-active attempts to correct false narratives with
accurate information —for instance by drowning false information on
social media in a sea of truthful information, or by amplifying accurate
messaging in anticipation of a disinformation campaign. The truth
theory approach is based on the premise that consumers of information
are primarily influenced, not by its content, but by its source, which
they have previously grown to trust. It therefore seeks to increase the
visibility of mainstream sources, such as reputable media and national
institutions. The systems approach addresses each element in the
taxonomy of communication —i.e. the audience, the medium, the agents of
information, and the messages themselves.
THE MILITARY APPROACH
In their article, however, Dowse and
Bachmann propose that the military concept of “kill chains” can
compensate for the inconsistencies and shortcomings of all other
approaches to the problem of disinformation. They point out that
military bodies have already begun to respond in a concerted fashion
against the disinformation. This is reflected in the establishment of
the First Special Operations Command’s Information Warfare Center in the
United States and in Britain’s 77 Brigade, whose mission is to combat
disinformation as a form of hybrid warfare by foreign actors. Similar
efforts are underway in Australia, as well as in operations carried out
by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) more broadly.
What is the main approach of the kill
chain model when it comes to disinformation? The term “kill chain”
refers to a deliberate process aimed at targeting and systematically
engaging a disinformation adversary, with the goal of disrupting the
sequence of activity that generates successful disinformation. The roots
of this concept are to be found in tactical modeling in the military.
However, it is now making its way into the realm of cybersecurity, and
—in the view of Dowse and Bachmann— could now be effectively applied to
combatting disinformation.
ATTACKING DISINFORMATION AT THE ROOT
The main principle is straightforward:
attack disinformation efforts at their root, before harmful messages are
delivered to social media platforms —that is, before they have an
opportunity to be amplified. This, the authors suggest, can be done by
actively deterring the creators of disinformation —i.e. through “the
threat to expose disinformation activities”. It can also be done via the
identification and neutralization of fake sites and accounts before the
latter begin to spout malicious messaging. Another method focuses on
the time-sensitive detection of disinformation, which can then be either
removed en masse, or prevented from spreading by carefully tweaked filter algorithms that demote the damaging content.
A question that arises here is whether
the kill chain approach necessitates that a military actor should be the
one to implement it. Dowse and Bachmann’s view is that the nature of
the coordinating body would “depend upon the nature of the threat,
including whether it may be part of a broader conflict”. In the absence
of an actual all-out conflict, the threat might be “deemed more of a
national security responsibility”, and thus be led by a civilian entity.
In times of war, a military body would be more suitable, they argue. In
either case, “given the consequences of influence operations, overall
co-ordination and survival chain action should be a matter for oversight
at the highest levels in a nation’s government”, they conclude.
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