Clearing the mist: Countering Propaganda and Disinformation

The new information environment has changed the nature of warfare. New technologies always amplify the power of information and with it the ability to confuse the public about the authenticity of the information they receive. One of the most insidious aspects of the technological advances of the Digital Era is that they have made it possible to tailor information quite specifically to the individual beliefs and prejudices of societal groups. This is one of the reasons why the 21st century is seeing a new scale of media manipulation, psychological war and disinformation. Using this new information machinery and the sprawling disinformation networks it inhabits, hostile propaganda can now more easily succeed in blocking, filtering, altering, or misrepresenting information. What¿s more, because it is far less reliant on indoctrinating people, this new genre of propaganda can be much more efficient in blurring the boundaries between fact and fiction, and preventing people from understanding what is actually happening.