State sponsored (Russia, Bulgaria, PRNK, Iran, etc) online disinformation, delivered via social media and foreign propaganda outlets that seem legitimate, has been used against the US, causing discord and division amongst the US population.
Todate, we (US) have not had a successful counter to the disinformation.
The thrust of this post is NOT political.
The goal is to describe HOW the US is responding and countering the disinformation.
Over the past decade, the US approach has been to maintain officially collected information as confidential, secret and top secret.
This allowed the disinformation to run UNCHECKED.
Now, the US is trying a new approach: declassify and publish selected “secret” information.
Here’s the BIGGEST “new approach”:
Allow individuals to consume the information and draw their own conclusions.
The US is treating individuals like adults!
Remember how the US government reported the Russian build up of war materiel, AND released that much of what was being reported came from US intelligence efforts?
Since events played out, and are playing out, as predicted, this lends credibility to the US provided information.
Will the Russian actions result in a united US population?
Analysis: How the ###### ####### is fighting Russian disinformation
https://www.reuters.com/world/how-biden-white-house-is-fight…
???
ralph
11 Likes
Todate, we (US) have not had a successful counter to the disinformation.
Here is a somewhat different way:
Former Fox News Director Charged With Violating U.S. Sanctions On Russia
Jack Hanick was arrested for his work as a TV producer for a Russian media baron tied to aggression in Ukraine over the past eight years.
NEW YORK (AP) — A former CNBC and Fox News employee has been arrested in London for his work as a television producer for a Russian media baron tied to aggression in Ukraine over the past eight years, particularly in Crimea, U.S. prosecutors announced Thursday.
Jack Hanick, 71, also known as “John,” was arrested in London on Feb. 3 in what U.S. Attorney Damian Williams described as the first-ever criminal indictment charging a violation of U.S. sanctions resulting from Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/russian-oligarch-crimea-sanct…
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A major point that I like is that the US government is NOT forcing/requiring the social media corporations or propaganda outlets to monitor or regulate the “news” that is on their sites.
This takes away the claims of government interference and 1st amendment rights.
Me likey.
ralph
2 Likes
My main concern is that this basically assumes enough of the US population is smart enough to evaluate conflicting information from various sources and choose to believe the accurate items.
I would not assume that - just the opposite, in fact, from a fairly large segment of society.
Mid-2020 I realized that we were not getting good information about covid and that I didn’t know enough to evaluate what I was hearing. So I started taking virology classes (interesting stuff, by the way). But it’s not easy to learn, and I say that as a college educated person (graduate degree in STEM field) with time on her hands. To expect that level of effort from others is not reasonable, for no other reason than they haven’t got the time. And that’s just one area of knowledge.
Frankly the best way to eliminate misinformation from my life is to stay off social media, but there’s no way enough people will do that to make a difference overall.
5 Likes