Information Warfare in the Social Imagination...

 

Really?

Yes, really...

Information warfare (IW) is a concept involving the battlespace use and management of information and communication technology (ICT) in pursuit of a competitive advantage over an opponent. 

Information warfare is the manipulation of information trusted by a target without the target's awareness so that the target will make decisions against their interest but in the interest of the one conducting information warfare. As a result, it is not clear when information warfare begins, ends, and how strong or destructive it is.

Information warfare may involve the collection of tactical information, assurance(s) that one's own information is valid, spreading of propaganda or disinformation to demoralize or manipulate the enemy and the public, undermining the quality of the opposing force's information and denial of information-collection opportunities to opposing forces. Information warfare is closely linked to psychological warfare.

The United States military focus tends to favor technology, and hence tends to extend into the realms of electronic warfare, cyberwarfare, information assurance and computer network operations, attack and defense.

Most of the rest of the world use the much broader term of "Information Operations" which, although making use of technology, focuses on the more human-related aspects of information use, including (among many others) social network analysis, decision analysis and the human aspects of command and control. 

Information warfare can take many forms:

• Television, internet and radio transmission(s) can be jammed.
• Television, internet and radio transmission(s) can be hijacked for a disinformation campaign.
• Logistics networks can be disabled.
• Enemy communications networks can be disabled or spoofed, especially online social community in modern days.
• Stock exchange transactions can be sabotaged, either with electronic intervention, by leaking sensitive information or by placing disinformation.
• The use of drones and other surveillance robots or webcams.
• Communication management 

*For the above, see online source below...

Now, what do you think? How do you feel? Do you feel like you (we) are under attack or involved in an info war? Many people do... so you are not alone. But, the problem is finding out who is on the attack and who is on the defense. I have been saying for several months in various ways that this is happening here and now. 

How, well if we are talking about psychological warfare (and we are) then we can point to such tactics as wide spread mass hypnosis in direct correlation with the capitalization of herd mentality through the art of manipulation such as controlled media propaganda; and, all the listed above have been employed in one way or another since March of this year. 

Who will win? That's anybody's guess right now but one thing is for sure in the social imagination... historically, the winner takes all and has the right to record how it all came to be their victory! 

The sad and scary aspect of this kind of warfare is how ordinary people, politicians and experts, can be so easily lured into this kind of battlespace. People from all walks of life recruited innocently and even unconsciously by the art of manipulation. They end up becoming tools or weapons themselves in such battlespace. 

If you don't accept this as a reality, just read my previous blogs on the Social Imagination ... especially, on those posts on the social reality which is only in the Social Imagination. 

*ONLINE SOURCE ~  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_warfare

* OTHER  CONFIRMING READING ~ https://globalsecurityreview.com/cold-war-2-0-russian-information-warfare/