Considering that the 2015 US election and 2016 Brexit referendum upsets, foreign influence on democratic elections has developed into a hot topic. On John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight, a segment explained the simplicity of tampering with voting machines which inspired me to write down this informative article. Before I get into how basic and inexpensive it really is to propagate disinformation on the net, I’d like provide some background on why and the way more nations is going to be entering a digital warfare space from the future years.
Foundations of Geopolitics, a magazine drafted with the International Department with the Russian Secretary of state for Defence back 1997, paved the way like a philosophical instructions manual for dismantling and dethroning enemies and super-powers alike, with all the ultimate goal of “Finlandization” for all of Europe. Based on Wikipedia’s summary about the strategy:
“Military operations play relatively little role. The textbook advocates a classy program of subversion, destabilization, and disinformation spearheaded from the Russia special services.”
During the 2015 US election along with a meagre monthly budget of just $1.25M (estimated $15M a year), Russia’s Investigation Agency was able to provide you with the US election to the Republican Party. When it comes to return-on-investment (ROI), Russia spends $36M per Mi-35 helicopter. It is no wonder then, that as Russia gains more territory and influence, its actual military spending is decreasing.
Military power is clearly a really costly ongoing expense where destabilization is comparatively cheap and plentiful. But how exactly is done?
Tactic 1: Find The Fractures Then Divide & Conquer
While using the demonstration of america, this fracturing tactic was exquisitely executed by fuelling instability and actively supporting all dissident groups simultaneously to inflame tensions and divide communities. Enemies of the USA happen to be fanning the flames of white nationalism, gun rights groups, stoking anti-immigration sentiment as well as the vilification of refugees and Muslims happen to be most visible. Yet this only scratches the outer lining.
But more subtle and vicious domestic attacks come in support of fringe and also other right-wing religious groups attacking women’s reproductive rights, gay marriage equality, homelessness and mental health.
We are seeing generational divisiveness growing between Forty somethings and beyond and Millennials. There’s a growing demonization of environmental stewardship (see baseless attacks and other trolling of Greta Thunberg) and attacks on democratically-held values in general.

Long-term, inter-generational damage from your exploitation of such existing divides is seen within the gutting of america education system, diminishing access to healthcare for those, ballooning deficits that our children and grandchildren will probably be saddled down by a few of the long-term consequences to become experienced this surprisingly inexpensive destabilization warfare technique.
What were once cracks in an overarching national unity have grown to be red line fractures within an artificially created, cold civil war. Lots of people are now asking the thing that was done to exploit these existing social divides?
Tactic 2: Leverage digital age intersection between behavioural economics, social media marketing loopholes and the relative simplicity of google search exploitation
As being a digital strategist and internet based marketer I’ve observed that lots of the tactics accessible to civilians were modified being weaponized against competing nations. Boosting social media marketing reach on divisive posts and influencers gave fringe groups an incorrect sense which they held popular yet controversial views.
Social media marketing has a lot of loopholes that i often share to my web marketer followings for them to have more bang for their buck with clients. It’s remember social networking platforms’ #1 goal is to help you stay around the platform providing possible to allow them to make ad revenue. They do this by displaying content they think will keep yourself on just a little bit longer. They all are literally designed at some level to be addictive to all of us.
I discuss within my marketing content the various exploitation opportunties that trick these social platforms into thinking your site content is viral by fooling the algorithm they depend upon to distribute to users.
For instance, with below $100 I could buy 10,000 twitter followers, automatically getting 1,000 retweets and favourites on 10 posts. For $100 of paid ads on twitter, you barely get any results. That’s because Twitter under-reports bot activity as a way to convince its shareholders that website engagement is increasing. It’s not simply Twitter – Facebook, Instagram, Youtube (Google), Snapchat and also Linkedin have the ability to precisely the same fundamental vulnerability. It is now very easy to offer false social proof to almost anything.
Humans are hardwired with cognitive biases which are easily and often exploited by social networking platforms and search engines to produce us feel that everything is more (or fewer) popular compared to what they really are. Increasingly we are getting stuck inside our own social echo chambers and believe many people see things similar to us.
There are legitimate grievances round the US economy like job losses from globalization and artificial intelligence leading to increased economic inequality. But US citizens were manipulated and sentiment hijacked by populist narratives for being the victim in the government, elites, experts, Democrats, Mexicans, Muslims, and foreign allies.
Tactic 3: Erode Trust & Global Alliances
What’s worse, not only was desire to achieved to destabilize the US by facilitating the turning of an nation on itself, and also have its internal damage bleed Anti-Americanism into US-global relations. The surprise betrayal of the American-Kurd alliance can have lasting consequences on American credibility, leaving American soldiers and civilians more vulnerable than previously.
France, creation the oldest international ally of america, is currently questioning simply how much it might count on the US following your abrupt pulling of US forces from Northern Syria without the consultations from NATO partners. As reported by the BBC,
“Russia, which sees Nato like a threat to its security, welcomes french president’s comments as “truthful words.””
It’s tough to say just when this second Cold War started, just one thing is certain: we’re woefully happy to defend ourselves from disinformation and possess learned to stop difficult political conversations.

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