How to think

[BK2004]

So. We’ve been a capability for over a century now. Our identity has waxed and waned and morphed over time. We’ve been Psychological Warfare. We’ve been Deception. We’ve been Psychological Operations. Briefly, we’ve been soup.

It’s been a long time though, since we actually thought about what really makes us relevant, and what might keep us that way. These days, they’re talking hats, web operations, cyber, and all kinds of tools. Leaflets and loudspeakers used to be a lot more valuable than they are now, but from WWI to the GWOT and beyond, in battle and competition, the biggest baddest tool in our kit has always been the minds behind the tools.

It’s important to think in terms of human behavior, because essentially, warfare doesn’t exist without it. And that’s our bag of beans. The proper application of environmental pressure with a clear understanding of the target audience toward a well defined behavior is the only thing that should matter to us. What do we want them to do? How are we all together going to get them to do it? Unpack those two simple questions when you want to serve whatever mission is in front of you, and you succeed as a Black Knight.

What say you?

 

[CQB]

With those two concepts in mind, I’m wondering what the PRC is attempting to achieve with their recent effort.

Chinese official tweets fake image of Australian soldier murdering child

 

[Marauder06]

With those two concepts in mind, I’m wondering what the PRC is attempting to achieve with their recent effort.

Chinese official tweets fake image of Australian soldier murdering child

Wow. That's pretty far out there, even for China.

 

[BK2004]

The PRC has a solid history of flinging feces against a wall, just to see what sticks. Often, their go-to is disruption, rather than concerted behavio(u)ral goals. It’s the biggest difference between 5-👁s approach and theirs. Russia is way better at using information manipulation than anyone else out there toward behavioral goals, but that (IMO) isn’t the future of psychological warfare. Its power will wane as populations become inoculated to it. Look, for instance, how ineffective Russian inforwar is in Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia. They know they can’t believe what comes out of Russia and they can spot it from a mile away. Environmental pressure. That’s how professional psywar can best be engaged in perpetuity. IMO.

 

[frostyred]

The PRC has a solid history of flinging feces against a wall, just to see what sticks. Often, their go-to is disruption, rather than concerted behavio(u)ral goals. It’s the biggest difference between 5-👁s approach and theirs. Russia is way better at using information manipulation than anyone else out there toward behavioral goals, but that (IMO) isn’t the future of psychological warfare. Its power will wane as populations become inoculated to it. Look, for instance, how ineffective Russian inforwar is in Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia. They know they can’t believe what comes out of Russia and they can spot it from a mile away. Environmental pressure. That’s how professional psywar can best be engaged in perpetuity. IMO.

The Russians have been working the UKR angle with a bit more finesse, however. I recall seeing some of the numbers from a Aussie report (trying to find the original, it was definitely on the clear web) talking about a Misinformation Campaign ran in Luhansk regarding a vaccine trial funded/supplied by the US that "ended up killing four people" (which it did not, those people neither died nor existed.)

 

[BK2004]

The Russians have been working the UKR angle with a bit more finesse, however. I recall seeing some of the numbers from a Aussie report (trying to find the original, it was definitely on the clear web) talking about a Misinformation Campaign ran in Luhansk regarding a vaccine trial funded/supplied by the US that "ended up killing four people" (which it did not, those people neither died nor existed.)

I look forward to that link. Grassyass amigo.

 

[BK2004]

The Russians have been working the UKR angle with a bit more finesse, however. I recall seeing some of the numbers from a Aussie report (trying to find the original, it was definitely on the clear web) talking about a Misinformation Campaign ran in Luhansk regarding a vaccine trial funded/supplied by the US that "ended up killing four people" (which it did not, those people neither died nor existed.)

Been a minute, but wanted to circle back with you on this. How have your thoughts been affected via the lens of recent and ongoing events?