When Does the Truth Become ‘Disinformation’?
A review of Subversion: the Strategic Weaponisation of Narratives by Andreas Krieg.
What is truth? Many Daily Sceptic readers may have asked themselves this question over the last few years. The answer is fundamental to what people believe and how they behave – hence the warning often attributed to Voltaire, to the effect that “Anyone who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities”.
This critical, yet difficult-to-define question forms the basis of an important new book by leading academic Andreas Kreig.
Subversion: the Strategic Weaponisation of Narratives is a scholarly contribution to the literature which analyses the ways in which ‘truth’ can be shaped, influenced and manipulated. The book focuses mainly on how Russia, China and Middle Eastern states use ‘information warfare’ techniques to control their own populations, attack the social cohesion of their opponents and influence high level decision makers-in enemy states. Information warfare has a long history, but the internet has increased its effect and importance – artificial intelligence may take it to another level – hence the anxiety in governance circles.
Control of ‘the narrative’ has become more difficult and more critical as information dissemination is decentralised by social media. Krieg elegantly summarises and classifies the way in which governments attempt to remain in control by making “truth… an elite product that the public consumes rather than shapes”. Using examples from his expertise in the complex politics of the Middle East, he explains how dissent can be identified and suppressed, and how official narratives are supported by the mass use of ‘electronic flies’ – an amusing metaphor for the use of bots and trolls to flood social media with reinforcing messages about government policy.
On the offensive side of the ledger, existing cultural, ethnic and political fault lines in liberal democracies can be exploited and widened by polluting the information space with inflammatory content crafted to exacerbate grievances by arousing emotions of anger, fear and disgust.
Subversion contains an important chapter on the Russian approach to information warfare – again this is not news, but it is both relevant and important. The USSR had a long tradition of ‘active measures’ aimed at destabilising Western democracies during the Cold War, and NATO states enthusiastically reciprocated. Daily Sceptic readers may be intrigued to discover the principles underlying Soviet style disinformation campaigns, succinctly summarised by the 4 D’s: Dismiss the Critic, Distort the facts, Distract from the main issue and Dismay the audience.
I’m sure I’ve observed those techniques in action myself recently, rather closer to home. Indeed, my only criticism of this book is the absence of any analysis of the British Government’s use of many information warfare techniques against its own citizens during the Covid ‘crisis’. When Dr. Krieg says that “liberal governments cannot rely on a synchronised media apparatus to communicate policies… without public pushback”, he perhaps overlooks the behaviour of the BBC in recent times.
The most important and relevant parts of Subversion are the last two chapters, where Krieg intelligently outlines the main dilemmas for Western liberal democracies in the information age – how to preserve freedom of expression while simultaneously maintaining information resilience. This conundrum lies at the heart of the tension between the sceptical community and our increasingly authoritarian governments, eager to curtain free speech in the name of ‘protecting democracy’. The outcome of this struggle will determine whether Enlightenment ideals of rationality and intellectual freedom will survive in the 21st Century. It is a battle we cannot afford to lose.
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“Krieg intelligently outlines the main dilemmas for Western liberal democracies in the information age – how to preserve freedom of expression while simultaneously maintaining information resilience.”
I’ve noticed precious little enthusiasm for freedom of expression in Western “liberal democracies”. I’ve no real idea what “information resilience” is but it sounds like something that powerful people invoke at their convenience to shut other people up.
I heartily agree tof. When I read “information resilience” I thought ‘uh oh,’ more new world gobbledegook. No idea what it means. Perhaps the author could advise.
It is interesting that this book identifies the dissemination of dis- and mis-information as a two-way street, and that is not the sole prerogative of Russian/Chinese/Korean/Islamic propagandists as we are told by tptb.
As regards the MSM, truth becomes toxic whenever the RPTB decree it so.
Such a shame that so many sheep swallow it.
Why can’t we just have truth and reality, instead of a “narrative” aka a made up story?
If we only had truth and reality there would be no room for misinformation, disinformation, misspeaking, misinformation, and so on. The devastating impacts of this would be that a whole industry would be made redundant and what would the poor darlings and Marianna Spring’s of this world do then?
The consequences would be horrific 😢
In my view the biggest damage so far in the UK has been from state propaganda. It was Cameron-Clegg who formed the Cabinet Office controlled “nudge unit” that uses psy-ops against the British people. This has enabled the political elite to introduce and continue policies which the people have not voted for. It has enabled them to convince millions of complete nonesence.
Let’s forget the evils of the distant East – it is Western minds in Universities, Governments and Intelligence services that have deemed truth to be “malinformation” when it decreases trust in “democratic officialdom,” and it is the CIA that has included that within the definition of terrorism.
It’s an interesting return to the “honour culture” of ancient systems like Islam, where to tell the truth about your neighbour if it causes him distress is worthy of a lashing for you, not the offender, and telling truth about Muhammad, even if taken from Islamic sources, is an automatic death sentence if the reputation of the Prophet or of Islam suffers. Witness Charlie Hebdo or Salman Rushdie even in Western countries.
In the Islam honour culture, lying is acceptable if your neighbour is an infidel, so is killing him to honourably defend or promote the faith.
See: Israel/Arab everwar.
Indeed. I didn’t want to overdo it in one post, though. After all, being raped is a dishonour to your husband, too, and fully worthy of the lash.
You know you are telling the truth when you don’t have to remember what it was you said. ——-I stole that from Mark Twain.——Or Truth is stranger than fiction because fiction has to make sense.
Liberal democracy, social democracy, even Christian democracy and democratic republics – but nowhere is there democracy.
On the subject of ‘liberal’ democracies, John Locke the 18th Century English liberal radical, said that no Government should interfere with the citizen’s right to life, right to liberty, right to enjoy their property: in fact Government has a duty to preserve, protect and uphold these rights.
Any Government interfering with these rights, not protecting and assuring them is not ‘liberal’, nor is the voting smokescreen, democracy.
So where exactly are these supposed liberal Governments and liberal democracies?
“When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’
’The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’
’The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master — that’s all.” ― Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass