By Kumar Ramakrishna*
Disinformation, Fake News too Deliberate Online Falsehoods are cipher new. They are all forms of Propaganda. Singapore should live on concerned when a Sending State’s Strategic Propaganda mechanisms too its Agents of Influence inside our shores attempt to accomplish Information Dominance. As the Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods continues its world hearings on the issue, it seems apt to own got a pace dorsum too consider the whole affair of “Disinformation” too “Fake News” from a wider historical too conceptual perspective. In reality, these damage own got deeper conceptual, historical roots inward the much older term “Propaganda”. Some scholars advise that the discussion “Propaganda” evolved every bit a lawsuit of Pope Gregory XV creating the Committee for the Propagation of the Catholic Faith inward Rome inward 1622. Hence the origins of the term “Propaganda” were honourable too related to the dissemination of religious ideals.
Changed Concept of Propaganda
Only inward the 20th Century, peculiarly next the excesses of Nazi Propaganda during World War Two, did the electrical current opprobrium associated amongst the discussion emerged. The Nazis conceived of Propaganda every bit the “Big Lie”. That is, Hitler’s Propaganda czar Josef Goebbels manifestly believed that past times feeding ordinary people falsehoods – “Disinformation” – plenty times, eventually they would come upward to believe it.
However, inward a strict technical sense, Propaganda is whatever degree of volume communication that is able to influence the thinking too demeanor of a target audience. The Allies during World War Two, for example, conceived of Strategic Propaganda every bit directed at entire audiences inside Target States.
Previously, radio too newspapers – too afterwards tv – were seen every bit Strategic Propaganda mechanisms par excellence. Today, thank you lot to technological advances, social media platforms on non-private settings, such every bit YouTube, Facebook, Instagram too Twitter, could likewise live on said to own got potentially strategic impact.
White, Black too Grey Propaganda
While the inward a higher house examples depict the mechanisms of Strategic Propaganda, ane must likewise pay attending to the doctrine that regulation their use. In World War Two, Allied doctrine identified 3 categories of Propaganda: The start was White – which involved basically telling the audience the truth via guide reporting past times a clearly identified source.
For example, ane argue why the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) earned such a global next was its reputation for telling the truth, fifty-fifty bad news, inward wartime.
Another approach – favoured past times the Nazis – was Black Propaganda or Disinformation. Finally, at that spot was likewise Grey Propaganda. This was when the data coming out contained facts too deliberate inaccuracies – too the source of it was unclear.
A famous wartime exponent of Black/Grey Propaganda was the British operative Sefton Delmer, who mesmerized Nazi audiences for his deliberately scandalous German-language radio broadcasts, whilst masquerading every bit a disgruntled senior Nazi officer.
R.H.S. Crossman, the run past times Allied Propagandist inward World War Two too hereafter government minister inward Prime Minister Harold Wilson’s Labour Government of the 1960s, observed that the British found that spell Black too Grey Propaganda were “fun”, these precisely succeeded inward sowing confusion inward a target audience. In contrast, White Propaganda was amend because ane time ane had established credibility amongst the target audience ane could influence them to human activity inward desired ways.
New Technologies, Same Principles
The principles of Strategic Propaganda rest relevant today, despite technological advances inward the mechanisms of its dissemination. States silent ask to employ Strategic Propaganda to influence other States to acquit inward desired ways.
Strategic Propaganda mechanisms seeking Information Influence inward the postwar era own got included such Cold War radio platforms every bit the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe too Radio Liberty, directed at the subjugated peoples of the Soviet bloc.
In to a greater extent than recent times nosotros own got encountered the Russian Federation Today tv tidings channel too Sputnik Radio, spell recent reports dot that Beijing is thinking of setting upward a huge Voice of Red People's Republic of China global broadcasting operation, apart from its Global Times newspaper.
In fact, Strategic Propaganda past times Sending States likewise includes so-called Agents of Influence (AOI) inside Target States throughout the world. These AOI include unusual diplomatic, cultural too educational officials too institutions such every bit for instance, the British Council, the quondam U.S.A. Information Agency, the Saudi-backed World Muslim League too the Chinese–supported Confucius Institutes inward universities across the globe.
These Strategic Propaganda mechanisms are genuinely non unusual too own got been component of global diplomatic too cultural intercourse for decades.
The Real Threat: Sending States too Information Dominance
The existent employment arises when the finish of the Sending State shifts from mere Information Influence to the to a greater extent than aggressive opinion of Information Dominance inside the Target State. This happens when the Strategic Propaganda mechanisms mentioned before shift from disseminating precisely White Propaganda, to employing Black too Grey modes every bit well.
This comes inward the degree of spreading Disinformation too Fake News online or inward the existent the world through AOI, amongst a thought to sowing confusion too discord inside the Target State.
The Sending State may produce this amongst a thought to psychologically weakening the Target State too so every bit to amend steer the latter’s demeanor inward desired ways. Examples of Strategic Propaganda beingness employed inward the Information Dominance means include reported interference past times Russian Strategic Propaganda mechanisms too AOI inward the 2016 U.S.A. presidential elections too inward the UK’s BREXIT crusade before that same year.
Implications
Disinformation too Fake News are therefore cipher new. They are Old Wine inward New Bottles too should live on seen inward perspective. Particularly noteworthy are the following:
First, States seeking to influence other States’ demeanor through Strategic Propaganda every bit described are cipher new. Hence nosotros must avoid political overreactions that may impairment our international standing.
Second, it is when the Sending State seeks to motility from Information Influence to Information Dominance that Countermeasures would live on needed. In this regard, 2 possible Countermeasures seem pertinent.
First, expand the compass of the electrical current SG Secure initiatory to include raising awareness of Disinformation too Fake News, either online or via AOI. The Select Committee has lately heard several ideas for edifice societal resilience against such Black too Grey Propaganda.
These gain from measures promoting critical thinking to creating independent fact-checking councils. In an historic catamenia of increasingly assertive unusual AOI, however, elementary counter-intelligence skills may additionally ask to live on to a greater extent than widely distributed inward the population.
Finally, those loose local coalitions of anti-government Internet trolls, academics, activists too groups who regularly pontificate online too elsewhere nigh supposed historical regime excesses, should practise vigilance. They may unwittingly live on co-opted past times AOI of hostile Sending States to undermine Singapore’s social cohesion from within. This would live on correct out of the quondam Cold War playbook.
As the quondam maxim goes, those who cannot yell upward the past times volition live on condemned to repeat it.
*Kumar Ramakrishna is Associate Professor, Head of Policy Studies too Coordinator of the National Security Studies Program at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore.
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