https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PE198.html
"Since its 2008 incursion into Georgia (if not before), there has been a
remarkable evolution in Russia's approach to propaganda. This new approach was
on full display during the country's 2014 annexation of the Crimean peninsula.
It continues to be demonstrated in support of ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and
Syria and in pursuit of nefarious and long-term goals in Russia's “near abroad”
and against NATO allies.
In some ways, the current Russian approach to propaganda builds on Soviet Cold
War–era techniques, with an emphasis on obfuscation and on getting targets to
act in the interests of the propagandist without realizing that they have done
so. In other ways, it is completely new and driven by the characteristics of
the contemporary information environment. Russia has taken advantage of
technology and available media in ways that would have been inconceivable
during the Cold War. Its tools and channels now include the Internet, social
media, and the evolving landscape of professional and amateur journalism and
media outlets.
We characterize the contemporary Russian model for propaganda as “the firehose
of falsehood” because of two of its distinctive features: high numbers of
channels and messages and a shameless willingness to disseminate partial truths
or outright fictions. In the words of one observer, “[N]ew Russian propaganda
entertains, confuses and overwhelms the audience.”
Contemporary Russian propaganda has at least two other distinctive features. It
is also rapid, continuous, and repetitive, and it lacks commitment to
consistency.
Interestingly, several of these features run directly counter to the
conventional wisdom on effective influence and communication from government or
defense sources, which traditionally emphasize the importance of truth,
credibility, and the avoidance of contradiction. Despite ignoring these
traditional principles, Russia seems to have enjoyed some success under its
contemporary propaganda model, either through more direct persuasion and
influence or by engaging in obfuscation, confusion, and the disruption or
diminution of truthful reporting and messaging.
We offer several possible explanations for the effectiveness of Russia's
firehose of falsehood. Our observations draw from a concise, but not
exhaustive, review of the literature on influence and persuasion, as well as
experimental research from the field of psychology. We explore the four
identified features of the Russian propaganda model and show how and under what
circumstances each might contribute to effectiveness. Many successful aspects
of Russian propaganda have surprising foundations in the psychology literature,
so we conclude with a brief discussion of possible approaches from the same
field for responding to or competing with such an approach."
Via Diane A.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
