Psyops and Perception Management Perception Management l Information

Psyops and Perception Management

Perception Management l Information operations that aim to affect perception of others to influence – Emotions – Reasoning – Decisions – Actions CSCE 727 - Farkas Related to Psychological Operations Influence behavior by affecting human Psyche (fear, desire, logic, etc. ) 2

Injecting Content into Target’s Information Space l Targeted population l Communication medium – Any medium that can be exploited – Face-to-face, print, telecommunication, internet, etc. – Real time, broad audience (television, video, etc. ) CSCE 727 - Farkas 3

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Covert Action l “…attempt by one government to pursue its foreign policy objectives by conducting some secret activity to influence the behavior of a foreign government or political, military, economic, or societal events and circumstances in a foreign country. ” (Silent Warfare) CSCE 727 - Farkas 7

Covert Total secrecy: details or even the existence of activities are confidential l Unaccounted: actions are public knowledge but government involvement is concealed l Goal: direct furthering of national foreign policy objectives l Wide range of activities: – Radio Free Europe, http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Radio_Free_Europ e/Radio_Liberty l CSCE 727 - Farkas 8

Perception of a Foreign Government l Goal: change foreign government’s policy to support offense’s political interest l Influence – Foreign government’s perception – Perceptions of elements of foreign society CSCE 727 - Farkas 9

Agents of Influence directly government policy l Data collection is not necessary l Persuade colleagues to adopt certain policies l E. g. , government officials l – 1930 -40 s: Soviet intelligence agents working for U. S. government (Harry Dexter White – Assistant Secretary of the Dept. of Treasury), https: //www. cia. gov/library/center-for-the-study-ofintelligence/csi-publications/csistudies/vol 49 no 1/html_files/harry_dexter_8. htm l CSCE 727 - Farkas 10

Agent of Influence l Trusted contact – willing to work for a foreign government, no detailed instructions, not paid l Controlled agent – receives precise instructions, usually paid l Manipulated agent – unaware of serving a foreign government CSCE 727 - Farkas 11

Use of Information and Disinformation l Providing information (or misinformation) – Influence a desired action – E. g. , revealing identities of opponents’ intelligence agents l l l Origin of information Sender of information Misinformation – Plausible – “silent forgery” – “deception operation” CSCE 727 - Farkas 12

Perception of Foreign Society l Hard to measure l Cumulative effect over long period of time l Agents of Influence – Interact with public – journalists, TV commentator, etc. – Prominent person – political figure, aid organization, etc. l Culture CSCE 727 - Farkas 13

Unattributed Propaganda l “Black” propaganda: origin is concealed l Disseminating opinions, information or misinformation via media l Government may not be directly associated with materials – Increase believability – Government may not want to be associated with certain opinions CSCE 727 - Farkas 14

Unattributed Propaganda l “Gray” propaganda: origin not public knowledge l E. g. , Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty – Information about targets’ own countries – Information about the West – Set up as private U. S. organizations but were run by CIA l Planting CSCE 727 - Farkas stories in independent news media 15

Global vs. Local Propaganda US WW I. posters, http: //www. firstworldwar. com/posters/usa. htm l US WW II posters, http: //www. allposters. com/-st/World. War-II-Propaganda-Vintage-Art-Posters_c 50710_. htm l Chinese posters, Cultural Revolution, http: //chineseposters. net/gallery/theme-07. php l CSCE 727 - Farkas 16

Offensive Operations l Information Space l Communication Medium: any (TV, radio, Internet, Web sites, e-mail, news groups, etc. ) l Target: individuals, groups, nations, World CSCE 727 - Farkas 17

Internet l Global Access – mass audiences l Easy to set up Web sites l Low cost (compare with broadcasting radio, TV, etc. ) l “great equalizer” l Authority over Internet? CSCE 727 - Farkas 18

Tools for Perception Management l In War and Anti-War by Alvin and Heidi Toffler: 1. Atrocity accusations (true or false) 2. Hyperbolic inflation of stakes 3. Demonization and/or dehumanization of enemy 4. Polarization (if you are not with me, you are against me) 5. Claim of divine sanction 6. Meta-propaganda (discredit opponent’s propaganda) CSCE 727 - Farkas 19

Psyops l Affect human psyche – Goal: influence behavior – Means: fear, desire, logic, etc. CSCE 727 - Farkas 20

From: http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/File: Egri_no_. jpg CSCE 727 - Farkas 21

Lies and Distortions l l l Widely used Destroys the integrity of the carrying media Cultural Differences? Ethical/unethical? Bad/Useful? Digital media – Fabrication, spoofed originator, modification, etc. – Easy to carry out – Trust in observation (senses: see, hear, touch, taste, etc. ) CSCE 727 - Farkas 22

Distortion l Distort information l Conscious/Unconscious l Important elements ignored, down played l Insignificant elements made to appear important l Digital media: – Web page metatags: hidden data CSCE 727 - Farkas 23

Fabrication l Fake information l Must seem legitimate l Goal: influence decision/activities of enemy or competition, financial gain, popularity, etc. l Can be very effective l Must know target l Errors and intentional fabrications CSCE 727 - Farkas 24

Hoaxes l Fabrications to – Amuse – Create fear – Discredit/damage l Digital media: – Easy to send hoax mail or post information – Virus hoaxes CSCE 727 - Farkas 25

Social Engineering l Trick people into doing something they would not do if the truth is known. l Means: – Impersonating – Threatening – Pretend position/relationship/urgency/etc. CSCE 727 - Farkas 26

Denouncement l l l Discredit, defame, demonize, or dehumanize an opponent Goal: gain of support for the entity performing the denouncement and loss for the adversary Military/politics/economy/personal Hate groups Conspiracy theory Defamation: damage the reputation and good name of another CSCE 727 - Farkas 27

Harassment l Targets opponent directly l Unwanted, threatening messages l Communication: in person, via medium l Examples: – Physical threat – Hate mails – Sexual harassment CSCE 727 - Farkas 28

Advertising l Scam: cone artists lure customers into scam – Fake prizes, telemarketing, etc. – Internet: easy solicitations – junk e-mail, chat room, newsgroups, Web site, etc. l Spam: junk e-mail – Time consuming: read/process/delete – Unwanted/useless/harmful data CSCE 727 - Farkas 29

United State Restrictions l First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States: freedom of speech and press – Exception: child pornography, offensive and harmful speech, obscene material, etc. – Materials depicting violence ? l 1996: Communications Decency Act (US congress) – Indecent material – restricting access to minors – Controversial – civil liberties groups l 1997: Supreme Court ruled that CDA sections 223 and 224 abridged First Amendment rights CSCE 727 - Farkas 30