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Information Operations

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Information operations and warfare, also known as influence operations, includes the collection of tactical information about an adversary as well as the dissemination of propaganda in pursuit of a competitive advantage over an opponent. RAND research has enabled military leaders and policymakers to develop strategies and policy frameworks to address the challenges of these military operations.

Commentary

How You Can Fight Russia's Plans to Troll Americans During Campaign 2020

Jul 14, 2020

The goal of Russian interference is to trigger emotional reactions and drive people to ideological extremes, making it nearly impossible to build a consensus. But Americans are less likely to have their emotions manipulated if they are aware that manipulation is the goal.
Report

Frameworks for Assessing USEUCOM Efforts to Inform, Influence, and Persuade

Jul 2, 2020

Campaigns to inform, influence, and persuade a range of foreign audiences are critical to achieving key U.S. national security objectives, but it can be challenging to assess the effectiveness of these efforts. How can assessment design and planning support U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) efforts?

Explore Information Operations

Commentary

Insider Threat at Twitter Is a Risk to Everyone

Three young hackers were charged in the hijacking of dozens of high-profile Twitter accounts. Their tactics point out how vulnerabilities at tech platforms can pose a risk to national security.

Aug 7, 2020
Blog

COVID Learning Loss, Russian Trolls, Artificial Intelligence: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on helping students recover learning losses, fighting Russian trolls, racial disparity in unemployment benefits, the race for AI leadership, and more.

Jul 17, 2020
Report

Opportunities for Including the Information Environment in U.S. Marine Corps Wargames

Wargaming is enjoying renewed prominence in the defense community, yet the information environment remains underdeveloped and underrepresented in wargames.

Jul 1, 2020
Commentary

A Machine Learning Approach Could Help Counter Disinformation

Disinformation has become a central feature of the COVID-19 crisis. This type of malign information and high-tech “deepfake” imagery poses a risk to democratic societies worldwide by increasing public mistrust in governments and public authorities. New research highlights new ways to detect and dispel disinformation online.

Jun 25, 2020
Report

Machine Learning Can Help Detect Misinformation Online

As social media is increasingly being used as a primary source for news, there is a rising threat from the spread of malign and false information. A new machine learning model identified differences between authentic political supporters and Russian trolls shaping online debates about the 2016 U.S. election. How could the model be applied in the future?

Jun 23, 2020
Commentary

Exposing Russian Information Operations Does Not Violate the First Amendment

Russia's hostile information operations are continuous and extend to a broad range of domestic issues. First Amendment concerns are important, but they do not protect hostile information campaigns by foreign actors, nor are they a legal excuse for inaction by the United States.

May 11, 2020
Report

Detecting Malign or Subversive Information Efforts over Social Media

The United States has a capability gap in detecting malign or subversive information campaigns in time to respond before they influence large audiences. A novel method can now detect these efforts.

Mar 16, 2020
Report

How to Understand and Respond to Russian Subversion

Russia's interests motivate different forms of subversion to influence domestic politics in the United States and elsewhere. Capabilities vary across countries and activities, and the effectiveness of such efforts remains largely unknown. Despite these challenges, there are ways to deter and respond to Russian subversion.

Feb 18, 2020
Commentary

Artificial Intelligence and the Manufacturing of Reality

Humans carry flaws in deciding what is or is not real. The internet and other technologies have made it easier to weaponize and exploit these flaws. And artificial intelligence will likely be used to exploit these weaknesses at an unprecedented scale, speed, and level of effectiveness.

Jan 20, 2020
Commentary

What Translation Troubles Can Tell Us About Russian Information Warfare

Russian information warfare has attracted significant international attention since 2014. But little research has focused on its apparent shortcomings. Most notable are the confusing translation mistakes that undermine Moscow's attempts at covert influence efforts.

Oct 4, 2019
Blog

Social Manipulation, Boko Haram, Citizen Scientists: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap looks at hostile social manipulation, stopping the next Boko Haram, a citizen-science success story, and more.

Sep 6, 2019
News Release

News Release

Hostile Social Manipulation by Russia and China a Growing but Poorly Understood Threat

With the role of information warfare in global strategic competition becoming much more apparent, a new RAND Corporation report delves into better defining and understanding the challenge facing the United States by focusing on the hostile social manipulation activities of the two leading users of such techniques: Russia and China.

Sep 4, 2019
Report

'Hostile Social Manipulation' Is a Growing Threat to the United States

Hostile social manipulation includes social media campaigns, sophisticated forgeries, and spreading rumors and conspiracy theories. As these techniques are used by Russia and China, Washington should invest more resources to understand and counter them.

Sep 4, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Using an Inoculation Message Approach to Promote Public Confidence in Protective Agencies

This investigation tested the effectiveness of inoculation as a pre-crisis strategy in combating the effects of politically motivated violent acts.

Jul 3, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Assessing Against and Moving Past the "Funnel" Model of Counterterrorism Communication

Through numerous forms of media, terrorists are embracing new opportunities to spread the psychological impact of terrorism throughout the world. This article discusses the promise and challenges of counterterrorism communication efforts.

Jul 3, 2019
Report

How the United States Can Compete in the Gray Zone

America is entering a period of intensifying strategic competition with Russia and China. U.S. officials expect this to play out below the threshold of armed conflict, in the gray zone between peace and war. What policy options does the United States have to respond to gray zone threats?

Jun 27, 2019
Commentary

Fighting and Winning the Undeclared Cyber War

Russia has executed deliberate intrusions into U.S. critical infrastructure since at least 2011. These systems have included government entities, commercial facilities, water resource plants, and aviation institutions. What actions or policies can the U.S. execute to improve security?

Jun 24, 2019
Research Brief

Research Brief

The Growing Need to Focus on Modern Political Warfare

RAND researchers analyzed how political warfare is practiced today and identified ways that the U.S. government, its allies, and its partners can respond to or engage in this type of conflict to achieve U.S. ends and protect U.S. interests.

May 31, 2019

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RAND Topic:
Information Operations

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