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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.

Report

Leveraging Complexity in Great-Power Competition and Warfare: Volume I

Aug 26, 2021

The United States should aim to minimize the element of complexity for itself while maximizing it for its adversary in great-power competition and warfare. But what does complexity mean in an Air Force context? And how can it be used as a method of attack?
Report

Tracking News Manipulation by Malicious State Actors

Nov 15, 2021

During the pandemic, both Russia and China used authoritarian power over the media to manipulate the news. What can be done to better detect such propaganda campaigns—and guard against them in the future?

Explore Information Operations

Blog

News Manipulation, the Risk of Civil War, Russia and Ukraine: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on tracking news manipulation during the pandemic, the threat of another civil war, preventing health insurance loss, and more.

Nov 19, 2021
Commentary

Reining in COVID-19 Disinformation from China, Russia, and Elsewhere

During the pandemic, the rapid spread of information has been a powerful force for good. But it has also allowed misinformation and conspiracy theories to spread more virulently than ever before. The vast scale of the problem means scalable solutions like machine learning could be needed to rein in the bots, trolls, and conspiracy theories being spread by bad-faith actors.

Nov 19, 2021
Report

Developing, Disseminating, and Assessing Command Narrative: Anchoring Command Efforts on a Coherent Story

Drawing on the scientific literature and lessons learned from the joint force, the authors of this report describe best practices for the effective use of command narrative.

Nov 15, 2021
Tool

Command Narrative Smart Guide

This quick reference provides the big-picture basics for successful command narrative development and deployment.

Nov 15, 2021
Report

Countering Russia: The Role of Special Operations Forces in Strategic Competition

This report establishes a strategic framework for U.S. Army special operations forces support to countering Russian activities in the competition space.

Nov 8, 2021
Report

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Public Communication Campaigns and Their Implications for Strategic Competition with Russia

The authors examine evidence on the effectiveness of campaigns to influence public opinion in target populations -- sometimes referred to as "information warfare" -- in the context of strategic competition between the United States and Russia.

Nov 8, 2021
Report

Analysis of Russian Irregular Threats

The authors of this report describe strategic global trends related to Russian global influence and behavior and provide an overview and assessment of hostile activities that Russia has undertaken in the face of these trends.

Nov 8, 2021
Brochure

Select RAND Research on Counterinsurgency, Stability Operations, Support to Foreign Internal Defense, Nation-Building, and Special Operations: 1962-2019

This volume is an important resource for those interested in gaining an informed understanding of a persistent, though usually low-level, military threat to U.S. security.

Oct 7, 2021
Brochure

Select RAND Research on China: 1999-2019

This volume is an important resource for anyone who is interested in gaining an informed understanding of China, a major strategic competitor of the United States in the economic, technological, diplomatic, and security realms.

Oct 7, 2021
Brochure

Select RAND Research on Security Cooperation: 2006-2019

This volume is a resource for those interested in gaining an informed understanding of security cooperation, a term that refers to the variety of activities that the United States undertakes to strengthen its military partners and partnerships.

Oct 7, 2021
Brochure

Select RAND Research on the Information Environment: 2014-2020

This volume is an important resource for anyone who is interested in gaining an informed understanding of operations in the information environment.

Oct 7, 2021
Tool

Handbook for Tactical Operations in the Information Environment

With its quick-reference format and series of illustrative vignettes, this handbook facilitates problem-solving and highlights how early-career officers in tactical units can contribute to operations in the information environment.

Oct 4, 2021
Report

Leveraging Complexity in Great-Power Competition and Warfare: Volume II

The Air Force should apply a complexity lens through which to review ongoing and future efforts to best leverage complexity to U.S. decision advantage. The technical companion to an initial exploration includes a literature review and a user manual.

Aug 26, 2021
Tool

The Information Warfighter Exercise Wargame: Rulebook

This document presents the full ruleset for the Information Warfighter Exercise Wargame, which is used by the Marine Corps to provide training for aspects of operations in the information environment.

Aug 24, 2021
Blog

Insights on Afghanistan, Back to School, North Korea: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the collapse in Afghanistan, what parents think about sending kids back to school, insights from game theory on North Korean denuclearization, and more.

Aug 20, 2021
Report

Countering Russia's Malign and Subversive Information Efforts

Information aggression is increasing in frequency and intensity. Russia uses messaging and intimidation in its efforts to influence multiple actors and countries. As frequent targets, how can the United States and its European allies defend themselves?

Aug 16, 2021
Blog

The Fight Against COVID, Sexual Violence in the Military, Disinformation on Social Media: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the ongoing fight against COVID-19, countering sexual assault and sexual harassment in the military, disinformation on social media, and more.

Jul 23, 2021
Report

Chinese Disinformation Efforts on Social Media

The authors identify key Chinese practices and the supporting infrastructure and conditions that successful social media disinformation campaigns require, concluding that China is using Taiwan as a test bed for developing attack vectors.

Jul 19, 2021

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RAND Topic:
Information Operations

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