Small Wars Journal

The Most Powerful Weapon to use Against Democracies

Tue, 02/14/2023 - 1:13pm

The Most Powerful Weapon to use Against Democracies

By Cole Herring

 

In the year 2000 around one tenth of the world’s population had internet access, and global internet traffic was 2.5 million gigabytes of data per day. By 2025 over seventy-five percent of the world will have access and global internet traffic will be over 9.1 billion gigabytes of data per day.[1] Currently 93 percent of people that are connected to the internet use social media. Facebook, a predominate social media platform, can reach over half of the adults in the world between the ages of 18 to 34.[2] The surge in global connectivity has distributed influence in international politics to social groups that span multiple countries.[3] Recent advances in artificial intelligence have given state’s an unprecedented power to control and influence messaging domestically and abroad. China and Russia challenge the existing world order through traditional means that have existed for thousands of years, such as using military power, creating parallel institutions, and increasing economic ties through infrastructure projects. They also challenge the world order through means that were unfathomable just 20 years ago by leveraging artificial intelligence and global connectivity to conduct influence campaigns against democracies.

China and Russia challenge the existing world order by using military power, creating parallel institutions, and increasing economic ties through infrastructure projects. To support all of these means they use influence campaigns that leverage global connectivity, social media, and AI to change accepted behaviours and norms. Rapid technology developments in realistic image generation have outpaced general knowledge, which increases the effect of misinformation and is a disadvantage to democracies because of authoritarian regimes’ ability to censor content domestically.

The battles become changing the accepted behaviours and norms of other states into norms that are in one’s own interests. An example is the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the recognition of Taiwan. The PRC continually stives to change other state’s recognition and relations, both official and unofficial, with Taiwan.[4],[5] If one accepts that other states should not interfere in domestic issues, then the PRC must ensure the accepted international norm is that Taiwan is part of China. Sovereignty is the basis of the PRC’s argument regarding Taiwan and China’s 2019 national defence strategy states that Taiwan is a domestic issue under the One China Policy, and other states should not interfere with domestic issues.[6]

            Before exploring how major powers like China and Russia challenge the existing world order, it is appropriate to consider what the existing world order is. According to the theory of constructivism a world order is a set of shared behaviours and norms conducted by states.[7] The behaviours and norms are established through social interaction to which international organizations and alliances are often the conduit. Dr. Lawrence Finkelstein served in the UN secretariat from 1946 to 1949 and had a career in international affairs and academia. He highlighted the ambiguity of the world order by saying “global governances appears to be virtually anything.”[8] Under this construct, shaping the accepted beliefs and norms through influence campaigns becomes a powerful lever.

Major powers like Russia and China argue that the existing world order favours European countries and specifically the United States of America. Since the United States of America was an undisputed and indispensable leader, it was able to shape an order out of its own interests and abuse its power. The leaders of China and Russia both want their nations to be national powers and view the current world order as being western dominated and holding back their progress. In 1999 the leader of Russia, Vladimir Putin, said “Russia has been a great power for centuries, and remains so. It has always had and still has legitimate zones of interest.”[9] When the leader of China, Ji Xing Ping, took office he said “The greatest Chinese Dream is the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” and in subsequent speeches he called for a stable international order in which China’s national rejuvenation could be achieved, a military capable of fighting and winning wars, and demonstrating the superior system of socialism with Chinese characteristics.[10]  

While China is more insidious and traditionally uses soft power, Russia has relied more on hard military power. However, recent rhetoric suggests that China will increasingly rely on hard power.[11] Although their approaches vary, China and Russia use military, diplomatic, and economic means to challenge the existing world order. When Russia invaded Ukraine, it used its military power to challenge international law established by the United Nations. China’s one belt road initiative seeks to increase economic interdependence and make China the economic centre of the world. As part of the one belt one road initiative, China has also used investments and military aid to gain port access for its navy and army, known as the string of pearls that encircles India.[12] China and Russia also build parallel organizations, for example Russia’s Collective Security Treaty Organizations and China’s Shanghai Cooperation Organization parallels NATO. China has also created Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank, an alternative to the World Bank.[13] To accomplish these means both authoritarian regimes use influence campaigns, which are arguably becoming their most powerful weapon against democracies.

Globalization has caused the line between domestic and international issues to become difficult to define. An example is Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing (IUUF). While the PRC views the ability to feed its population as a domestic issue, the methods it uses have international implications. To feed its population the PRC uses around 800,000 fishing boats, which is half of the world’s fishers.[14] The boats fish by trawling, which uses nets that devastate the ocean floor and frequently fish in other countries exclusive economic zones. Every year, the PRC sends 350-600 deep water finish vessels to fish off the Galapagos islands, and account of 99% of the fishing conducted there.[15] Despite the environmental destruction and constant incursions on other countries economic exclusive zones, the PRC continues the practice and is the largest offender in IUUF.[16] With the aid of artificial intelligence systems that can replicate media throughout multiple social media platforms, the PRC can censor data domestically and influence it abroad to suppress information about the fishing fleets.

            State actors weaponization and use of artificial intelligence in influence campaigns present a significant challenge. While the use of state propaganda is not a new concept, the scope and scale that it can be conducted is unpresented. Misinformation is “the purposeful distribution of fake, misleading, fabricated, or manipulated content.”[17] In the past the distribution of misinformation or propaganda across borders involved the costly process of opening a printing press, news outlets, or manually distributing content in the form of pamphlets.[18] The ability to spread content in mass to populations was not tenable until recently. In a democratic system the influence on people at scale will ultimately influence policy makers and international interest. This is product of democracy that major state powers seek to exploit. By influencing masses at scale, they can change the perception of norms and indirectly influence heads of state through the people.[19] The pace of growth in AI has outpaced education on misinformation, especially in the young democracies that often become a battleground for influence.

In 2019, a neural network created by Nvidia could produce images of human faces that are indistinguishable from photographs. In 2021, google released Imagen, a text to image model with unprecedented photorealism. Photorealism refers to an image that appears to have been taken by a human with a camera. A user can enter text and the model will generate a realistic image, in seconds, to the user. One example is “a cute corgi lives in a house made out of sushi.”[20] The image generated combines all the aspects in the text to create a realistic image, one that is so realistic humans cannot distinguish a computer-generated image with a photograph taken by a human with a camera. What previously would have taken hours of labour using photoshop software can be accomplished in seconds. When this model is combined with a traditional algorithm to input key words and automate the process of posting the content on social media it gives the users the ability to flood an information environment with fake content.

Major powers like China and Russia have already shown that they are capable and willing to use technology to fuel their propaganda, disinformation, and public opinion campaigns. In 2020 Twitter deleted 32,000 accounts linked to state sponsored propaganda from China, Russia, and Turkey.[21] The power and influence appears to be acknowledged by all governments, with recent claims in 2022 that pro-west social media networks were discovered distributing propaganda.[22] Using AI models that can produce photorealistic images and bot networks state powers can create and distribute propaganda and disinformation campaigns throughout the world in a cheap and efficient manner. The developing countries where the understanding of AI is lower will likely be easier to influence.

            Compounding the power of using AI to influence perceptions to change norms and behaviour is the ability to target specific populations and beliefs on social media. The marketing and advertising business have led to the creation of powerful tools that can show advertisements based on a person’s likes and interests.[23] The same tools can be used to target a population with specific beliefs for a desired effect. A major state power could target a country that has traditionally been neutral on the recognition of Taiwan. They could then rapidly create content targeting people that believe in the one China policy, and those that support Taiwanese independence. The social influence campaign would seek to reinforce the beliefs of those that support it while discrediting those that oppose it.

            China’s great firewall has made it more resilient to influence campaigns because of its extensive censorship. The ability to censor the internet presents a major advantage for authoritarian regimes against democracies because they can simultaneously control a domestic narrative while influencing a global narrative. A small and mundane example is with the book Bend, not Break by Ping Fu. A negative review campaign was launched from China to reduce the popularity of the book and discredit the author.[24] The negative review campaign was aimed to reduce the book’s popularity in foreign markets, yet there was not a mechanism to promote the book within China because it was simply banned.

            Major state actors also use influence campaigns with the intended effect of dismantling and discrediting alliances or states from within. The United States select committee on intelligence investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election.[25] The committee found numerous cases, outside the scope of the election, where Russian state sponsored actors in Russia orchestrated divisive protests at the same location as counter protests in the United States of America. They also spread disinformation and encouraged the use of violence to both parties.[26]

The influence campaign conducted by Russia against the United States of America in 2016 included Russian agent’s use of social media to organize protests in the United States from Russia, messaging people to encourage violent participation, and financially reimbursing members that would participate if they fit the mould of being extreme. In the example from 2016, state sponsored Russian activity specifically targeted the Black Lives Matter movement to create negative and emotional reactions. The activities explicitly sought to exploit and exasperate a racial divide and targeted both left and right wing parties.[27]

The campaign was especially effective because it created content based on users known likes and interests. A book written by Estonian academics and published in 2021 describes Russia’s information warfare doctrine and strategy, and it notes that Russian information campaigns “are targeted at particular audiences in a considerably narrowed-down manner and with unprecedented precision.”[28] Global connectivity, especially in social media, is what makes an unprecedented level of precision possible.

Another example that highlights the use of information campaigns in conjunction with traditional levers of power is the Russian campaign to preserve their influence in energy. In 2017, the US Congressional Committee on Science, Space, and Technology wrote to US Department of the Treasury stating that “U.S. presidential candidates, European officials, and the U.S. intelligence community have all publicly noted that Russia and its government corporations are funding a covert anti-fracking campaign to suppress the widespread adoption of fracking in Europe and the U.S.—all in an effort to safeguard the influence of the Russian oil and gas sector.”[29] Russia was providing funding and influencing environmental groups to counter fracking in the United States, which Russian policy makers saw as threat to their economy due to Russia’s reliance on exporting energy.

Russia influence campaigns have made attempts to cause divides with the EU by manipulating political groups.[30] Several examples of Russian disinformation can be found in Poland, where Russian actors targeted the local population. In 2020 during a rotation of US troops as part of a NATO battalion, the slogan “No US troops in Poland!” was posted on a mayor’s official website, along with encouragement to march in protest. Russian sponsored news agencies and unattributed social media networks disseminated the information about the movement. By the time the mayor could declare they had been hacked two days had passed, and the story had already been propagated. Another example used the same technique of combining a cyber hack with immediate news stories that are spread through social media. In this example a fake letter with the heading “A Polish General Calls on Polish Soldiers to Fight the US Occupation,” was circulated. Both were aimed to divide the local population in Poland against the US presence, in an attempt to weaken NATO.[31] Following the events, a spokesman for the Polish Prime Minster said Russia was using methods to “break the security measures and hijack social media accounts or websites in Poland and use such infrastructure to sow disinformation.”[32]

There are several implications from the challenges on the existing world order.  A study from the Rand Corporation on Russian influence campaigns found that social media education could prove to be an effective counter and recommended creating a counter-disinformation strategy with a commitment to the freedom of speech.[33] Providing education to people on how to analyse information critically and the capabilities of AI are an enormous challenge when compared to the low cost of an automated disinformation campaign. Another implication is an increase in instability from the decoupling of economies. For example, while China and the US both benefit from their large economic trade and dependency, they are beginning to go through a technological decoupling.[34] NATO allies reducing their dependence on Russian gas also created a level of instability that impacted the civilians in all the countries involved with the decoupling.        

 

 

[1] “Recent Trends in the Data Driven Economy,” in Digital Economy Report 2019: Value Creation and Capture: Implications for Developing Countries (New York, New York: United Nations, 2019), 13-14.

[2] Simon Kemp, “Digital 2020: Global Digital Overview - DataReportal – Global Digital Insights,” DataReportal (DataReportal – Global Digital Insights, February 11, 2021), https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2020-global-digital-overview.

[3] Dylan Kissane, “A Theory of Complexity,” in Beyond Anarchy: The Complex and Chaotic Dynamics of International Politics (Stuttgart, Germany: Columbia University Press, 2018), 208-220.

[4] Bill Chou, “China-Taiwan-Portugal Relations and Macau in Cultural Revolution: A Year of Advance, Withdrawal and Isolation,” East Asia 37, no. 2 (2020): 107-120, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12140-020-09331-0.

[5] Wong, Edward, and Amy Qin. "Report Urges U.S. to Act To Curb Taiwan Isolation." New York Times, March 25, 2022, A7(L). Gale OneFile: News (accessed September 24, 2022). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A698152379/STND?u=jscscoll&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=f39ae2cd.

[6] China's National Defence in the New Era. Beijing, China: Foreign Languages Press, 2019, 6-7.

[7] Alexandra Gheciu, William Curti Wohlforth, and Michael Barnett, “Constructivism,” in The Oxford Handbook of International Security (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2020).

[8] Shridath Sir Ramphal and Lawrence S. Finkelstein, “What Is Global Governance?,” in Global Governance, 3rd ed., vol. 1 (Cambridge England: Global Security Programme, 1995), 367-372.

[9] Nelli Babayan, Special Issue: Democracy Promotion and the Challenges of Illiberal Regional Powers (Abingdon, Virginia: Taylor & Francis, 2015), 30-36.

[10] Elizabeth C. Economy, The Third Revolution: Xi Jinping and the New Chinese State (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2019), 3-6.

[11] Xi Jinping, “Full Text of Xi Jinping's Speech on the CCP's 100th Anniversary,” (Nikkei Asia, July 1, 2021), https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Full-text-of-Xi-Jinping-s-speech-on-the-CCP-s-100th-anniversary.

[12] Petrovski, Aleksandar, and Nenad Taneski. “One Belt One Road - How Does It Affect the Eurasian Economic and Security Issue.” Contemporary Macedonian Defense / Sovremena Makedonska Odbrana 19, no. 37 (December 1, 2019), 69–77.

[13] Marc Lanteigne. China and International Institutions: Alternate Paths to Global Power. London: Routledge, 2005, 26-29.

[14] Judith Bergman, “China's Fishing Fleet Is Vacuuming the Oceans,” Gatestone Institute, April 22, 2021, https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17297/china-fishing-fleet.

[15] Bergman, “China's Fishing Fleet Is Vacuuming the Oceans.”

[16] U.S. Mission Ecuador, “Remarks: General Laura Richardson, Commander of U.S. Southern Command at South American Defense Conference, SOUTHDEC,” U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Ecuador (U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Ecuador, September 14, 2022), https://ec.usembassy.gov/remarks-gen-laura-richardson-commander-of-u-s-southern-command-at-south-american-defense-conference-southdec/.

[17] Bradshaw, Samantha, and Philip N. Howard. “The Global Organization of Social Media Disinformation Campaigns.” Journal of International Affairs 71 (January 2, 2018): 23–31.

[18] Marshall Soules, Media, Persuasion and Propaganda (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2015), 1-9.

[19] Soules, 119-130.

[20] Chitwan Saharia, “Photorealistic Text-to-Image Diffusion Models with Deep Language Understanding,” Photorealistic Text-to-Image Diffusion Models with Deep Language Understanding, May 23, 2022, http://export.arxiv.org/abs/2205.

[21] Mary Papenfuss, “Twitter Axes 32,000 State-Linked Propaganda Accounts from Russia, China and Turkey,” HuffPost (HuffPost, June 12, 2020), https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twitter-china-russia-turkey-accounts-trump-election_n_5ee2f717c5b6cea9276d893c.

[22] Isobel Asher Hamilton, “Meta and Twitter Discovered a Network of pro-West Propaganda Accounts That Criticized Russia, China, and Iran, Researchers Say,” Business Insider (Business Insider), accessed September 24, 2022, https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-twitter-discover-pro-west-propaganda-network-criticized-russia-iran-2022-8.

[23] Eric Butow, Jenn Herman, Stephanie Liu, Amanda Robinson, and Mike Allton. Ultimate Guide to Social Media Marketing. Irvine: Entrepreneur Press, 2020. https://discovery.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=88e80f67-10e9-3acc-abff-37637a101397.

[24] Rongbin Han, “Debating China beyond the Great Firewall: Digital Disenchantment and Authoritarian Resilience,” Journal of Chinese Political Science, May 2022, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11366-022-09812-4.

[25] Select Committee on Intelligence, Report of the Select Committee on Intelligence, United States Senate, on Russian active measures, campaigns and interference in the 2016 U.S. election, 5-11.

 

[27] Select Committee on Intelligence, 4.

[28] Mölder Holger et al., “Mass Media Instrumentalization in Foreign Policy of States: Russian Strategic Toolset,” in The Russian Federation in Global Knowledge Warfare: Influence Operations in Europe and Its Neighbourhood (Cham: Springer, 2022), 84-91.

[30] Abrams, Steve. "Beyond Propaganda: Soviet Active Measures in Putin’s Russia." Connections: The Quarterly Journal 15, no. 1 (2016): 5-11.

[31] Ray, Arthur. “Poland and the Baltic States under the Gun of Russian Disinformation.” Democratic Europe without Borders, December 9, 2020. https://democratic-europe.eu/2020/12/09/poland-and-the-baltic-states-under-the-gun-of-russian-disinformation/.

[32] Telewizja Polska, “Russia Uses Cyber Measures to Attack Other States: Polish Official,” TVP World, July 28, 2022, https://tvpworld.com/61532517/russia-uses-cyber-measures-to-attack-other-states-polish-official.

[33] Cohen, Raphael S., Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga, Joe Cheravitch, Alyssa Demus, Scott W. Harold, Jeffrey W. Hornung, Jenny Jun, Michael Schwille, Elina Treyger, and Nathan Vest, Combating Foreign Disinformation on Social Media: Study Overview and Conclusions. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2021. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR4373z1.html. Also available in print form.

[34] Bateman, Jon. U.S.-China Technological Decoupling: A Strategy and Policy Framework. Carnegie. Endowment for International Peace. Accessed October 9, 2022. https://carnegieendowment.org/2022/04/25/u.s.-china-technological-decoupling-strategy-and-policy-framework-pub-86897.

 

About the Author(s)

Cole Herring is an Army Special Forces Officer with over 17 years of experience with multiple deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, and South America. He believes in balancing experience from past wars with the need to adapt and prepare for future conflicts.

Comments

Drsheikzubaili

Tue, 05/09/2023 - 7:09am

Permanent Network Herbal Cream For Men In Amherst Town In Massachusetts, United States Call ✆ +27710732372 Penis Enlargement Products In Johannesburg South Africa,
Men are wondering if natural penis enlargement cream really works and what results they can expect? +27710732372, no need for harmful machines and time consuming exercises and no side effects whatsoever. Is it worth it to buy herbal supplements? And what are the best products for penis enlargement? There are so many products that are claiming they are the best, but which actually is the best? What you need is to decide if the product is really effective & guaranteed to work for you. Using «Tribe Group Herbal Products» you can not only increase the penis size and girth but also improve your sex drive, stamina and erection hardness. This is a complex effect that will change your sexual life. Women hate small penises, because they simply do not get any sexual satisfaction, you can get a G-spot, you can't reach her to get an orgasm. There are natural penis enlargers, We provide our clients with the highest possible quality products, so that you can improve your sexual well-being and improve your sexual fitness. All our products are made from all-inorganic herbal material. Our male enhancement products contain absolutely no prescription medicine and preservatives whatsoever. We simply provide the most effective alternative herbal products .we guarantee you a remarkable and visible increment in sexuality. You need guaranteed results or money to pay back or you want to know the truth. for more information about the different herbs on offer e.g Entengo/Mulondo/Bazouka & Namutekaya herbs and many more.

Delivery Detail: International 1-5 Days local will take 1-3 days
Visit our website below

Call/Whatsapp +27710732372

 



https://twitter.com/MutuWaki

 



https://medium.com/@wakiherbalife

 

mensclinicinternational1@gmail.com

 

https://za.pinterest.com/Drshikzubaili/

 



https://www.tiktok.com/@drsheikzubaili

 



https://wakizamherbalproducts.webs.com/

 

https://www.instagram.com/drsheikzubaili/

 

 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCu0G9On2ws

 



https://www.facebook.com/Tribegroupherbaldistributors

 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-sheik-zubaili-9aa63324b/

 



https://www.google.com/search?q=Tribe+Group+International+Distributors