A Framework for the Weapons of Influence

Background

A certain utopian hype, promising to deliver more than it actually does, always accompanies the appearance of new technology. At the same time there are fears that new technologies, such as military robots, will destroy us. The communication technologies that dominate today’s information battlespace are relative newcomers. Print media started in the West in around the 17^th century, and the audio-visual media was largely developed during the 20^th century. However, cell phones, laptops and GPS as digital phenomena are only 20-30 years old, and thus it is still quite early to estimate the long-term influence they will have on the deep culture of societies. The most important change caused by these technologies, however, is that we carry “the online” constantly in our pockets or on our wrists (Van Den Eede et al., 2017, p. xvii).

One major advantage provided by the Internet is the global reach in communications, which is an asset for anyone willing to influence large audiences. If we take a look at history, the ability to influence target audiences has always been largely defined by technology. The introduction of the aircraft allowed for propaganda leaflets to be distributed amidst the enemy combatants, and the introduction of radio and TV (or rather the mass number of receivers) allowed for propaganda to be transmitted more effectively across national borders or frontlines. The reach of these propaganda means was, however, mostly local. Equally, mitigating these means of influence was still manageable in a sense, since it was possible to physically shoot down the aircraft carrying leaflets or to compete in terms of transmitting power, using electronic warfare to limit the reach of hostile propaganda (Jowett & O’Donnell, 2012).