The Washington Institute’s Fikra Forum published a piece by two Information Professionals Association (IPA) members on Feb. 25, 2021, describing the efforts of China, Russia, and Iran to disseminate disinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic across the Middle East. In “Axis of Disinformation: Propaganda from Iran, Russia, and China on COVID-19,” COL Andrew Whiskeyman, head of U.S....Read More

It’s been a big week for Information Operations/Information Warfare/Information Advantage.  I read with interest the testimony this week of Acting ASD(SOLIC) Christopher Maier, and two senior officials from USD(I) on “Disinformation in the Gray Zone:  Opportunities, Limitations, Challenges.”  Download the whole thing here:  https://docs.house.gov/Committee/Calendar/ByEvent.aspx?EventID=111323 The title of the hearing and testimony was a bit mis-labeled...Read More

IPA Members: As many of you know, IPA is co-sponsoring the Phoenix Challenge conference on April 13, 2021, to be held virtually via MS Teams or a similar platform. No later than March 26th we need 6 to 8 IPA member volunteers to act as scribes for the breakout group discussions. Three key points points if...Read More

Defense and Intelligence Community Experts and Members of Congress examined how to improve U.S. military training and capabilities to counter adversaries’ information operations in the “gray zone” at a hearing March 16 of the Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations of the House Armed Services Committee. Witnesses noted that U.S. military capabilities are not evolving...Read More

Rolling Stone has a an article out (February 24th..sorry, somewhat delayed here) about the ethical issues swirling around ‘big tech’ and their decisions (or lack thereof) to police the spaces they create for the exchange of information.  Much has been written about the algorithmic propagation of misinformation on social media platforms which is why this...Read More

The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) has posted a recently released report (as a result of its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request) delivered to the Department of Defense in October 2008 by the federal JASON science advisory group on technologies to detect deception, titled “Quest for Truth: Deception and Intent Detection,” as well as...Read More

Editor’s Note: Last Sunday, The Washington Post published a review for a book called The Delusion of Crowds: Why People Go Mad in Groups by William J. Bernstein. While the review is couched with some discussion and reference to the Capitol riots on January 6, the book actually focuses on religious and financial manias (think...Read More

Brian Pierce, an Information Professionals Association (IPA) collaborator and visiting research scientist at the University of Maryland Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS), published in Defense News this week on the need for a cognitive security proving ground for national security, where public and private partners can “work together in the holistic integration of...Read More

Harvard Business Publishing, an affiliate of Harvard Business School, published a series of blog posts that focus on the science behind storytelling and its role in engaging, teaching, and influencing others. The authors, Lani Peterson, a psychologist, professional storyteller and executive coach, and Vanessa Boris, Senior Manager, Video Solutions at Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning,...Read More

In his latest move to control the information environment in Russia, President Vladimir Putin has taken legal actions that could force the closure of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) Moscow bureau, according to a new piece in The Jamestown Foundation’s Eurasia Daily Monitor by Thomas Kent, a former president of RFE/RL and a Senior Fellow...Read More