Greetings,
As I mentioned in a previous posting, I have become the President of the PSYOP Veterans Association (POVA). This involves a significant time committment, so I have put the Blog on hiatus. However, I am pleased to post the PSYOP News which is a monthly publication sent to POVA members.
You can learn more about POVA at: www.usapova.org
PSYOP News February 2023
1/25/23
7th POG Dining Out - Resounding Success!
The 7th POG held its Dining Out/Military Ball on 25, January, 2023 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Palo Alto, California. The event was expertly planned and hosted by the 7th POG Command staff. Timed to coincide with the annual Yearly Training Briefings, the Dining Out was attended by about 200 people from all subordinate battalions.
It was an opportunity for PSYOP soldiers past and present to socialize and relish each other’s company.
It was my pleasure to attend along with other 7th POG Alumni including my old comrade, COL (R) Butch Cassidy former DCO, COL (R) Patrick Dillion former Group CDR and COL (R) Tony Paz among others..
The event included the appropriate formal toasts and recognition of fallen and missing comrades as well as the traditional cake cutting by the oldest and youngest PSYOP soldiers and remarks from a few alumni.
It was an uplifting experience being in the company of so many PSYOP soldiers and their families and should serve as a model for other units.
2/23
Audible reckoning: How top political podcasters spread unsubstantiated and false claims
Since the advent of the medium, podcasts have generally offered a space where, in the words of Knowles, ‘you can say whatever you want.’ Once written off as a dying medium, podcasting has undergone rapid growth and monetization, while largely avoiding content moderation and regulatory debates.2 Today, nearly 41% of Americans listen to podcasts monthly, and almost one in four Americans look to podcasts for their news.3 Globally, the medium is projected to reach an audience of 504.9 million by 2024, while ad revenue in the United States is expected to double between 2022 and 2024, jumping from $2 billion to $4 billion.4
https://www.brookings.edu/essay/audible-reckoning-how-top-political-podcasters-spread-unsubstantiated-and-false-claims/
2/10/23
Lessons from the meme war in Ukraine
In contemporary conflict, those symbols have increasingly taken the form of memes, defined as a “piece of media that is repurposed to deliver a cultural, social, or political expression, mainly through humor.” Online users have attempted to counter the Islamic State by creating memes satirizing the group’s barbarism, especially on specific “Troll ISIS Days.” Lebanese Internet-users have ruthlessly mocked Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, with memes.
https://www.brookings.edu/techstream/lessons-from-the-meme-war-in-ukraine/
2/10/23
TikTok acted to quell misinformation on Ukraine
http://bit.ly/3E0z64R
The US government has a real issue with TikTok. On the surface, that could be attributed to the increasingly Sinophobic stance of US economic policy (with its ever more hardline Anti-Chinese attempts to “rebalance” the semiconductor supply chain), but representatives from both major parties see the social media platform as a threat to US national security, and in December, 2022, it was banned from all government-issue smartphones.
2/9/23
IntelBrief: Disinformation Narratives Related to Sweden and Finland’s NATO Applications
Bottom Line Up Front
Throughout Russia’s war on Ukraine, the Kremlin’s disinformation efforts have sought to craft and disseminate false narratives that serve several political goals and influence public opinion about the conflict.
Since April 2022, Russian-backed information manipulation networks online have sought to seed and amplify a number of false narratives regarding Sweden and Finland’s NATO application, which was formally submitted on May 18, 2022.
Many of the false or misleading narratives targeting Sweden are centered around sensitive and polarizing topics in the country related to immigration, Islamophobia, and far-right conspiracy theories.
According to our monitoring, between September 27 – October 3, 2022, posts alleging that the U.S. was responsible for the sabotage of Nord Stream pipelines increased by 15,000% across 25 social media platforms compared to the week prior.
https://thesoufancenter.org/intelbrief-2023-february-9/
2/8/23
Disinformation - EU responses to the threat of foreign information manipulation
EU report on Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI)
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine dominates observed FIMI activity. Ukraine and its representatives have been the direct target of 33 incidents. In 60 out of
100 incidents, supporting the invasion was the main motivation behind the attack
■ Diplomatic channels are an integral part of FIMI incidents. Russia’s diplomatic channels regularly serve as enablers of FIMI operations. They are deployed across a wide range of topics. China also uses diplomatic channels, mostly targeting the US
https://www.eeas.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/2023/EEAS-DataTeam-ThreatReport-2023..pdf
2/8/23
Deepfake news anchors spread Chinese propaganda on social media.
In a series of videos posted on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, Chinese state-aligned actors used AI-generated broadcasters to distribute content that promotes the interests of the Chinese Communist Party, according to a new report.
At first glance, the news presenters of the likely fictitious media company Wolf News look like real people, and researchers with the social media analytics firm Graphika initially thought they were paid actors.
But further investigation revealed the Wolf News presenters were “almost certainly” created using technology provided by a British AI video company called Synthesia, which recently confirmed that its technology was used to create AI-generated videos promoting pro-military propaganda in Burkina Faso.
2/2/2023
Air Force Sees National Security Threat in Chinese-Owned Corn Mill
An excellent example of how the PRC uses the economic instrumentality of state power to reinforce the information instrumentality by attempting to establish bases of operations and endear themselves to the local community.
1/26/23
Assessing the Threat of AI Misuse in Disinformation Campaigns
Last year saw a remarkable series of advancements in artificial intelligence (AI). The latest image generation models, such as DALL-E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion, demonstrated unprecedented capabilities in creating highly realistic and stylistically diverse images. And ChatGPT captured the broader public’s interest as it pushed the boundaries of what was previously thought possible in natural language processing.
The potential of these technologies is vast, with the ability to revolutionize various industries such as education, health care, and the creative arts. However, alongside these benefits, it is important to consider the potential negative consequences and ethical dilemmas that may arise from their use. It is crucial to address these issues proactively to ensure these technologies are used in a responsible and beneficial manner.
USSOCOM Fact Book 2023
By SOF News on 01/26/23
The USSOCOM 2023 Fact Book is published annually by the United States Special Operations Command. It has a wealth of information about the elite units of the four services, JSOC, theater special operations commands around the world, and the various types of equipment used by US special operations forces.
Contents of the USSOCOM 2023 Fact Book:
Medal of Honor Recipients
Headquarters
Leadership
Mission
USSOCOM and Component Map
U.S. Army Special Operations Command
Naval Special Warfare Command
Air Force Special Operations Command
Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command
Joint Special Operations Command
SOCAFRICA
SOCCENT
SOCEUR
SOCKOR
SOCNORTH
SOCPAC
SOCSOUTH
Theater Special Operations Command Map
Aircraft
Maritime
Ground
SOF Truths
Glossary
USSOCOM 2023 Fact Book, United States Special Operations Command, 2023, PDF, 40 pages.
https://www.socom.mil/latest-factbook
1/25/23
Putin’s War Breathes New Life Into a Cold War Symbol of Freedom
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a news network originally set up as a C.I.A. operation early in the Cold War, is experiencing a renaissance and making a case for its independence
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/24/world/europe/rfe-russia-ukraine.htm
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1/23/23
As Deepfakes Flourish, Countries Struggle With Response
Few governments have approved regulations, often because of free-speech concerns. New mandates from China could change the tone of the debate on digital forgeries.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/22/business/media/deepfake-regulation-difficulty.html
1/20/23
We need an open source intelligence center
In April 2018, Dutch authorities caught four Russian intelligence officers red-handed as they attempted to hack into the network of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) from the hotel across the street. The OPCW was investigating the substances used in the poisoning of a Russian defector living in the United Kingdom, and a chemical attack by Assad-backed forces in Douma, Syria. After the Dutch government publicly identified the four officers, open source researchers at Bellingcat — an independent investigative journalism group — leveraged the personal details of the four to identify 305 additional agents of the GRU, Russia’s principal military intelligence unit. Bellingcat’s researchers made the discovery using the agents’ car registrations, which were linked to the service’s training academy.
This kind of open source discovery — once thought to be within the exclusive purview of governments — has become somewhat routine for skilled researchers in the private sector. Their accomplishments include validating U.S. government claims about the Kremlin’s military build-up around Ukraine, exposing Beijing’s efforts to acquire foreign technology on a vast scale, uncovering the Chinese military’s investments in artificial intelligence, and identifying several Russian assassination and surveillance teams behind the attempts on the lives of Russian dissidents and defectors.
https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/3821075-we-need-an-open-source-intelligence-center/
1/20/23
Competition Campaigning: What It Looks Like and Implications for US Special Operations Command
In March 2022, the Pentagon released a new National Defense Strategy (NDS) that identified China as the “most consequential strategic competitor” of the United States. The NDS also described two concepts—integrated deterrence and campaigning—as primary means by which the Department of Defense will seek to address the challenge posed by China, as well as lesser challenges posed by other actors. Ten months later, however, DoD has still not issued specific guidance on how to conduct effective campaigning in support of integrated deterrence.
As part of a broader study that I recently led for a DoD sponsor, I identified the critical components of campaigns—in other words, the specific types of military activities—that would enable the United States to compete with state adversaries, in line with the concepts described in the NDS. The resulting framework has the potential to help US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) position itself as the force of choice for competition campaigning and avoid further reductions in its budget and force structure. It can also help the Pentagon sharpen its existing campaign plans and assist the relevant congressional committees as they think about oversight of the Pentagon’s approach to strategic competition.
1/18/23
Marine Corps Activates Marine Corps Information Command
The United States Marine Corps continues operationalizing the Marine Corps’ seventh warfighting function, information, by activating a service retained, two-star command poised to synchronize, coordinate, and integrate capabilities across the Fleet Marine Force, today.
5/22/22
There’s No Such Thing As A Culture War (Print Version)
Volodymyr Zelensy and the Art of the War Story (Online)
https://www.wired.com/story/volodymyr-zelensky-video-ukraine-war/
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