Fake Videos – Effective PSYOP Weapons
With the Ukraine simmering and maybe boiling over, it seemed like the right time to address the role of Russia’s fake video efforts. Fox News offered “Russia, Ukraine ‘deepfake’ video, audio are concerns for US intelligence” (see: https://fxn.ws/3Iid4L0, which is a photo source).
FBI Cyber Division Unit Chief Pranav Shah told Fox News “the technology, once reserved for cyber wizards, is becoming more user-friendly. He says it is getting easier to make these digital deceptions, and they aren't always illegal. Several parodies of Tom Cruise and other actors exist online.”
A more entertaining report can be found with the UK Guardian: “Dumb and lazy’: the flawed films of Ukrainian ‘attacks’ made by Russia’s ‘fake factory’. (See: https://bit.ly/3BJbzDk, another photo source.) The lead for the Guardian Article expresses something that Fox missed:
“Bellingcat founder Elliot Higgins says Russia’s propaganda films have got worse but that Russian viewers, especially the older generation, tend to believe fake TV footage.”
The real issue isn’t the quality of the Russian videos or whether crack US intelligence agencies can quickly determine that videos are fakes. The issue is simply: does the target audience believe the video and is it effective in changing their behavior in favor of Russia?
An interesting source on fake videos, etc. is https://www.bellingcat.com/. They describe themselves:
“Bellingcat is an independent international collective of researchers, investigators and citizen journalists using open source and social media investigation to probe a variety of subjects – from Mexican drug lords and crimes against humanity, to tracking the use of chemical weapons and conflicts worldwide. With staff and contributors in more than 20 countries around the world, we operate in a unique field where advanced technology, forensic research, journalism, investigations, transparency and accountability come together.” (Source: https://www.bellingcat.com/about/)
Elliot Higgins, the organization’s founder noted that “international audiences were mostly impervious to Kremlin disinformation. But he said domestic Russian viewers tended to believe fake TV footage, which was “theatrically” created for state propaganda purposes. This was especially true of the older generation”
It would appear that Mr. Putin, in addition to be a distinguished alum of the KGB has firmly grasped the importance of winning his public’s opinion. He has also correctly recognized that the quality of the product is not nearly as important as getting out to the target audience quickly and often.
If you would like to learn more, then check out this thread on Twitter at: https://bit.ly/3JULofT The Twitter chain also provides some interesting analysis on the nature of the video as evidence of a False Flag operation.
If you would like a detailed video showing how memes can be employed you can check out: https://bit.ly/3h7L3Kp - picture below.
As a bit of a practical exercise this past weekend (19/20 Feb 2022) I took both my iPhone 13 and my Sony A1000 on location in and around Monterey. It didn’t take long for me to realize that the iPhone is a terrific personal influence weapon. I could easily go from video to photo and vary the video to cinematographic mode – although I haven’t quite figured out the difference.
Bottom line: Video is a critical and effective influence weapon and we all need to fire ‘expert’.
