Quote of the day 9th August 2020

"This leaves us with a paradox.

On the one hand, it is necessary to recognise and reveal the way the Kremlin, with a military mindset, uses information to confuse, dismay, divide and delay.

On the other, one risks reinforcing the Kremlin's world view in the very act of responding to it."


(Peter Pomerantsev, from his book "This is not propaganda: Adventures in the war against reality.")

Comments

Anonymous said…
Russia are only doing what the west has always done - the only problem now is that they are getting good at it.
6:52 pm
Chris Whiteside said…
Not always, no.

Prior to the first decade of this century nobody had used information with such disregard for reality - or alternatively, in the belief that they could create a new reality - that both Russia and some Western governments has started to do.

And Russia has taken the use of multiple conflicting narratives to a whole new level. They're not just putting out propaganda - which IS something all countries have always done - but trying to discredit the whole idea of truth.
9:32 am
Anonymous said…
They are better at it than we are and we can't have that now can we.
6:47 pm
Chris Whiteside said…
If them being better than us at information warfare - which they probably are - was the only problem it would be irritating but that is not really the point.

The problem is that they are using their information warfare abilities to put out all manner of destructive nonsense.

And therefore we need to be on our guard against it. As we would even if they were not nearly as good at it as they are.
7:25 pm
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