Information as a Weapon: Prepare for 'New Cold War' with Russia

Chances are you have never heard about their meeting until now.

At the start of summer 2017, a small group of researchers, technologists, scholars, journalists and policy experts met on Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island.

That's the location of the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy.

They deliberated on "information as a weapon" for two days and then came up with ideas on what America must do to protect itself.

Although they looked at the way China and terrorists can possibly weaponize information, much of their focus ended up being on Russia. No surprise given that country's use of social media and fake news advertisements.

The conclusions, which they have now published in an anonymous fashion, may send a chill up your spine.

Prepare for 'New Cold War' with Russia

The report says the Executive Branch of the U.S. Government needs to be prepared for a new cold war, which has already started, centered around information campaigns by Russia.

"Organizations from the White House to the intelligence community need to be reviewed for their efficacy in meeting the propaganda challenge to the west," concludes the report. "The principal weapon in this conflict is information and the evidence of Russia's use of it in Europe and the United States is clear."

It also says that Russian officials have actually talked about this strategy out loud

"In a 2013 journal article, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Federation, General Valery Gerasimov, explained that Russia would not match the U.S. military's technological might but would, instead, use a variety of political and informational tools to achieve strategic effects, including the 'use of technologies for influencing state structures and the population with the help of information networks."

Chilling to read that statement now, isn't it?

This is what they were planning back in 2013.

Three years later they made big efforts to influence the 2016 Presidential election although some evidence has been destroyed, so we may never know the full extent of what Russia was able to do.

The group also issued specific steps the U.S. and other western countries must take to win the information cold war that is building.

7 ways the United States must combat information influence campaigns from Russia & other countries

1. Form an independent commission to establish a widely accepted understanding of Russian actions, means and objectives
2. Shine a line on activities of trolls and bots in battleground states
3. Have news media re-evaluate whether their current standards allow them to identify when they are the vehicle in a propaganda campaign
4. Regulate social media platforms so that political ads and sponsored content are clearly identified
5. Fund a cohort of scholars, investigators and journalists to help the public understand what's being done to them and help policymakers respond
6. Prepare the Executive Branch for a New Cold War
7. Invest in short and long-term education in media literacy and civic literacy, starting with young kids

Report conclusion on information as a weapon

"Information plays a central role in conflict in the 21st Century, and every major player seeks to use information to its own advantage...propaganda and disinformation campaigns are designed to influence human attitudes and behaviors and thus, we must educate and inoculate citizens or they will remain susceptible to the disease."

You can read the Pell Center's complete report for yourself, it is titled "Shatter the House of Mirrors: A Conference Report on Russian Influence Operations."

And please share this information with anyone you think needs to read it. This is certainly going to be an ongoing issue for the United States and other democratic nations around the globe.