Polit

I.
Introduction
1. Definition of Information Warfare
2. Explanation of the concept
3. Historical context
4. Definition of Political Propaganda
5. Overview of propaganda
6. Connection to information warfare
7. Importance of the Topic
8. Impact on democracy
II. Types of Information Warfare
1. Cyber Warfare
2. Connection to political manipulation
3. Disinformation Campaigns
4. Definition and characteristics
5. Social Media Manipulation
III.
1) Information warfare is a complicated arena which relies on numerous
tactics that are employed against an adversary. It is pertinent to mention
here that the tactics of information warfare are also being adopted in
waging hybrid warfare.39 Thus the similarity of the tactics of information
warfare and hybrid warfare indicates toward a close mutual relationship
that exists between these two arenas of unconventional warfare. The most
common of these tactics are elucidated below
2) A. Use of Media
According to Aki-Mauri Huhtinen, information warfare always entails
certain objectives aimed at an adversary. These objectives primarily include
waging propaganda and disinformation against a rival. For this purpose,
manipulated information is disseminated against an adversary through
certain mediums, among which mainstream media appears the greatest. A
certain kind of perception is crafted of the adversary, which is realized
through the use of print and electronic media sources
3) Psychological Warfare
The media is also regarded as a tool of psychological warfare, because the
narrative among the people—shaped by the media— fundamentally affects
their psychological comprehension of a particular situation. Primarily, it is
the media that shapes people’s opinions about any incident, activity, or
situation. The media can also incite the sentiments of the public by
spreading hatred-oriented information among them about a particular
activity or situation. For example, the media can incite patriotic sentiments
among people by spreading hatred-oriented disinformation about a
competitor nation. The masses may start to believe the disinformation,
particularly when the majority of the people have no direct access to the
correct information about that particular adversary. Such incidents are
observed in totalitarian states, where the government has full control over
the media and allows the display of only manipulated content and news on
TV channels.
4) The Application of the Framing Theory: Relationship Between Media and
Foreign Policy.
* Framing theory
Framing theory is a way of looking at how information is presented to
influence the way people think about an issue or topic. It's like putting a
frame around a picture – the frame highlights certain aspects while
excluding others. In simple words, framing is about shaping how people
perceive and interpret information by emphasizing specific angles, ideas, or
perspectives. It's a way of guiding people's thoughts and opinions by
presenting information in a particular light.
The use of media as a tool of information warfare is also regarded as soft

part of information warfare. To explain this further, the “framing theory”
becomes applicable. That is, the media frames a particular activity or entity
of having certain attributions and promotes its manipulated interpretations
of that activity. Such framing can either demonize or glorify that entity
depending upon the negative or positive framing of that entity by media,
respectively. Often, the framing theory becomes relevant in shaping the
determinants of nations’ foreign policy, in which adversary states are
regarded as evil and negative, while friendly states are given a positive
reputation. This is constructed with or without the use of proper factual
information. The foreign policy of the state is shaped by various factors,
such as the geopolitics of the state which, of course, are obviously
accounted by the media in spreading any narrative about any aspect or
issue. However, foreign policy and the media’s narratives are significantly
influenced by “the political and economic systems of the state.”
During the Cold War, especially under Ronald Reagan, the U.S. media
vehemently opposed the socialist and communist agendas of the Soviet
Union. U.S. mass media, alongside government agencies like the CIA,
launched rigorous campaigns demonizing communist theories. Both the
media and government framed the Soviet Union as a global threat,
although the perceived danger targeted the capitalist system in the United
States. To preserve its capitalist system against Soviet communism, the U.S.
government utilized media for information warfare, leading to anti-socialist
and anti-communist propaganda campaigns against the Soviet Union.
5) Reliance on Social Media Platforms
In the contemporary era, owing to the rise of technology and the
consequent emergence of smartphones and the use of the internet, social
media has appeared as one of the most prominent sources of the
dissemination of information. An estimated 3.5 billion people, or nearly half
of the human population, use social media.65 In particular, Facebook has
2.4 billion users, YouTube has 1.9 billion, and WhatsApp, owned by
Facebook, has 1.6 billion. These are the most commonly used social media
platforms. These forums are the quickest modes of information
dissemination as they allow any information to go viral within only a few
hours. Furthermore, there are no significant costs associated with the use
of almost all of the social media platforms. Social media forums are very
convenient and simple to use, and do not require any proper identity
verification of the individuals who make the information go viral.
Furthermore, the information disseminated through social media platforms
keeps on reaching a larger audience. That is, the information can be shared
on and on and thus creates a multiplier effect in terms of the number of
people it can reach.
6) Intrusion of Cyberspace
The intrusion of cyberspace is another tactical move regarded as an
element of information warfare. The practice of intruding on cyberspace is
dependent on technology. The intrusion of cyberspace is when the
strategically important computer systems of an adversary are attacked with
viruses or malware via hacking. Many examples of such incidents can be
found in recent history and are continuing today. For instance, according to
the US Department of Defense, the Pentagon has to foil around 36 million
email breaches on a daily basis to secure their computer networking
systems from hackers. This highlights the serious nature of the threats
posed by technology to the security systems of a state. Therefore, every
state tries to maintain strict security over its strategically important data
systems.

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The use of media as a tool of information warfare is also regarded as soft

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