Thread by @BWJones

We will find before not too long that the Russian disinformation (dezinformatsiya/ дезинформация) campaign will have been far more invasive into our culture than simply politics.

Think of all the polarization issues that are splitting this country. Climate, vaccinations, etc...

We have solid evidence that Russia is meddling in political systems around the world and have push race based discord in many countries as well.

Want to weaken a country? Make it fight amongst itself.

What about the vaccination issue? Want to weaken a country? Make the people in that country literally sicker.

Want to slow down a countries independence on extractable energy (SO THEY CAN BENEFIT)? Create conflict over climate change.

Russia has an economy about the size of Italy. How do they take on true economic superpowers? Asymmetrical warfare through disinformation. It is dirt cheap, and so amazingly effective as it takes advantage of basic human behavior to create chaos, on all fronts.

The problem with fighting that is… you are fighting lies that get propagated by your own people, and even by the POTUS who lies as easily as he breathes. Yet he has no shame which is another lesson to be taken from disinformation...

LIE CONSTANTLY AND NEVER ADMIT CULPABILITY.

Only the true sociopaths are capable of maintaining this perspective. Human shame is almost fundamental, but that appears to be changing from the top.

So, when Putin’s advisors openly say they are playing not just with our elections, but also with our brains, they are not wrong.

As @john_sipher says… "There are real life consequences to these Russian attacks.”

https://twitter.com/john_sipher/status/1095897562622631937

@john_sipher The history of warfare is interesting. Up to WWI, civilians were considered non-combatants. In WWI this changed and really turned hard in WWII when it became impossible to avoid civilians as they were part of the economic war effort.

@john_sipher As weapons became more powerful, but the technology to guide them was not accurate enough to restrict damage, the concept of collateral damage became more acceptable.

Want to bomb a weapons factory, but the factory is around apartment buildings? Too bad. => collateral damage.

@john_sipher But NOW!

Now has literally weaponized civilians in other countries, making the civilians the weapons themselves in a socio-economic war designed to weaken other countries.

Can’t compete head on? Drag the other guy down through asymmetric socioeconomic war.