We’re all familiar by now with the type of state-based information warfare that we’ve seen from Russia, China and Iran, that are using the technologies of the internet age to broadcast messages further and faster … to undermine trust in democratic institutions and polarize societies.
“But we’ve also seen the commercialization of information warfare; we’re seeing everyone from private sector companies to influencers on Instagram to TikTok stars getting involved.
Nina Jankowicz is a fellow at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. and the author of “How to Lose the Information War.” Natalia Antonova is a journalist, an expert in online security and the former editor of the investigations website Bellingcat.
In this extensive podcast with New Lines Magazines’ Faisal Al Yafai, they discuss how Russia has weaponized disinformation, from the Middle East to America; how open-source intelligence has become a vital tool for journalists; the perils of being a woman online in the 21st century; why social media companies like Facebook are part of the problem; and why fighting disinformation is a lot like “Games of Thrones.”