Influence Operations 101 - Media Effects
Over the past five years, the term ‘fake news’ has become more and more common. Sometimes referred to as propaganda, active measures, or campaigns to influence the masses’ thoughts and perceptions, this art has existed for centuries. In the same way as nailing paper to a door or inventing the printing press, the Communications Revolution of the last half-century has again forever changed the propaganda methods.
While the technology and media changes, two things stay the same – the influencer and the target audience. This type of operation aims to influence the minds of a group of human beings. Regardless, if the method is a paper nailed to a door, twitter, or an airplane towing a banner, they all use the same media effects, which influence human groups, known and media effects, and are described by the Communications Theory.
In the “Influence Operations Basics” blog-post mini-series, we will break down the individual Communications Theory methods and effects used in Influence Operations.