State disinformation operations will multiply

Subject

Global disinformation campaigns

Significance

The breadth and depth of global influence operations have expanded hugely in recent years. There are now more states using information operations to further their policy goals, while the established players are deploying their toolsets against ever more targets.

Impacts

• Politicians will increasingly label legitimate criticism as foreign interference.
• The success of Russia’s actions in the 2016 US election and lack of coherent response have emboldened other states to replicate its tactics.
• In the future, information operations may be met with a stiffer response to prevent this perception of weakness.
• During conflicts, information operations will become a key aspect, with all sides trying to control the narrative on social media.