{"id":270127,"date":"2022-03-08T11:32:42","date_gmt":"2022-03-08T16:32:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/issues\/information-warfare-disinformation\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T23:51:00","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T03:51:00","slug":"information-warfare-disinformation","status":"publish","type":"issues","link":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2022\/03\/information-warfare-disinformation\/","title":{"rendered":"Navigating the age of information warfare"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe very \u2018rules of war\u2019 have changed …. The information space opens wide asymmetrical possibilities for reducing the fighting potential of the enemy.\u201d <\/em>\u2013 General Valery Gerasimov<\/em><\/a>, Russian Chief of the General Staff, 2013.<\/em><\/p>\n

Nine years ago, a New York Times<\/em> op-ed<\/a> by Vladimir Putin compelled me to ask a two-part question in the Journal of Professional Communication<\/em><\/a> \u2013 <\/em>one worth asking again today: Are democratic ideals closer in an age where global communication power is within every citizen\u2019s reach? Or do the strategies and tools of modern communication help autocrats as well as democrats?<\/p>\n

In the 2020s, the front lines of the battle have moved decisively from carefully curated editorial pages to the social web\u2019s vast ecosystem of misinformation and disinformation. After 10 years of toxicity, democratic ideals seem farther from our grasp.<\/p>\n

Navigating news can be incredibly hard, whether it\u2019s determining whether videos<\/a> or images of warfare<\/a> are authentic depictions of Ukraine today, or understanding who was really behind the recent occupation of Ottawa. Was it angry truckers blocking traffic because they opposed vaccination mandates? Frustrated ordinary people partying in front of Canada\u2019s Parliament? Violent far-right extremists with sophisticated police and military training? Yes, yes and yes.<\/p>\n

Like the Indian parable about the blind men and an elephant<\/a>, limiting our perspectives makes it easier to manipulate the images that shape our perceptions, attitudes and behaviour.<\/p>\n

Appropriating values, normalizing narratives<\/strong><\/p>\n

Information warfare also means the appropriation of values. In his 2013 op-ed, Putin claimed to value \u201cpeaceful dialogue\u201d over the \u201clanguage of force\u201d (without a trace of irony). Today, it\u2019s alarming to hear many people blame NATO for the horrors Russia is unleashing in Ukraine, as though sovereign countries should be actively excluded from common defence to mollify a tyrant.<\/p>\n

Recently in Canada we have seen the appropriation and distortion of ideals and symbols, from the national flag to the word \u201cfreedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Does freedom of protest imply freedom to blockade a city or a bridge between nations? Does freedom to choose whether to be vaccinated against a deadly disease imply the right to risk endangering the health of others? Of course not, but when people lack information, feel economically threatened and mistrust journalism and expertise, these counterarguments will never be heard.<\/p>\n

When it\u2019s not angry, populism can be a force for good<\/a><\/p>\n

What American politics has taught us about democratic legitimacy<\/a><\/p>\n

Three deep-seated drivers of the convoy, and what we can do about them<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Online hate researcher Dan Panneton writes persuasively about how disinformation and conspiratorial narratives are normalized<\/a>. First, real, imagined and exaggerated concerns are bound together by a common sense of alienation and grievance. Second, mainstream and fringe groups merge and reinforce each other. Finally, extreme symbols and rhetoric become adjacent to legitimate issues.<\/p>\n

The result? Misinformation and disinformation do more than just divide our societies and our planet. They act like a centrifugal force \u2013 actively pulling us apart and normalizing the extremes.<\/p>\n

Can new information alliances win the war?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The situation is deeply worrisome, but not hopeless. There\u2019s both a growing understanding of the problem and tentative steps toward solutions from news media outlets, social media platforms and media literacy organizations.<\/p>\n

Sylvia Stead, the Globe and Mail\u2019s <\/em>public editor<\/a>, argues that news organizations must strike a careful balance by ensuring their reporting \u201ctries to understand anger and mistrust but doesn\u2019t amplify disinformation.\u201d They must also call out disinformation and hold accountable those who spread it, she says.<\/p>\n

While staying on top of misinformation in social media seems like a near-impossible task, the social platforms are increasingly accepting their responsibility to do so. There have been some victories<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Twitter now uses warning labels<\/a> to flag misleading information, and the recent decision by Facebook, TikTok and Microsoft<\/a> to block access to Russia Today <\/em>and Sputnik, <\/em>two insidious Kremlin-backed news outlets, was a landmark moment in the fight against disinformation. Such actions involve judgment calls, which can be a slippery slope, but making them is necessary to avoid the continued abuse of these global platforms.*<\/p>\n

It is also encouraging to see emerging business models that verify the credibility of media sources<\/a> for educational institutions, health care systems, marketers and others who rely on the media to provide accurate information. Artificial intelligence tracks the landscape<\/a> and signals emerging risks, and then professional journalists apply human judgment to the task of \u201cpre-bunking\u201d and de-bunking misinformation.<\/p>\n

The role of leaders<\/strong><\/p>\n

The biggest momentum shift in the battle against misinformation and extremism, however, must begin not with those who report or share the news, but with those who make it. These are the leaders of government, business and civil society.<\/p>\n

Political leaders face a dilemma. Is leadership about firing up polarized partisans, or acknowledging anger while trying to calm things down?<\/p>\n

In Canada recently, the one leader who attempted the latter strategy \u2013 Erin O\u2019Toole \u2014 quickly found himself out of a job as leader of the Conservatives. Both his interim successor<\/a> and the early front-runner<\/a> for the permanent job stoked the protestors\u2019 anger, while the Liberal prime minister goaded the convoy, lumping all participants into a movement that stood for \u201canti-Semitism, Islamophobia, anti-black racism, homophobia and trans phobia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Days later, Justin Trudeau lambasted his opponents<\/a> for standing with \u201cpeople who wave swastikas.\u201d After unwittingly directing those remarks at a Jewish MP, he cooled his rhetoric and called for unity and de-escalation.<\/p>\n

Which Canadians are dissatisfied with the news media?<\/a><\/p>\n

We need to restore our diminished politics<\/a><\/p>\n

This year, resolve to be a more intelligent reader online<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In firing up their bases with these tactics, they leave scorched earth behind. We must do better, and better is possible, as we see from U.S. President Joe Biden\u2019s success in using U.S. intelligence to highlight the truth of Russia\u2019s actions, and thoughtful public diplomacy to rally the democratic world to isolate Russia from global trade.<\/p>\n

In the age of information warfare, leadership requires a challenging, courageous combination of empathy, listening, patience and firmness. No public policy enjoys unanimous support, but disagreement itself is not divisive. It becomes <\/em>divisive through communication.<\/p>\n

We need leaders who are prepared to stand up to their own partisans when the public interest demands it. Part of the solution is surely electoral reform that changes their incentives, whether through preferential ballots or systems that reward collaboration.<\/p>\n

It’s not surprising to see a growing public expectation that business leaders will step into the breach \u2014 showing leadership on public issues and aligning their business and investment decisions with their values.<\/p>\n

This means building empathy as both a personal and organizational skill. It means genuinely engaging both internal and external stakeholders in dialogue \u2013 not just to communicate decisions, but also to inform them before they are made. And it means taking responsibility for identifying false narratives quickly, and correcting them firmly.<\/p>\n

At a time when centrifugal forces seem to be pulling society toward its extremes, perhaps the role of leaders is to emulate another type of physics: centripetal <\/em>force, which causes a change in the direction of velocity toward the centre. It\u2019s a type of leadership that calms things down, listens before acting, courageously states things as they are, and inspires us to work and walk together on a better path.<\/p>\n

* Note to readers:<\/strong> Argyle, the firm led by author Daniel Tisch, is an advisor to Meta, the parent firm of Facebook. An earlier version of this article appeared without this disclosure.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe very \u2018rules of war\u2019 have changed …. The information space opens wide asymmetrical possibilities for reducing the fighting potential of the enemy.\u201d \u2013 General Valery Gerasimov, Russian Chief of the General Staff, 2013. Nine years ago, a New York Times op-ed by Vladimir Putin compelled me to ask a two-part question in the Journal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":280381,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-10-08T03:51:03Z","apple_news_api_id":"5cd64c35-2d35-4a65-9b93-8adc5e9edebf","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-10-08T03:51:03Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AXNZMNS01SmWbk4rcXp7evw","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[9399,9385,9372],"tags":[8563,8726,8565,8623,9019],"article-status":[],"irpp-category":[4263,4250,4277,4229,4295],"section":[],"irpp-tag":[6984,7136],"class_list":["post-270127","issues","type-issues","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-democratie","category-medias-et-culture","category-recent-stories-fr","tag-canadian-politics","tag-anti-hate-fr","tag-disinformation","tag-political-branding-fr","tag-liberte-dexpression","irpp-category-constitution-fr","irpp-category-democratie","irpp-category-discrimination-fr","irpp-category-politics","irpp-category-politique","irpp-tag-disinformation","irpp-tag-medias-et-culture"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nNavigating the age of information warfare<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2022\/03\/information-warfare-disinformation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Navigating the age of information warfare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cThe very \u2018rules of war\u2019 have changed …. The information space opens wide asymmetrical possibilities for reducing the fighting potential of the enemy.\u201d \u2013 General Valery Gerasimov, Russian Chief of the General Staff, 2013. Nine years ago, a New York Times op-ed by Vladimir Putin compelled me to ask a two-part question in the Journal […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2022\/03\/information-warfare-disinformation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Policy Options\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IRPP.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-08T03:51:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Wordpress-Navigating-the-age-of-information-warfare.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@irpp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2022\/03\/information-warfare-disinformation\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2022\/03\/information-warfare-disinformation\/\",\"name\":\"Navigating the age of information warfare\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2022\/03\/information-warfare-disinformation\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2022\/03\/information-warfare-disinformation\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Wordpress-Navigating-the-age-of-information-warfare.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-08T16:32:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-08T03:51:00+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2022\/03\/information-warfare-disinformation\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2022\/03\/information-warfare-disinformation\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2022\/03\/information-warfare-disinformation\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Wordpress-Navigating-the-age-of-information-warfare.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Wordpress-Navigating-the-age-of-information-warfare.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"Russian President Vladimir Putin enters a room. He is dressed in a dark suit and tie, and has a red folder in one hand.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2022\/03\/information-warfare-disinformation\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Navigating the age of information warfare\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/\",\"name\":\"Policy Options\",\"description\":\"Institute for Research on Public Policy\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Navigating the age of information warfare","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2022\/03\/information-warfare-disinformation\/","og_locale":"fr_FR","og_type":"article","og_title":"Navigating the age of information warfare","og_description":"\u201cThe very \u2018rules of war\u2019 have changed …. The information space opens wide asymmetrical possibilities for reducing the fighting potential of the enemy.\u201d \u2013 General Valery Gerasimov, Russian Chief of the General Staff, 2013. Nine years ago, a New York Times op-ed by Vladimir Putin compelled me to ask a two-part question in the Journal […]","og_url":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2022\/03\/information-warfare-disinformation\/","og_site_name":"Policy Options","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IRPP.org","article_modified_time":"2025-10-08T03:51:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Wordpress-Navigating-the-age-of-information-warfare.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@irpp","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2022\/03\/information-warfare-disinformation\/","url":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2022\/03\/information-warfare-disinformation\/","name":"Navigating the age of information warfare","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2022\/03\/information-warfare-disinformation\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2022\/03\/information-warfare-disinformation\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Wordpress-Navigating-the-age-of-information-warfare.jpg","datePublished":"2022-03-08T16:32:42+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-08T03:51:00+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2022\/03\/information-warfare-disinformation\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"fr-FR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2022\/03\/information-warfare-disinformation\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2022\/03\/information-warfare-disinformation\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Wordpress-Navigating-the-age-of-information-warfare.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Wordpress-Navigating-the-age-of-information-warfare.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"Russian President Vladimir Putin enters a room. He is dressed in a dark suit and tie, and has a red folder in one hand."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2022\/03\/information-warfare-disinformation\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Navigating the age of information warfare"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/#website","url":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/","name":"Policy Options","description":"Institute for Research on Public Policy","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"fr-FR"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issues\/270127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issues"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/issues"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270127"},{"taxonomy":"article-status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article-status?post=270127"},{"taxonomy":"irpp-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/irpp-category?post=270127"},{"taxonomy":"section","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/section?post=270127"},{"taxonomy":"irpp-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/irpp-tag?post=270127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}