Disinformation as a weapon in the information war

The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine once again shows the military importance of the information space. The Russian Federation, but also other authoritarian countries, try to influence public opinion in their favour and destabilise democratic societies through disinformation. Especially in times of war, it becomes apparent that disinformation can be used and spread as a weapon in a targeted manner. For example, many reports about Russian attacks are based on pictures and videos that people on the ground take with their mobile devices and spread on social media such as TikTok or via messenger services. Such images and videos shape the information space and can be crucial for disinformation or information of attackers, defenders or the population. They affect morale and provide information about the latest developments in the war.

Disinformation shakes trust in media

Moreover, broad-based disinformation campaigns can have a corrosive effect: By shaking trust in information and its truthfulness, controlled campaigns have the power to affect the credibility of even genuinely trustworthy sources of information. Disinformation can contribute to a considerable questioning of the self-image of journalistic work, its reliability and transparency.

Disinformation manipulates public opinion

Especially in the run-up to elections, disinformation can create a particular political impact, with the aim of manipulating social discussions or degrading the reputation of a person or institution. Politically motivated campaigns are organised either directly by state actors or by mandated non-state actors. In countries without stable democratic conditions, for example, content can also be disseminated by state-controlled media, statements amplified and the political opinion-forming of the population considerably impaired.

Defamation and disparagement are sometimes publicly exposed afterwards as hate speech, but doubts and mistrust often remain. Corrections and truths in the course of once spread disinformation do not reach all consumers of disinformation again.

Society and state need resilience

The forms of disinformation and the way it is disseminated will also "evolve" as the digital transformation continues - it will be a perpetual race between new techniques and practices and new rules or measures to draw boundaries.

To make democracies resilient and steadfast against disinformation, strategic communication is needed alongside independent media, good journalism.

Digital and media literacy must be developed across generations. Through systematic education, state institutions and authorities, as well as journalists in particular, can contribute through their reporting to pointing out the power of "disinformation" and the importance of the information space, and thus to taking action against it.