To avoid addressing an accusation, the accused can return fire with a whataboutism; “You’re criticising my actions? But what about the bad actions you’ve taken?”, moving conversational focus on to the accuser’s imperfections.
Category Archives: Tactic
Using AI Generated profile pictures in inauthentic Social Media accounts to appear more legitimate
People have made computer programs that can create realistic-looking pictures of people that don’t physically exist. Threat actors use these to make inauthentic social media accounts appear more legitimate.
Double checking an image’s source by Reverse Image Searching
One way you can double check the narrative being presented alongside an image is to use one of many free online tools to see if the same image can be found elsewhere on the internet.
Presenting legitimate media with false context to support a desired narrative
It can be hard to falsify a convincing piece of media, so one strategy used is to take real content and create a false context which matches the desired narrative.
Manufacturing a Tactical Infodemic to make true information harder to find
Let’s say there is someone who wants to find out about a topic, but you don’t want them to succeed. One way you could make it harder for them is to intentionally flood the pool of information surrounding said topic with false data.
Inauthentically Boosting Content to Trending Sections of Social Media Sites
Aggressors who want to engineer discussion around a topic can use inauthentic methods to get them trending. This helps expose more victims to narratives, and makes those narratives appear more popular than they are.
Using Online Harassment to Reduce the Spread of Unwanted Information
Aggressors can reduce the spread of information detrimental to their goals by harassing / threatening users producing said information, reducing the probability they will do so again in the future.
Boosting Disinformation’s Audience while Debunking it
Sometimes people come across an inauthentic narrative that they don’t believe, or they disagree with morally. They re-share with the intent of mocking, debunking, or expressing incredulity, but risk amplifying its reach.
Information Laundering with American Pornographic Actor Johnny Sins
I recently spotted a pretty perfect example of how someone might go about Information Laundering through a public figure. In this case reporter Ken Klippenstein targeted an anti-vaccine proponent active on Twitter. Ken sent the following private message to their account: In this case Ken pretended to be a fan reaching out to compliment theirContinue reading “Information Laundering with American Pornographic Actor Johnny Sins”