I would like to create a database of Tactics used to spread disinformation. I think this will be useful for people who want to learn about the ways they are being manipulated online. You can read about why I think this here, and how I’m doing it here. Or, you can get straight into reading about Tactics down below!
Disinformation Tactics
Disinformation Tactics are broader strategies that may bring together a couple of different individual techniques across stages of the Disinformation Cycle. Some Techniques may be used more often by specific Personas than others, and some Environmental Factors may be particularly helpful for a Technique’s success.
Environmental Factors
Environmental Factors are things which passively contribute to the spread of dis/misinformation. One example would be Covid-19; at the start of the pandemic people knew very little about it, but wanted to know very much. This combination meant inauthentic narratives could more easily spread; people trying to learn about Covid could accidentally take in bad information. This situation wasn’t intentionally manufactured to spread dis/misinformation, but it was one that helped achieve that goal.
Mitigations
There are steps we can take to reduce the probability that threat actors’ Tactics can successfully manipulate us. These profiles detail some of those steps:
Personas
Personas represent categorisations of people who contribute to the spread of information disorder, including disinformation (e.g. nation states influencing political narratives) and misinformation (e.g. people believing and spreading information which is false).
- Persona: Mind-Hacktivist
- Decide to Act, Produce, Publish, Amplify: A Mind-Hacktivist is someone who intentionally participates in any stage of a disinformation campaign for ideological reasons only.