# The Info War & Russia's Troll Army



## Kirkhill (9 Sep 2014)

This article hits so many points - Russia, Putin, Ukraine, Infotainment, Media Bias, shaping perception, sowing confusion.....  It had to have a thread of its own.



> Russia and the Menace of Unreality
> How Vladimir Putin is revolutionizing information warfare
> 
> PETER POMERANTSEV
> ...



http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/09/russia-putin-revolutionizing-information-warfare/379880/2/

A primer for PAOs everywhere?  Or is it more applicable to All-Source Information gathering?


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## a_majoor (10 Sep 2014)

Kirkhill said:
			
		

> This article hits so many points - Russia, Putin, Ukraine, Infotainment, Media Bias, shaping perception, sowing confusion.....  It had to have a thread of its own.
> 
> http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/09/russia-putin-revolutionizing-information-warfare/379880/2/
> 
> A primer for PAOs everywhere?  Or is it more applicable to All-Source Information gathering?



Info Ops, Media Ops, Influence Activities, Cyber Ops, etc. etc.

One takeaway (for me anyway) is this sort of thing needs to be coordinated at the highest level. A "Narrative" for Canada needs to be created at the PCO level, and government departments and their subunits (including DND and its component parts) need to be able to perform "mission analysis" and extract whatever parts of the "narrative" which apply to them and that they can support with their own efforts and activities.

In the end, this is what the former Soviet Union did and Russia is doing now; establishing a (Soviet) Russian narrative and using _dezinformatsiia_ and _maskirovka_ to sow confusion and doubt into enemy decision makers and the public perceptions of the Western democracies (and anyone else who could be induced to listen). Even the most rank and obvious falsehoods would be pushed out, since there is:

a: plenty of people gullible enough to believe; and, 
b. not enough  time and resources to "clear" channels and push out our own messaging when they are being flooded with Soviet/Russian nonsense.

It is ironic that I began my career in the twilight of the Cold War training to fight the Red Army, and am now in the twilight of my own career preparing for the second Cold War.....


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## a_majoor (7 Jul 2015)

A look behind the curtain at the "Troll factory"

http://www.voanews.com/content/russians-get-glimpse-of-internet-troll-factory/2846484.html



> *Russians Get Glimpse of Internet ‘Troll Factory’ *
> Doug Bernard
> July 04, 2015 9:53 AM
> 
> ...


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## McG (6 Sep 2015)

One theory on dealing with the Russian troll army is to use the same technique the same as dealing with any other troll: don't feed them.  :troll: :troll:



> How to Defeat Putin’s Internet Trolls
> HANNAH GAIS
> Newsweek
> 08 Jun 2015
> ...


http://www.newsweek.com/how-defeat-putins-internet-trolls-340739


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