According to Alvin Toffler, “The full implications of what we termed ‘Third wave knowledge warfare’ have not yet been digested. The wars of the future will increasingly be prevented, won or lost based on information superiority and dominance. Cyber-war involves everything from strategic deception and perception management down to tactical disruption of an adversary’s information systems.”
An array of unconventional strategies that focus on expanding their international influence to achieve national security objectives have been developed. They have deployed anti-access area denial platforms and coercive economic practices as well as deception, information operations, and utilization of proxies. Open societies and democracies face this danger all the more. With the availability of technology, deepfakes are made and this can spread havoc through the instant social media. It is a warfare by deception. It indicates a shift towards more subtle methods of engagement, conducted discreetly behind the scenes, to undermine adversaries from within. This strategy employs a “death by a thousand cuts” philosophy, eschewing single-point actions to utilize various smaller measures across media, social platforms, political discourse, and even popular culture.
The application of these undermining actions, sometimes understood as information warfare, varies across different political systems. Autocratic regimes, with their absolute control over media, absence of electoral processes, and readiness to resort to violent suppression methods, are better equipped to handle and restrict such undermining efforts.
Their tight grip on power leaves little room for adversaries to sow discord and chaos. Conversely, democracies, particularly those characterized by multicultural and multiethnic populations (like India), are more susceptible to subversion. Tensions and grievances from the past can be easily manipulated and exploited, making these societies vulnerable to external interference and subversion tactics.
MISUSING TECHNOLOGY
One critical foundation for such subversion lies in the misuse of technological tools, especially the media, including print, online, and volatile social media platforms. With its encompassing iconography, popular culture has also emerged as a potent tool. We see this in US universities like UCLA and Columbia, where they are used to target youth, who are more susceptible to propaganda and half-baked ideas. What often ensues with such measures is the complete disregard for context and proportion, rallying people around shallow notions. Moreover, societal ignorance makes such radical and toxic ideas easier to gain ground. The obliviousness of American youth about the horrors of the Holocaust is a big reason for their support of the glamorization of such ideas. In consequence, the American youth is ironically supporting Hamas, which categorically committed the most brutal attacks against the Jewish population since the Holocaust. Meanwhile, anti-Semitism has become a daily feature of campus life in the US, the supposed land of free speech and the rule of law.
India has its share of problems in this regard as the narrative of Hindu hatred has become prevalent in the US and many Western educational establishments, often downplayed as isolated incidents. Selective reporting, aided by ideologically motivated individuals who view India negatively, has perpetuated this narrative. Similarly, concerning Indian politics, we saw the recent deepfake video of Indian Home Minister Amit Shah went viral, with almost all major international news outlets covering it due to its incendiary content. Yet, not everyone followed up on their stories to correct the negative coverage after it was found to be fake. Intriguingly, individuals without voting rights in India are considered experts on Indian democratic traditions, which surprisingly shape and skew the narrative.
And when their incorrect prophecies are proven false, they often double down, attributing the discrepancy to some hidden agenda. Over the last decade, this pattern has repeated itself with no accountability from these journalists and media houses misusing power of technology to do this.
EROSION OF DEMOCRACY AND SOCIETAL VALUES
The propagation of radical ideas aimed at undermining societies has become so easy and effective that the concept of protest funding is now a prominent concern in many countries. Particularly during electoral cycles, we witness protest funding becoming a flashpoint in election discourse in the US and India. Students who come to universities to learn are often incited with misguided and ill-informed ideas manipulated to suit the interests of adversaries. This raises concerns about who would be willing to fight wars if the narrative and public discourse have become so fragile.
For these reasons, media houses and ill-motivated civil societies must be carefully watched. The Washington Post is a good example of a media giant that has shaped itself into such a force that it disseminates fabricated narratives, to which even nations like India and Israel find themselves obliged to respond. Ideally, this should not be the case. Still, when news outlets propagate half-baked information laced with ideological poison, the need to respond becomes essential. In the current context, whether it’s the misfiring of a rocket by Palestinian Islamic Jihad on a hospital in Gaza or elections or Covid-19 in India, we see the ideological slant of these media houses, their obligations to espouse a particular narrative of the so-called “death of democracy”. At the same time, outright violence within the US is wholly played down.
COUNTERING PERCEPTION WARFARE
Three major priorities come to mind that require serious attention and deliberation. First, there is a critical need for youth education, particularly in countries where the youth population is growing. Despite having more resources than previous generations, the transmission of education and wisdom from past generations has somehow faltered. Therefore, it is imperative to educate the youth about the history, culture, religions, traditions, and literature of their country and society to prevent the caricatures that enemies might seek to push within our country from gaining ground. Part of such efforts is also to cleanse the curriculums of ideological biases and propaganda.
Second, technology is a potent tool for propagating excellent and destructive ideas. It’s essential to recognize that while the positive aspects are maximized, the negative ones are kept in check. This entails implementing better cyber (including AI) hygiene practices and punishing offenders who propagate misinformation. Herein, media houses must be held accountable and called out fiercely and publicly for their actions. Third, one of the best safeguards against such subversion is a robust framework composed of societal values and ethics. No adversary can harm a society or country as much as they can hurt themselves. Therefore, there is no stronger support base than a solid moral foundation. In this regard, India is fortunate to have a historical legacy from which it can draw wisdom and develop its traditions of knowledge systems. India’s diverse and tolerant society has endured nearly every challenge a civilization can face. Yet, it has proudly survived due to its traditions and societal values that promote harmony over conflict.
In conclusion, let’s not compartmentalise what’s happening in the US as an American phenomenon. There these protestors are called termites and have been mercilessly arrested. Let’s be aware of the lethal nature of perception warfare, how narratives are built, manipulated and propagated, and how a society devoid of boundaries, moral codes, and a sense of historical values ultimately suffers.
Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit is the Vice Chancellor of JNU.