Information Operations and Social Media: Case Study of Indian Chronicles and Options for Pakistan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37540/njips.v7i2.173Keywords:
Social Media, Information Operations, Psychological Operations, Intelligence, Surveillance, Indian ChroniclesAbstract
In the era of digital media, states have resorted to social media to pursue several agendas. In this regard, this paper sheds light on the evolving strategies of intelligence, surveillance and Information Operations (IO) conducted through social media sites. The paper examines various strategies of IO mentioned in U.S. military documents encompassing Military Deception (MILDEC), Computer Network Operations (CNO), Operations Security (OPSSEC), and Psychological Operations (PsyOps). The paper specifically evaluated the role of social media in PsyOps and coined the term Social Media PsyOps (SMPsyOps). It analyses how the Indian government employed these tactics to conduct IO against Pakistan unveiled in the Indian Chronicles by EU DisinfoLab. The paper argues that social media has become an open source of intelligence for conducting of IO by India and influencing opinions and perceptions of Pakistan in Western capitals. This has impacted Pakistan and therefore the paper recommends measures for the government of Pakistan on how to counter the growing Indian network of IO.
References
Acemoğlu, D., Ozdaglar, A., & Siderius, J. (2021, June 30). Misinformation: Strategic Sharing, homophily, and endogenous echo chambers. VOX EU. https://voxeu.org/article/misinformation-social-media
Alaphilippe, A. (2020). Adding a D to the ABC disinformation framework. Brookings Institution. https://policycommons.net/artifacts/4139892/adding-a-d-to-the-abc-disinformation-framework/4948112/
Abdulrahman, F., & Subedar, A. (2020). How much to fake a trend on twitter? in one country, about £150. BBC News, 29. https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-43218939
Chin, W. (2019). Technology, war and the state: past, present and future. International Affairs, 95(4), 765-783. https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiz106
Cowan, M. D., & Cook, M. C. (2018). Psychological Operations versus Military Information Support Operations and an Analysis of Organizational Change. Military Review, 1. https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/Army-Press-Online-Journal/documents/Cook-Cowan-PSYOP-v2.pdf
Department of Army Headquarters. (2018). The Conduct of Information Operations. Washington D.C.: Army Publishing Directorate.
Department of Defense. (2014, Nov 20). Joint Publication 3-13 Information Operations. Joint Staff US Armed Forces. https://www.jcs.mil/Portals/36/Documents/Doctrine/pubs/jp3_13.pdf
Department of Defense. (2017). Military Deception Joint Publication 3-13.4.
Ekwunife, N. (2020). National security intelligence through social network data mining. In 2020 IEEE International Conference on Big Data (Big Data) (pp. 2270-2273). IEEE. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9377940
European Union Agency for Cybersecurity. (2020). Information Operations – Active Defence and Offensive Countermeasures. https://www.enisa.europa.eu/topics/csirts-in-europe/glossary/information-operations-2013-active-defence-and-offensive-countermeasures
Farka, J., & Neumayer, C. (2020). Disguised Propaganda from Digital to Social Media. In J. Hunsinger, M. M. Allen, & L. Klastrup, Second International Handbook of Internet Research (pp. 707-723). Berlin: Springer.
Flint, J. (2016, Feb 6). Army joins the social media war with psy-ops brigade. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/army-joins-the-social-media-war-with-psy-ops-brigade-37125
Fortin, F., Delle Donne, J., & Knop, J. (2021). The Use of Social Media in Intelligence and Its Impact on Police Work. In J. J. Nolan, F. Crispino, & T. Parsons, Policing in an Age of Reform (pp. 213-231). Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.
Fournier, J. (2021). How algorithms are amplifying misinformation and driving a wedge between people. The Hill. https://thehill.com/changing-america/opinion/581002-how-algorithms-are-amplifying-misinformation-and-driving-a-wedge
François, C. (2020). Actors, behaviors, content: A disinformation ABC. Algorithms. https://policycommons.net/artifacts/8986429/untitled/9875484/
Goldstein, F. L., & Findley, B. F. (Eds.). (1996). Psychological operations: Principles and case studies (p. 0351). Maxwell Air Force Base, AL: Air University Press.
Gery, W. R., Lee, S., & Ninas, J. (2017). Information Warfare in an Information Age. Joint Force Quarterly, 85(2), 22-29.
Hafeez, M. (2021). Indian Chronicles: An Eye Opener for the World Community. Institue of Strategic Studies Islamabad. http://issi.org.pk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/IB_Mahwish_Jan_14_2021.pdf
Javed, Z. (March 2021). Analysis of the Indian Chronicles. Islamabad Policy Research Institute. https://ipripak.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Indian-Chronicles-Policy-Brief.pdf
Kausar, S., Tahir, B., & Mehmood, M. (2021). Towards Understanding Trends Manipulation in Pakistan Twitter. arXiv:2109.14872. https://arxiv.org/abs/2109.14872
Khan, I. A. (2021, November 5) FATF asked to probe India’s role in keeping Pakistan on grey list. Dawn. https://www.dawn.com/news/1656024
Khetran, M. S. (2017). Indian Interference in Balochistan. Stragetic Studies, 37(3), 112-125. https://issi.org.pk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/7-SS_Mir_sherbaz_Khetran_No-3_2017.pdf
Mabima, J. (2018, Oct 29). Social Networking Sites as a Tool of Psychological Operations: A Case Study. SSRN. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3261039
Alaphilippe, M., G., Adamczyk, R., & Grégoire, A. (2020, Dec 9). Indian Chronciles. EU Disinfo Lab. https://www.disinfo.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Indian-chronicles_FULLREPORT.pdf
McKew, M. K. (2019, Feb 8). Rules of Engagement for Social Media Influence Operations. Defusing Disinfo. https://defusingdis.info/2019/02/08/rules-of-engagement-for-social-media-influence-operations/
Mlot, S. (2013, February 12) Raytheon Riot Software Predicts Behavior Based on Social Media. PCMag. https://www.pcmag.com/news/raytheon-riot-software-predicts-behavior-based-on-social-media
Mohan, G. (2020, December 12). India Clarifies on Fake News Report. India Today https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/india-clarifies-on-fake-news-report-blames-pakistan-1748892-2020-12-12
Nakashima, E. (2022, September 19). Pentagon opens sweeping review of clandestine psychological operations. The Washington Post.
Omand, S., Bartlett, J., & Miller, C. (2012). Introducing Social Media Intelligence (SOCMINT). Intelligence and National Security, 27(6), 801-823.
Otis, G. (1991). Information Operations. FAS. https://irp.fas.org/doddir/army/fm34-1/ch7.htm
Pakistan Observer. (2024). ‘X’ banned on basis of intelligence reports, says official. https://pakobserver.net/x-banned-on-basis-of-intelligence-reports-says-official/
Paul, C., & Porche, I. (2017). Cyber Forces and U.S. Cyber Command. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.
Rehman, A. (2021, January 18). Indian Chronicle: Exposing the Indian Hybrid warfare against Pakistan. Modern Diplomacy. https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2021/01/18/indian-chronicle-exposing-the-indian-hybrid-warfare-against-pakistan/
Reuters. (2020, December 12). Pakistan accuses India of funding disinformation campaign in EU. https://www.reuters.com/article/pakistan-india-idUSKBN28M022
Shallcross, N. (2017). Social Media and Information Operations in the 21st Century. Journal of Information Warfare, 16(1), 1-12. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26502873
Stanford Internet Observatory. (August 24, 2022). Unheard Voice: Evaluating five years of pro-Western covert influence operations. Cyber Policy Center
Thales. (2022, Jan 25). 5G technology and networks (speed, use cases, rollout). Thales Group. https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/markets/digital-identity-and-security/mobile/inspired/5G
Theohary, C. A. (2015, March 4). Information Warfare: The Role of Social Media in Conflict. FAS. https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/IN10240.pdf
Theohary, C. A. (2021). Defense Primer: Information Operations. Congressional Research Service (CRS).
Trottier, D. (2015). Open source intelligence, social media and law enforcement: Visions, constraints and critiques. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 18(4-5), 530-547. https://doi.org/10.1177/13675494155773
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 NUST Journal of International Peace & Stability
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
1.png)
