Fake news is merely the visible part of information operations / information warfare - disinformation tactics used by hostile states to destabilize their adversaries. This set looks at some of the tactics, why they work, and what we can do. First presented at the NTU Did You Know lecture series 2018.

1. The Dark Side of
Fake News
Prepared for the ‘Did you know’ series 31/8/2018
by Benjamin Ang, Head, Cyber Homeland Defence,
Centre of Excellence for National Security, RSIS, NTU
Twitter @benjaminang
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2. Fake News is only a small part of
Information Warfare
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3. Information warfare vs Conventional warfare
Information Warfare
● Direct psychological
influence
● Cause inner decay in the
opponent
● War of cultures, ideas,
perceptions
Conventional Warfare
● Direct physical
destruction / injury
● Cause annihilation of
opponent
● War of weapons,
technology, troops
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4. State of Permanent Total War
Political
Economic
Technological
Informational

5. "To subdue the enemy
without fighting
is the ultimate skill".
Sun Tzu (The Art of War)
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6. Main Divisions
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Extreme Left Extreme Right
anti-mainstream media
anti-corporatist
pro-prison reform
pro-BlackLivesMatter
feminist
pro-LGBTQ
anti-mainstream media
pro-religion
anti-LGBTQ
anti-feminist
anti-globalist
anti-immigration

7. Common Message: Anti-Globalism
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Free trade
Multinational business
Global institutions
Mainstream media
Immigration
Science and experts
Traditional politicians
DO NOT
TRUST

8. What are the goals?
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Splitting up
and
breaking
down the
target
Degrade the
economy
Reduce
confidence
Polarize society
Elites vs
heartland;
Local vs migrant
Demoralize
society
“Not worth
fighting for”
Stimulate
unhappiness
Create sense of
chaos

9. What are the tools?
Human
and
automated
comments
Business
groups,
business
leaders
NGOs,
politicians
activists,
academics
Media and
social
media

10. Why does it work so well?
Our desire to protect our own
community
Our need to find patterns in
what we observe
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11. How do we defend against it?
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1. Build trust through transparent communications
2. Increase face to face contact
3. Teach critical thinking
4. Understand and publicize the tactics
5. Build a culture of not sharing