I became interested in online influence as an adversarial tactic because much of my professional work made use of the Internet as an educational tool. It is impossible to promote this communication tool for influencing others without becoming aware of the negative possibilities to which influence can be applied. Becoming an educated information consumer offers one level of defense against damaging influence campaigns. I would not pretend that education will totally solve this problem and my interest has clearly moved beyond the issue of online information literacy.
I have read several books related to foreign interference of different types involving the Internet and other digital tools. I admit that the election of 2016 and Russian interference in that election was intensified and broadened my interest. Without getting into whether or not there was collusion, the processes by which a foreign adversary can influence the attitudes and behavior of citizens of our country is an issue we all should find interesting. We are the targets.
You can probably locate my accounts of several books on related topics if you follow my blog posts. My most recent read is Shadow War by CNN reporter Jim Sciutto. If my suggestion alone is not sufficient to encourage you purchasing or borrowing this book, I would encourage you to listen to Sciutto’s hour-long Westminster lecture. The Westminster Townhall Forum originates from a Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis. I heard the Sciutto lecture on Minnesota Public Radio, but all of the lectures are available online.
Listen to a related presentation by Clint Watts