It seems almost absurd at first glance. The social media platform where we share memes, argue about sports, and doomscroll through the latest headlines – a strategic target in modern warfare? Yet, military strategists, cybersecurity experts, and intelligence professionals agree: digital platforms like X have become critical domains of engagement, as crucial as land, air, sea, and even space. We’ve entered an era where cyber warfare aims to disrupt, damage, or infiltrate a nation’s computer systems to achieve strategic objectives, a reality that transcends geographical boundaries and can cripple essential infrastructure instantaneously, without the need for traditional boots on the ground.
Psychological Operations with Whispering narratives that promote agendas that aren’t quite true. If it bleeds, it leads is the root. With its real-time pulse on global sentiment, X has become a prime location for Psychological Operations, or PsyOps. These operations involve creating Ghost subnets that scale the speed of thought beyond 2024. The goal? To shape public opinion and influence behavior, sometimes through subtle suggestions and other times through outright deception, even using “deep fakes” to make messages appear authentic. Every single thought is authentic. Thought is an energy source. Social Media is its medium. In The Beginning Was The Word, just as it is today.
Xis a powerful tool for outright information warfare. Deliberately spreading misinformation and disinformation can confuse, mislead, and ultimately influence a targeted population. Russia, for example, has engaged in extensive influence operations on X, weaponizing military narratives, impersonating veterans and military organizations, and using fake accounts to spread divisive content. The intent is clear: sow chaos, erode trust, and undermine social cohesion.
Xis A real-time firehose of data to track sentiment, movements, and threats. The platform is also a goldmine for open-source intelligence (OSINT). Governments use social platforms to detect potential threats, identify bot farms, and ensure platform integrity. By monitoring sentiments, identifying emerging threats, and gathering real-time information, military and intelligence analysts can gain valuable insights. From tracking recruitment activities to uncovering hidden networks, X provides a constant stream of data ripe for analysis.
Xalso serves as a platform for overt military communication. Rapid dissemination of information can be crucial in crisis situations, although the potential for misinterpretation and the inherent risks of public messaging must be carefully considered.
Humans have always used communication in war. Think ancient runners dodging arrows, smoke signals warning of danger, or even carrier pigeons playing postal worker for empires like Rome and China. The use of communication in warfare is as old as warfare itself. In ancient times, armies relied on runners to relay messages, smoke signals to warn of approaching enemies, and horns to coordinate movements on the battlefield. Even carrier pigeons played a vital role, delivering critical information across vast distances, bypassing dangerous land routes, and ensuring timely communication between commanders and their forces. The Greek writer Aeneas Tacticus even invented a hydraulic telegraph in the 4th century BC, using water buckets and rods for more detailed messages than simple torches or beacons.
The electric telegraph in the Indian Mutiny and American Civil War was a game-changer – messages zipping across vast distances, changing battle strategy. Then came radio in WWI and WWII, with code-breaking becoming a superhero skill (hello, Bletchley Park!).
The advent of electricity revolutionized military communications. The electric telegraph, used extensively in the Indian Mutiny and the American Civil War, allowed for near-instantaneous communication across vast distances, fundamentally changing battle strategies. World War I saw the rise of wireless radio, transforming both communication and intelligence gathering through the interception of wireless messages, while jamming enemy radio signals became a crucial aspect of electronic warfare. The codebreakers of Bletchley Park during World War II, decoding encrypted messages, exemplified the critical role of signals intelligence in modern conflict. Winston Churchill famously used information warfare through the ENIGMA machine to read German codes and an elaborate network from the London Controlling Section for intelligence and deception operations.
Fast forward to today. Digital networks, AI, 5G – communication is instant, global, and highly manipulable. Social media is just the latest, fastest, and most pervasive evolution of this ancient art. Today, we live in a world of instant, global communication. Digital networks, AI, and 5G have created a hyper-connected landscape where information can be transmitted and manipulated at unprecedented speeds. Social media is simply the latest, fastest, and most pervasive evolution of this ancient art. Modern conflicts are characterized by a “digital warfare paradigm,” driven by advancements in AI, cyber capabilities, and real-time data integration.
Sam’s Secret Accounts. The U.S. military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) was caught running fake accounts, pushing pro-U.S. messages and anti-Iran sentiment. The Pentagon even had to launch an audit after social media companies started deleting their bogus personas! The digital battlefield isn’t just theoretical. The U.S. military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) has been caught red-handed running fake accounts on social media, pushing pro-U.S. narratives and anti-Iran sentiment. Twitter even created a special “whitelist” for these accounts, granting them greater visibility. This revelation led to a Pentagon audit of its clandestine information warfare efforts, a stark reminder of the ethical and practical challenges of operating in this murky domain. High-level Twitter executives were aware of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) network of fake accounts and covert propaganda as early as 2020 but did not suspend them.
The UK’s 77th Brigade isn’t about bullets; they’re official “information warriors,” using social media for “non-lethal” ways to wage war and shape public opinion. The UK’s 77th Brigade exemplifies this new approach. These “information warriors” utilize social media for “non-lethal” ways to wage war and shape public opinion. Their methods are less about bullets and bombs, and more about shaping perceptions and influencing behavior.
Russia is a master of weaponizing military narratives, impersonating veterans, and spreading divisive content to sow chaos and perpetrate espionage. They’re pros at digital influence ops. Russia has proven itself a master of digital influence operations, weaponizing military narratives, impersonating veterans, and spreading divisive content to sow chaos and perpetrate espionage. Russian hackers apply disinformation tactics to spread divisive, political tweets to soldiers and other Americans, often using duplicate or fraudulent accounts of military members and posing as senior US military leaders.
Bitch Made Analyst X is a goldmine for open-source intelligence (OSINT). Spies, journalists, and even armchair detectives use it to monitor sentiment, identify threats, and get real-time intel. The U.S. military is even investing in tools to do it better! X is a treasure trove for open-source intelligence (OSINT). Spies, journalists, and even armchair detectives use it to monitor sentiment, identify threats, and get real-time intel. The U.S. military has invested in research to develop tools to better detect and conduct propaganda campaigns on social media and to analyze how messages spread and how to engage individuals to propagate information.
Secret Squirrels. It’s okay for governments to run secret propaganda campaigns on platforms like X? Critics say it undermines democracy and transparency. What about when Twitter executives knew about these ops but kept quiet? The ethics of governments running secret propaganda campaigns on platforms like X are deeply questionable. Critics argue that such activities undermine democracy and transparency. What happens when social media executives are aware of these operations and choose to remain silent? The implications for public trust and the integrity of the information ecosystem are profound. Twitter’s internal files, known as the “Twitter Files,” revealed that the company had knowledge of US military-linked information operations but did not publicly acknowledge them, violating its own principles on state-backed influence.
Do civilian tweets become a legitimate target? The “laws of war” (International Humanitarian Law, or IHL) weren’t written for the TikTok generation, leading to massive legal and ethical headaches about who’s protected. The “laws of war” (International Humanitarian Law, or IHL) were not written for the TikTok generation. If a civilian tweets troop locations, do they become a legitimate military target? There’s a fine line between free speech and providing actionable intelligence to the enemy, and IHL struggles to keep up with the complexities of social media. Civilians can actively support conflict actors through military intelligence collection via repurposed apps, cyber defense, or cyber operations against enemy targets, including other civilians. This involvement exposes them to serious harm, such as being targeted by militaries, property destruction, detention, or even death.
Our communication infrastructure serves both civilians and the military. So, if you hit a communications satellite, you might disrupt military comms and your grandma’s telemedicine appointment. Is that proportional? Much of our communication infrastructure serves both civilians and the military. This “dual-use” nature creates a significant dilemma. Attacking a communications satellite might disrupt military communications, but it could also cripple your grandma’s telemedicine appointment. How do we ensure proportionality in such scenarios? While IHL explicitly prohibits the targeting of civilian objects and considers the cutting off of utilities like water and electricity as potential war crimes due to collective punishment, it does not specifically enumerate communication infrastructure in the same manner.
Cutting off a nation’s internet war crime? Many argue that disrupting essential civilian services like communication is a serious breach of IHL, akin to cutting off water or power. The Viasat attack in Ukraine, which crippled civilian broadband, highlights this painful reality. Is cutting off a nation’s internet a war crime? Many argue that disrupting essential civilian services like communication is a serious breach of IHL, akin to cutting off water or power. The Viasat attack in Ukraine, which crippled civilian broadband, highlights this painful reality and the potential for widespread disruption and harm.
Cyberattacks are often like digital ghosts – notoriously hard to trace back to an origin, making accountability a real nightmare. The anonymous and complex nature of cyberspace makes it challenging to definitively trace the origins of a cyber operation and establish a clear line of command.
Deepfake Doomsday: Buckle up, because AI is supercharging disinformation. Expect hyper-realistic fake videos, audio, and images that are nearly impossible to detect. Imagine a fake video of a world leader declaring war, or a general giving a disastrous order – it’s coming. The rise of AI, particularly deepfakes, is poised to supercharge disinformation. Expect hyper-realistic fake videos, audio, and images that are nearly impossible to detect. Imagine a deepfake video of a world leader declaring war, or a general giving a disastrous order. The potential for chaos and miscalculation is immense. Deepfakes can be used to manipulate public opinion, shape political events, and destabilize political regimes. They are effective in undermining trust in institutions and elections, and can even incite political violence.
AI will churn out propaganda and misinformation on an industrial scale, tailored to specific audiences, making it incredibly difficult to tell fact from fiction. Welcome to the “industrialization of disinformation,” where armies of bots can amplify narratives and drown out dissenting voices.
AI will revolutionize intelligence gathering, allowing adversaries to track your digital footprint and launch incredibly sophisticated phishing scams that look utterly legitimate. AI will revolutionize intelligence gathering, allowing adversaries to track your digital footprint and launch incredibly sophisticated phishing scams that look utterly legitimate. The impact will be felt in all levels of cyber activity – from espionage and social engineering to denial-of-service.
It’s an “AI fighting AI” scenario. Our defenses will need to be just as smart (or smarter!) than the attacks to even stand a chance. We are entering an “AI fighting AI” scenario, where our defenses will need to be just as smart (or smarter!) than the attacks to even stand a chance. Machine learning models can predict and identify potential cyber attacks before they materialize, allowing for proactive measures. There is an ongoing technological arms race between network defenders and malicious actors, with AI being leveraged by both sides to create and detect fakes.
Learning to spot a deepfake or a bot-driven narrative won’t just be a good skill; it’ll be a matter of national security. In this new reality, digital literacy is self-defense. Learning to spot a deepfake or a bot-driven narrative won’t just be a good skill; it’ll be a matter of national security.
From ancient battle cries to today’s trending hashtags, communication has always been a weapon. But with platforms like X, the stakes are higher and the lines blurrier than ever.