The Russia watchRussia: war and punishment; disinformation & the future of warfare; Russia’s new propaganda outlet, and more

Published 19 April 2018

· Russian disinformation around the Syria strikes is a glimpse into the future of warfare

· “USA Really. Wake Up Americans”: Russia launching another propaganda outlet in U.S.

· Anatomy of a Russian chemical weapons lab lie

· Russia: war and punishment

· The disinformation dilemma

· The U.S. should brace now for Russia’s next cyberattack

· Concerned EU politicians push for legal action against fake news

· How can social media companies stop the spread of fake news?

Russian disinformation around the Syria strikes is a glimpse into the future of warfare (Taylor Griffin, Roughly Explained)
In the lead up to this weekend’s coordinated attack on Syria by U.S., French and British cruise missiles, the Russian propaganda machine went into overdrive. The Pentagon reported a 2,000% increase in Russian social media troll activity in the 24 hours before and after the U.S., Britain, and France launched over one hundred cruise missiles at targets associated with Syrian chemical weapons capabilities. Bellicose Russian threats of retaliation raised worries that the allied response to the gas attack in Douma risked sparking World War III and wild accusations were flung by Russian officials to confuse the issue and send the debate off into irrelevant directions. Welcome to the new face of warfare, where disinformation has become an important new front in international security policy, confusing policymaking and raising doubts about what is real.

USA Really. Wake Up Americans”: Russia launching another propaganda outlet in U.S. (UNIAN)
A journalistic research project undertaken last year by the independent Russian news outlet RBC showed that the project’s mother company is in fact an offspring project of the famous St. Petersburg “troll factory.”

Anatomy of a Russian chemical weapons lab lie (Adam Rawnsley, Bellingcat)
If Moscow wants its Syrian allies to skirt the blame for chemical attacks, they’re going to have to come up with some better evidence than a few beakers and boilers in a dingy basement.

Russia: war and punishment (John Raine, IISS)
Two features of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rule are notable. First, he has been consistent in his rejection of the current international order as appropriate to Russia. … Second, Putin has made central to his repertoire domestically and overseas the use of … ‘condign power.’ He has repeatedly shown himself willing to punish those who betray him. … The only person who can speak for Russia is Putin. Unlike those of Trump and Russian officials, his comments always deserve to be taken both seriously and literally. Talking past him or not to him at all sets the conditions for a Cold War combination of standoffs and proxy conflicts for which … he is better equipped than the West. How that dialogue is initiated and conducted is the greater diplomatic challenge that lies beyond the current crisis.

The disinformation dilemma (Oset Babür, Harvard Magazine)
In the discussion of how Russian operatives manipulated public opinion during the 2016 presidential election, it’s easy to overlook how their malicious goals were easily advanced thanks to tools originally designed to further the economic interests of leading Internet companies like Facebook and Google.

The U.S. should brace now for Russia’s next cyberattack (Greg Kelley, The Hill)
As Allied jets tore away from Syrian airspace following strikes on chemical storage and research facilities, Russian trolls and bots began flooding social media with disinformation. The Pentagon reported a whopping 2,000 percent increase in Russian online propaganda. Russia’s venomous, relentless manipulation of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram continues to outflank American and Westerns efforts to blunt the blatant lies. This is no longer simply about “election meddling” — it is a grave national security issue, the escalation of which should concern U.S. officials.

Concerned EU politicians push for legal action against fake news (David Alandete, El Pais)
After EU Commission refuses to propose legislation, a group of MEPs seeks help from national governments

How can social media companies stop the spread of fake news? (Alexander Babuta and James Sullivan, RUSI)
Facebook’s actions to remove content created by the Russia-based Internet Research Agency demonstrate that it is ahead of its competitors in the fight against disinformation. However, this is a retroactive step and the damage has already been done.