Truth is the First Casualty of War: A Brief Examination of Russian Informational Conflict during the 2014 Crisis in Ukraine

Abstract

At the request of the Influence Activities Task Forces (IATF), this Scientific Letter (SL) briefly explores and examines the use of Informational Conflict (also known as Informational Warfare)by Russian and pro-Russian forces during the 2014 crisis in Ukraine, with particular attention being paid to key message themes as well as dissemination tactics. This SL is intended to be a limited examination of extant and emergent Russian Informational Conflict capability. As a result, it is particularly concerned with disinformation and propaganda aimed at, or targeting, Western audiences, including (but not limited to) pro-Kiev government forces and civilian populations in the Ukraine. This SL does not examine the use of Informational Conflict aimed at, or directed towards, Russian domestic audiences, nor will it provide a detailed or comprehensive examination of Soviet-era Informational Conflict. This SL is limited to OpenSource (OS) information, as well as English and at-source English translated sources.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 14, 2014
Accession Number
AD1003603

Entities

People

  • Matthew A. Lauder

Organizations

  • DRDC Toronto

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Combat Areas
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Disinformation Operations
  • Doctrine
  • Governments
  • Information Operations
  • Information Warfare
  • Labor Unions
  • Military Applications
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • National Security
  • Political Warfare
  • Propaganda
  • Social Media
  • Social Networking Services
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Cybersecurity.
  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • International Relations and Conflict Resolution