Russia's Social Media War in Ukraine

Abstract

This monograph argues that Moscow used pro-Russian individuals, bots, and trolls on social media as part of a larger strategy to take territory in Eastern Ukraine. Moscow used social media to spread pro-Russian narratives and spread disinformation to sew confusion and disunity among Ukrainian forces and the international community. This allowed pro-Russian forces the room to operate with impunity. Moscow's employment of social media in Ukraine also provides a proof of concept for the Gerasimov Doctrine, which calls for the use of Russian special forces in conjunction with information operations to overcome larger enemies. This monograph also contends that the United States has been ineffective at countering Russian narratives in the social media realm. This study outlines key strategic, operational, and tactical implications for America and its allies. It also outlines opportunities for the United States and the international community to counter Russian efforts.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 24, 2018
Accession Number
AD1137006

Entities

People

  • Corey Sinclair

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Cyber
  • Human Systems
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Elections
  • Electronic Mail
  • Europe
  • European Union
  • Fake News
  • Governments
  • Information Operations
  • International Relations
  • Internet
  • Media
  • Nato
  • New York
  • Social Media
  • Unified Combatant Commands
  • United States
  • War
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Agent-Based Social Robotics and Mobile-Assisted Learning in Virtual Environments.
  • International Relations and Conflict Resolution
  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.