Russian Reflexive Control and the 2016 United States Presidential Election

Abstract

Russia introduced chaos and discord into the American political system during the U.S. presidential elections of 2016 through a technique known as reflexive control. Reflexive control is the act of providing selective information to induce a victim to act in a manner that benefits the influencer voluntarily. As part of a larger information warfare strategy, Russia used reflexive control to exploit the cognitive flaws and biases of the American population, the media, and partisan political groups to support long-term national interests.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 26, 2018
Accession Number
AD1177222

Entities

People

  • Adam Yang

Organizations

  • Marine Corps University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Cyber
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Control Theory
  • Cyber Warfare
  • Cyberspace Operations
  • Department Of Defense
  • Fake News
  • Foreign Policy
  • Governments
  • Hybrid Warfare
  • Information Operations
  • Information Warfare
  • Intelligence Community (United States)
  • International Relations
  • Law
  • Military Doctrine
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • National Politics
  • National Security
  • New York
  • Periodicals
  • Political Systems
  • Psychology
  • Security
  • Social Media
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.
  • Strategic Security Studies