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Apr
3
[UPDATE: I will be conducting a phone interview with one of the authors of the study in which that comment was made.]
Because, you know, having men and women trained to do that with ordinary weapons isn’t working out so well.
Read the article from Wired here and the 2006 report here.
From the report, highighted by the magazine article:
Information strategists can consider clandestinely recruiting or hiring prominent bloggers or other persons of prominence… to pass the U.S. message. In this way, the U.S. can overleap the entrenched inequalities and make use of preexisting intellectual and social capital. Sometimes numbers can be effective; hiring a block of bloggers to verbally attack a specific person or promote a specific message may be worth considering. On the other hand, such operations can have a blowback effect, as witnessed by the public reaction following revelations that the U.S. military had paid journalists to publish stories in the Iraqi press under their own names. People do not like to be deceived, and the price of being exposed is lost credibility and trust.
An alternative strategy is to “make” a blog and blogger. The process of boosting the blog to a position of influence could take some time, however, and depending on the person running the blog, may impose a significant educational burden, in terms of cultural and linguistic training before the blog could be put online to any useful effect. Still, there are people in the military today who like to blog. In some cases, their talents might be redirected toward operating blogs as part of an information campaign. If a military blog offers valuable information that is not available from other sources, it could rise in rank fairly rapidly.
And, the most favoritist part:
There are certain to be cases where some blog, outside the control of the U.S. government, promotes a message that is antithetical to U.S. interests, or actively supports the informational, recruiting and logistical activities of our enemies. The initial reaction may be to take down the site, but this is problematic in that doing so does not guarantee that the site will remain down. As has been the case with many such sites, the offending site will likely move to a different host server, often in a third country. Moreover, such action will likely produce even more interest in the site and its contents. Also, taking down a site that is known to pass enemy EEIs (essential elements of information) and that gives us their key messages denies us a valuable information source. This is not to say that once the information passed becomes redundant or is superseded by a better source that the site should be taken down. At that point the enemy blog might be used covertly as a vehicle for friendly information operations. Hacking the site and subtly changing the messages and data—merely a few words or phrases—may be sufficient to begin destroying the blogger’s credibility with the audience. Better yet, if the blogger happens to be passing enemy communications and logistics data, the information content could be corrupted. If the messages are subtly tweaked and the data corrupted in the right way, the enemy may reason that the blogger in question has betrayed them and either take down the site (and the blogger) themselves, or by threatening such action, give the U.S. an opportunity to offer the individual amnesty in exchange for information. (emphasis in the original)
Here’s the U.S. military’s disclaimer about the report (from the Wired article):
Lt. Commander Marc Boyd, a U.S. Special Operations Command spokesman, says the report was merely an academic exercise. “The comments are not ‘actionable’, merely thought provoking,” he tells Danger Room. “The views expressed in the article publication are entirely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views, policy or position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, USSOCOM [Special Operations Command], or the Joint Special Operations University.”
Which begs the question,”So how much did we taxpayers pay for this here merely thought provoking academic exercise?”
I guess they haven’t heard about the Pollara report that says bloggers don’t really influence anyway, they are just a source of information.
And we wonder about stalking, cyberbullying and third graders getting it in their heads to injure teachers?
Hey – there’s an idea. Maybe the military should recruit third graders.
Sigh. There are some very sick people governing some other very sick people.
Oh s**t. One of the report’s co-authors? Dorothy Denning? Was the chair of my alma mater Georgetown’s Computer Science department in the 1990s. Jeez. On the other hand, maybe we’ll get lucky and she’s as unique as Patrick Ewing.
Okay – you know what? I’m not being very nice here. I’m going to e-mail Professor Denning and see if she will speak with me. Otherwise, I’m being as bad as everyone else who I also think of as being bad.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:27 am April 3rd, 2008 in Blogging, Culture, Government, Marketing, Military, Resources, Science, Social Issues, Tech
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10 Responses to “[UPDATE] Military report: “Hiring a block of bloggers to verbally attack a specific person or promote a specific message may be worth considering””
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Logic wars? Creepy weird…. it really was not much of a battle it all took place in our minds.
Actually there are some elements on the net that really need to be taken back, like some of the conspiracy sites, paper never refuses ink, remember that.
People will lie and even believe their own lies, they will make things up and it can even get into statistics, accounting, misrepresenting abounds on the net, its the single largest source of misinformation ever.
Check it out, if I say I am an engineer with 25 years of experience, and then say that I have done complex analysis and then begin to draw conclusions. However, stop…you do not know who I am, what I could be doing is nothing more than logical manipulation. I paint myself as an expert; therefore, I validate my conclusions through logical assumptions. It’s odd if we say it in casual conversation its less, then written more, and heaven forbid it gets on a national news show…then it must be true…not necessarily.
I spent some time on some sites and the stuff was nuts, and people go to great length to validate it; it can or could be dangerous. I am ok with us taking care of it on our own I do not think the government needs to get involved, but they should monitor it and can post facts. They could have people doing research and investigating validity, why not.
I would love to see a government site that is open to comments and questions, I would have no trouble with them linking back to sites and even saying something is totally fabricated and false or to say it is entirely subjective and to get into linguistics.
Clear minded and objective, what the government’s interests…hmmm should be the same as mine, being open minded and objective. Is it a matter of opinion or is it intentionally maniacal and why, most of us do not have time to explain why, but paying people to take things apart as with respect to validity and linguistic meanings is possible it just takes time. Time is money.
The bottom line is factual and truthful, and not the concepts of “rush to air” and of course the all-important ratings.
I have at times written to editors of papers and called the producers of news shows. We all influence each other, we all should take the time to do the research, and nothing ever should make it on the news that is not fully researched. I am serious “Juicy” s old school and do not play into it, it should be dried out and or boiled down, the first source or the last analysis, which is more probably accurate.
Is the media influential, simply saying we are the most trusted name in news is manipulative. Media is evolving formed a tier and it is good but diligence is the key and time as money is a factor.
We need experts…but who are these experts, they say lets now go to our expert on the subject. You can be sure that some take time to see if the expert is on the mark or not, the issues… most if not everything is subjective.
Is it a tier? Is that subjective?
The Web is generally considered egalitarian, in that anyone can set up a Web site. In practice, however, not all nodes are equal. Indeed, the network formed by Web pages and their links to each other is often said to follow a power law, meaning that the probability that any given node (Web page) is linked to k other nodes is proportional to 1/kn for some constant n (about 2 for the Web).
I really enjoyed this:
Some Internet theorists (most notably, Howard Rheingold30) and market analysts have predicted that the plethora of choices for information consumers means that they will choose only those sources that confirm their own biases without challenging them;
I must be an exception; I am seeking objectivity and truth, I attempting to relinquish my biases. It is painful sometimes, kind of like yoga.
I recommend reading the report entirely, its very objective and very comprehensive. Albeit nothing new for me, I enjoyed it though.
A web log can be considered a micro point on the media tier, it can also be variably influential, and in some instance, the top tiers take from it. They use it as source, time is money and yours is free.
The focus of the report was on the media and recognizes the stratifications and web logs as part of that. The excerpt out of content takes it a very different direction. It gets all funky when you say who gets to define a fanatic, and misrepresented when you consider that if the government is looking into things like soldiers generating daily logs that tell to much or actual sites that proliferate actual terror.
The bottom line is they could never get march stepping in a multi layered stratified system, they built the network to be uninterruptible its inherent within it.
If you are a strong micro point then you would or could be recruited and paid to use your professional writing skills, would they encourage march stepping, propaganda? If a person is fabricating information then they are not being truthful, it would get a bit beyond subjectivity and ultimately be held accountable.
You have taken on quite a bit of responsibility; the bigger you get with your web log. Now imagine the governments and the war, they need to realize the importance of being forthright and accountable. Would I have trouble with a religious theologian that is fluent in Arabic posting something to temper the rage, a call for common sense through peace?
The web is closer to the street but it is so stratified and it is isolated. They are looking at the big dogs and looking to recruit them, they are looking mostly abroad to influence.
We are American, we like civil liberties we die for them, and we are not evil. Taking the time and energy we can find the liars and trouble makers…attempt to converse. Lets find the truth, not every closet contain a skeleton, people.
Consider this, as you rise within the media ladder does quantity surpass quality? Take care because we may only see the crack of your ass as you climb.
Links are most valid when first order,
http://www.au.af.mil/info-ops/jsou/blogbook06june.pdf
The crack of my ass? That was intended to wake me up, right?
I’ll be speaking with Prof. Denning tomorrow. I am looking forward to it. I want to know more about how Wired wrote what it did – and if they tried to speak with her.
And while I’m still awake, one thing which I mentioned to Prof. Denning when asking for an interview was something which I think you may either be ignoring or just not thinking about:
When anyone, anywhere, suggests that bloggers can be “used” for some other purposes, and that using happens, it taints us all.
Just talk to any blogger who works their tail off (or ass and its crack as the case may be) doing primary source stuff, regularly – Jeff Coryell or The WOM Blog for example. Or Meet the Bloggers.
And ask us what it’s like reading the crap about how crappy blogs are and they shouldn’t be trusted.
And ask us how long it’s taken and how many people you have to talk to who don’t get it – that there are just as many if not more valuable primary source bloggers as there are trustworthy newspapers.
So – when someone takes the leap to say that, like with the Life cereal commercial, “Let’s Get Mikey to taste it – he hates everything!”, when someone suggests, “Hey! Let’s use bloggers – they’ll do anything” – I want to know more.
Because I work MY tail off because I love to write and I love to learn but I also love spreading the word that some of us follow as stringent if not more stringent guidelines for what we post and how we talk about it.
And for anyone – LEAST OF ALL the U.S. MILITARY! – to suggest that bloggers be used and manipulated as this Wired article suggests the military has done, is abusive to those of us who work so hard to be the best provider of discussion and information we can be.
The report was interesting, and the suggestion for recruiting far fetched, not even feasible. It made me think about the mainstream media, its defined well in the report. Are they working with the media? Beyond press releases, it made me wonder.
I made assumptions in my first post off the top of my head.
The second post was after reading the entire document.
They need very intelligent objective people that can communicate well, that can communicate across language barriers. The only reason they mention web logs is the exposure. It takes time to get your hit count up, so they think.
However, they are also big on the ten pounds of gray matter, emails to the white house are screened and categorized. They have a category called profound revelations on pertinent matters.
Its not abusive Jill, the military is notoriously non-political, try to think outside of partisan manipulation, they have specific criteria that being to interrupt terrorist.
I cannot see any value in recruiting bloggers, I can see value in very through analysis though and if it defaults on a matter of opinion fine, it just can not get into planning attacks.
Many people are not looking for answers they look for people to validate what they already think, I can find 100’s or even 1000’s of web logs filled with misconceptions and those really could be infiltrated with clear minded logical thinkers.
They are looking for critical analysis; you are doing the same thing the report answers many of your questions about the role of web logs in the media. It alludes to how can it be used for greater good. Lets all pick day and find the most heinous web site and play logic police, we bring knowledge as our only weapon to break stereotypes, to inspire critical thinking. Jill do you think they would kill you if you made the program public? LOL
Oengus- are you on something, or not taking something? These are odd comments. I’ll spend more time trying to figure out how they aren’t later today but at first glance, I’m seeing the Joker’s face on them.
OK, I was trained as a PSYOP specialist for the Army and this ALL sounds like something they would absolutely try to do. Goebbels would be green with envy at the disinformation that is attempted nowadays to bring ‘freedom’ to those who resist it (at the business end of a rifle).
Remember the stories about PSYOP operatives working with CNN? Why are we so surprised?
As for your Prof Denning, DoD money corrupts academia, which acts as an arm of the Pentagon. Careers are made, homes are purchased, etc. on taxpayer money being funneled to universities in the drive for what the military calls ‘full spectrum dominance’ (google it). All in our name.
The cyberwar for your mind has been going on here and abroad for some time .
Israel’s newest PR weapon: The Internet Megaphone
The Megaphone, which was first reported on in The Jerusalem Post when it made its debut in July during the Lebanon war, alerts activists about polls and articles about Israel on the Internet and enables them to express their support or opposition by e-mail.
“An Israeli company developed a type of software that functions like a beeper from one central place. They send alerts and anyone who downloads the software gets a pop-up with links to an activity. It can be to vote for Israel in a CNN survey or react to an especially nasty article. We still have a long way to go, but this is our future.”
http://www.jpost.com
http://linkto-it.com/megaphone
It was late, and the subject matter inherently disturbing. I am not on anything or off anything, I found irony in your sarcasm though; it made me think about the death of Heath Ledger, his last role as that of the Joker and his drug related demise.
I read the entire report and wrote down my thoughts as I did, the author without a doubt considers himself a god guy. There is huge institution around Washington that feeds it, think tanks filed with Ivy League analysts. It is in part for sure corrupt, providing proof to support agendas rather than information for which to derive them.
Did you ask the professor questions Jill or did you slap his hand for going to the bad place? The publishing of this type of information and a contact name is interesting, a recruiter? You may have been part of an interview for a job you had no interest in, who knows maybe you already work for the government.
The professor could be reading this; he may be tracing my IP and then utilizing a contact at my Internet Service Provider. Checking public records on me, county medical records, court record, nothing interesting. Then the education records, a high school drop out from Cleveland public schools…then completes a degree in QBA? Hey, this guy has had over thirty different jobs in his life!
His mother just applied for US citizenship two day ago. It was nice we all went out to dinner to celebrate.
I found the content in the report that described media very good; the concept of using bloggers as convert agents to me was rubbish, yeah release some mad dogs on the net, that will be productive.
If you find your writings changes, plurals become singular, things like that its a warning that the government is in your site, I swear they keep rearranging and changing my queue for blockbuster. Maybe they are also switching them out and sending me ones that have subliminal in them. How far will people go to control other people?
I am in reality paying off the last of my dept, when done I hope to find the courage to join the peace corp., then move to Europe when finished, Erie maybe I like Cork city, or maybe Manchester England, just hate to leave my mom…once a mommies boy always a mommies boy.
BYE.
Hmm – Oengus – I did interview the professor and it’s a she, not a he. The other author was working on a dissertation and asked for Prof. Denning’s participation, to which she agreed. I haven’t had a chance yet to write up our conversation but she told me that she has been sick about how the report has been played in Wired – it was never intended for the public although she knew it was an unclassified document.
As a result of working at the USDOJ and other things I’m sure, I no doubt already have an FBI file. I spent a year in Israel on a Peace Corps-style volunteer program – again, I’m sure that generated more US gov’t documentation – I know someone was following because I was asked by a friend who was covert in the CIA at that time if I would consider applying for the CIA because at that time I spoke four language and knew a fifth well enough to be able to get back to it (English, French, Spanish, Hebrew and Chinese).
So – if they are following me, well – at least I guess it’s my own taxpayer money working, no?
You can contact Prof. Denning if you like and ask her how our conversation went – I’m not sure why you would think I’d slap anyone’s hand. I wrote what I meant in this post: I should speak to the source, since clearly Wired was vested in just one small piece of the report.
Frankly, I fault Wired more than anything – that article is completely inadequate in context, content and primary source support.
That’s why I called the professor, and I’m very glad I did – and she was very glad I did as well.
Thanks for reading and writing – I hope you’ll write less cryptic comments – but maybe this time it’s because I’m tired.