Russian Info, Cyber and Disinformation (Catch all till 2017)

[OUTLAW 09]

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinio...on/515438.html

Fully agree---disinformation and fakes are always best countered with the facts--- nothing but the facts even if sometimes the facts are critical to the country stating them.

Most people say outside of Russia tend to be open to listening and then making up their minds---for Russia the old RT theory of give me a crowd and a camera and I will give you a revolution sadly still holds true even to today.

[kaur]

Ukrainians have made this small video to show how Russian media makes story. Video shows first Komsomolskaya Pravda (one of the most active newspaper/internet TV-channel made story with tears, dramatic music, old people, all cursing Proroshekno; and then shows rebels attacking the same city the refuges are from and covered by Russian Channel Rossiya1.

Video is in Russian.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rT4OBWx1yU

[OUTLAW 09]

Russia's Foreign Propaganda Curbed by Recession | Opinion | The Moscow Times http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinio...on/515438.html …

[OUTLAW 09]

Russian propaganda tells stories about Ukrainian nazis showing video from Russian march in Moscow via @tw_nd_1984 pic.twitter.com/1DNgO3IJMh

Some of the most effective weapons in the Russia-Ukraine war aren’t guns or artillery, they’re words. http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/201502040709-0024536 …

#Russia #Lienews claims "#Ukraine selling #NATO weapons to #Syria", based on fake letter published on by "someone": http://lifenews.ru/news/149465

[AdamG]

Washington (CNN)Russian hackers behind the damaging cyber intrusion of the State Department in recent months used that perch to penetrate sensitive parts of the White House computer system, according to U.S. officials briefed on the investigation.

To get to the White House, the hackers first broke into the State Department, investigators believe.

The State Department computer system has been bedeviled by signs that despite efforts to lock them out, the Russian hackers have been able to reenter the system. One official says the Russian hackers have "owned" the State Department system for months and it is not clear the hackers have been fully eradicated from the system.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/07/politi...-wh/index.html

Oops.

[kaur]

Anatomy of an Info-War: How Russia’s Propaganda Machine Works, and How to Counter It

Tactics of Rebuttal: The 4D Approach

- Dismiss
- Distort
- Distract
- Dismay

Conclusion: Beating the Machine

So Russia’s propaganda machine is powerful, well-oiled and well-financed; but as appears from this analysis, it is both repetitive and predictable. Its tools are a black-and-white narrative; a reactive policy based on the four Ds of dismiss, distort, distract, dismay; and a carefully-groomed set of commentators amplified and publicized by the Kremlin’s media.

Daunting though the task is, the predictability makes it possible for the West to respond. Some steps have already been taken, including the creation of a NATO centre for strategic communications in Latvia, and the incubation of an EU outreach program to Russian speakers. However, such initiatives provide a channel for communication; they do not in themselves define what those channels should say. The analysis above suggests that Western communications, and especially those in Central and Eastern Europe, should focus on developing four key themes in their communications approach:

1. A compelling narrative

2. Identification of the Russian tactics

3. Predicting attack

4. Exposing the Kremlin’s support network

http://www.cepolicy.org/publications...how-counter-it

[kaur]

The devil is in the details. Information warfare in the light of Russia's military doctrine
POINT OF VIEW
2015-05-19
Jolanta Darczewska

By highlighting informational threats and giving them a military dimension, the authors of the Russian Federation's military doctrine have outlined the concept of information warfare. It is a kind of combat conducted by both conventional and indirect methods, open and concealed, using military and civilian structures. It has two dimensions: broader ("non-nuclear containment", i.e. combat waged on various levels - political, economic, diplomatic, humanitarian, military) and narrower (as an element supporting of action).

An analysis of these issues enables us to identify several rising trends over the period 2000-2014 in Russian security policy. These boil down to a blurring of the boundaries between internal and external threats, introducing non-military methods and organisational structures to armed combat, and conferring an ideological character on this combat. This leads to a blurring of the contours of inter-state conflicts, which allows Russia to take part in armed conflicts in which it is not officially a party.

http://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/...itary-doctrine

[kaur]

Spiegel's interview with former troll.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: What platforms are the St. Petersburg trolls using?

Savchuk: I have personally seen the following: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Livejournal.com as well as the Russian networks VK.com and Odnoklassniki. The targets also include the discussion areas on all major news sites and the forums of the websites of cities in the Russian provinces. A colleague of mine posted primarily in forums in Saratov and Engels, two cities along the Volga River. I worked on Livejournal blogs, which are very popular in Russia.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Is the work just done in Russia-language forums, or are there employees who write in English or German?

Savchuk: Most work in Russian, but I know that some also write English posts. Ukrainian also plays a major role. I also heard about German, but not in this building.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Do you have evidence that other troll houses exist?

Savchuk: Yes. The branch office in St. Petersburg is simply the one that has been best researched. A few colleagues reported about work trips to a Moscow office. There is also information about a further, highly secretive building in St. Petersburg.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...a-1036539.html

[kaur]

NYT troll factory ivestigation in St Petersburg.

The Agency

From a nondescript office building in St. Petersburg, Russia, an army of well-paid “trolls” has tried to wreak havoc all around the Internet — and in real-life American communities.

By ADRIAN CHENJUNE 2, 2015

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/ma...he-agency.html

[kaur]

"Soviet Active Measures (in Western Europe)" presentation by Robert Gates to US congress in 1985.

http://www.loc.gov/law/find/nominati...17_excerpt.pdf

What has changed?

Good to see that Joe Biden was among the audience.

[kaur]

Putin’s Magnificent Messaging Machine

By pretending to be real news, RT is much better than your grandfather’s Soviet propaganda.
By Casey Michel
08/25/15,

In trying to create a likeness of Soviet power, Vladimir Putin is doing one thing demonstrably better than the Kremlin masters of old: propaganda. During the Cold War Soviet outlets like Pravda would disseminate outlandish claims so crass and obviously false that even true comrades turned the page or flipped the channel (and there were a lot fewer channels then). Today the Kremlin-funded RT, with its lineup of conspiracy cranks, slanted reportage and ceaseless assaults on Western institutions, has ended end up as the most-watched network on YouTube. Backed with budget approaching $450 million in 2014, RT now acts as the tip of the Kremlin’s information warfare machine, an agglomeration that seeks to undermine both notions of journalism and faith in the workings of liberal democracy.

http://www.politico.com/magazine/sto...4#.Vd4qPMRXerV

[kaur]

Behind Russia’s TV propaganda machine

Fascists in Ukraine, enemies in America: it’s staple fare on Russia’s state-controlled television. A study reveals the effectiveness of Putin’s propaganda machine.

http://www.dw.com/en/behind-russias-...ine/a-18689297

Interesting video about Putin's team during his first presidential elections. Most of those guys are very famous now Medvedev is PM, Surkov is leading effort against Ukraine, Ivanov is head of administration, Fradkov is boss of foreign intelligence service etc. One interesting guy appears at 0:37. He is Mikhail Lesin, who is one of the main builders of TV front.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PX7...E&spfreload=10

About Lesin in Russian.

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Лесин,_Михаил_Юрьевич

He seems to like America in his special way

http://www.rferl.org/content/lesin-w.../25477122.html

[kaur]

Czech Security Information Service says Russia is building new Komintern in their year report.

In general, Russian and pro-Russian propaganda in the Czech Republic and other EU member states is aimed not only against the integrity of the EU and NATO. It is assessed that Russia is creating a structure in Europe drawing on the concept of the Comintern (the Communist International; the Third International) founded by the Soviet Union. This structure is ideologically based on Dugin’s expansionist Neo-Eurasianism2 (which is in a way acceptable to all European political parties, from left-wing extremists and populists to right-wing extremists).

The Comintern was founded in Moscow in 1919 with the goal of protecting the Soviet Union by exporting the revolution to neighboring states, i.e. weakening potential enemies by internal disputes and creating a buffer zone of befriended (or more precisely subordinated) states around the Soviet Union. The Comintern became a tool used for promoting Soviet influence and interests beyond the borders of the Soviet Union by controlling communist parties abroad (in 1928 the Comintern had 580 000 foreign members), spreading propaganda3, covertly financing communist parties abroad4, and by serving as an important and successful espionage platform. The Comintern employed skillful Soviet intelligence officers (e.g. acting under cover as academics or journalists) who recruited young people (especially students with the potential of pursuing a career as civil servants or politicians) helping Soviet espionage activities. The recruiters exploited the ideological naivety, zeal or activism of the young people they targeted. The recruits were not requested to spy against their country, but asked to help in the fight against Fascism (Nazism, Imperialism, etc.) – a relevant issue even today with Fascism, Nazism and Imperialism joined by anti-American, anti-NATO and anti-EU sentiments. The current international, political and societal climate is very close to that of the 1930’s – the golden era of the Comintern5.

It is assessed that the functioning and administration of the new reincarnation of the Comintern (NRI) is not as strict (almost military-like) as in the case of the original Comintern. However, this does not mean the NRI has lesser propaganda and espionage capabilities than the Comintern. The NRI being a more liberal and activist platform is attractive for today’s Western activists (with pro-Russian stances or fighting against the system – USA, NATO, EU, globalization, multiculturalism, liberalism, capitalism, etc.). Even though the NRI does not have the capability of creating a traditional espionage network (agent – handler – the center) as was the case of the Comintern, it has great potential for recruiting active informants.

http://www.bis.cz/vyrocni-zpravaEN6c...eID=1096#pozn1

[kaur]

One interesting study by Baltic journalists about Russian political warfare in their homelands.

Kremlin's Millions

With one hand, Kremlin strangles non-governmental organizations in Russia. With another, it generously supports the defenders of its interests in the Baltics.

http://www.rebaltica.lv/en/investiga..._millions.html

[kaur]

FAILING MISSION
PUTIN’S PROPAGANDA TV LIES ABOUT ITS POPULARITY
BY KATIE ZAVADSKI 09.17.15

A Kremlin-funded foreign propaganda venture is touted as a big success by backers, but documents provided to The Daily Beast suggest that it is woefully failing in its mission. RT, the 10-year-old network formerly known as Russia Today, appears to be misrepresenting its promulgated success at gaining a broad viewership and promoting the Kremlin’s agenda while spending as much as internationally renowned competitors. The network is also accused of exaggerating its audience and impact with its sole financier—the Russian government—and pretending that it has had a far bigger impact in the Western media sphere than it has, particularly online. Its highest-trafficked videos on YouTube, for instance, apparently pertain to “metrosexuals, bums, etc.” rather than anything political.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...t-ratings.html

[kaur]

Putin's Information War in Ukraine. Soviet Origins of Russia's Hybrid Warfare.

By Maria Snegovaya

http://www.understandingwar.org/site...0Warfare_1.pdf

[kaur]

Information at War: From China’s Three Warfares to NATO’s Narratives [PDF]

By Laura Jackson, Timothy Thomas, Mark Laity and Ben Nimmo

September 2015

http://www.li.com/activities/publica...o-s-narratives

[SWJ Blog]

In Syria, Russian Media Take a Page from US Playbook

Entry Excerpt:



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Read the full post and make any comments at the SWJ Blog.
This forum is a feed only and is closed to user comments.

[kaur]

November 3, 2015

Russian propaganda and the Putin regime.

In a testimony at 2:30pm before the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Russia expert Leon Aron will discuss the importance of Russian propaganda to the Putin regime.

http://www.aei.org/press/russian-pro...-putin-regime/

[kaur]

Germans feel the heat.

The Hybrid War: Russia's Propaganda Campaign Against Germany


By Melanie Amann, Markus Becker, Benjamin Bidder, Hubert Gude, Konstantin von Hammerstein, Alexej Hock, Christiane Hoffmann, Martin Knobbe, Peter Maxwill, Peter Mller, Gordon Repinski, Sven Rbel, Anna Sadovnikova, Matthias Schepp, Jrg Schindler, Christoph Schult

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...a-1075483.html