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PSYOPS: Could this meme be trying to kill you? (Using Memes for Influence Operations)

By Ben Stark on July 5, 2018 0

Well fuck me…

I just finished reading a study on ‘the Utility of Memes for U.S. Government Influence Campaigns’, released by the CNA, a nonprofit research and analysis organization.

This was probably one of the most interesting article I’ve read in months.

You would have to be living under a rock to be unaware of news about Russian information operations, and recent PSYOPS initiatives à la Cambridge Analytica; but, 

Could sharing funny memes actually be used as a form of information warfare?

The CNA suggests they could!

Read the full CNA article at this link here, or you can download a PDF version here.

I’ve summarised the articles key points here:

How Could Memes Be Used In Information Operations?

People like pictures. Images offer some advantages over text, making visual memes well-suited for influence campaigns.

  • Images are liked and shared three times more frequently than other types of online content;
  • Images increase the likelihood someone will follow instructions (people perform over 300% better with accompanying images);
  • Images significantly improve information retention.

Inoculate, infect, and treat.

CNA identified three ways memes may be situated intentionally within information and influence campaigns:

  • to inoculate,
  • to infect, and
  • to treat.

CNA identified three ways memes may be situated intentionally within information and influence campaigns:

Inoculate: To use a meme in an effort to protect against a threat or anticipated attack.

  • Example – the CNA report used a case study from Japan showing how ‘Japan is fighting ISIS with Super-Kawaii Tweets’. While the Japanese campaign provoked controversy, it was effective in undermining ISIS’s image.

Infect: To use a meme to spread a specific message—that aligns with broader mission objectives.

  • Example – Russian interference in U.S. presidential election.

  • Example – ISIS sympathizers launched Twitter Account to portray a ‘softer’ side to ISIS

Treat. To use a meme to treat an already circulating message.

  • Example – In 2015, the U.S. Embassy in Russia responded to a Russian disinformation campaign by promoting fake news about U.S. Ambassador John Tefft.

  • The U.S. embassy effectively treated the Russian attempt to infect—by turning Tefft’s image into a meme and created their own photoshopped images to mock the fake story.
Meme Translation: “Ambassador Tefft spent yesterday’s weekend at home. But thanks to Photoshop you can be anywhere.” #fake #fake

Advantages:

  • Utility. Memes have utility in information and influence campaigns to counter state actors such as Russia and non-state actors such as the Islamic State.
  • Shared Language. Memes constitute a “shared cultural language.”
  • Emotionally evocative. Research shows emotional cues are preferentially processed in the brain. –Which might explain why we scan internet articles and stop at the pictures.

Issues / Disadvantages:

  • Change behaviour. Changing attitude does not necessarily change behaviour.
  • Hard to measure. It’s hard to measure the effectiveness and success of memes for off-screen behaviour.
  • Meh Factor. They need to be relevant to the audience – and ‘stick’

Conclusion. Memes have significant potential for enhancing influence campaigns but additional research is needed to understand how to employ them effectively.

Resources:

  • Here’s the link to the full article, or you can download a PDF version here.
  • Link to the CNA homepage (they wrote the study)
  • AnalystAF – Intelligence Analyst Memes – for LOLs
  • PSYOPS – Related Article

Question:

Have you got experience working in PSYOPS? Are you part of the information operation community? If so, tell us – Do you think Memes have potential in Information Warfare? And more specifically, how could they be measured (i.e. shares, comments)?

Let us know.

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