Part 1: Armenian Communities Under Fire Understanding Information Warfare

· September 15, 2025

The following is the first in a series of public service announcements to raise awareness concerning the rising tide of information warfare and its effects on our communities.

What Is Information Warfare?

Information Warfare involves the deliberate use and control of information to mislead, divide, or manipulate people and influence political or social outcomes. Information Warfare may be waged by nations or non-state actors alike. It undermines public trust, disrupts communication, and can demobilize people by making them cynical, apathetic, and less inclined to act or believe anything.

Information Warfare is not new, with historical examples dating back to ancient times and significantly evolving with the printing press, 19th-century yellow journalism, and early 20th-century propaganda. In today’s digital age, where information moves at lightning speed, Information Warfare has become more dangerous and far-reaching.

“Understanding Information Warfare is essential to protecting communities and democratic systems.”

Key Tactics Used in Information Warfare

Unlike traditional warfare with physical boundaries, Information Warfare operates globally at minimal cost, targeting beliefs, emotions, and perceptions through various media. Information Warfare relies on a diverse set of sophisticated tools and tactics, which leverage the speed and scale of the digital age while drawing on age-old propaganda techniques.

● Disinformation vs. Misinformation: This involves spreading false or misleading content, often strategically. While “disinformation” typically refers to intentionally false content and “misinformation” to unintentionally false content, these terms are often used interchangeably or become ambiguous and partisan. Even true content can be weaponized or used strategically to build credibility.

● Propaganda: The intentional dissemination of information or ideas, normal seeming or emotional, with the purpose of shaping public opinion or influencing convictions.

● Algorithmic Amplification: This tactic leverages platforms’ algorithms with bot-driven activity to amplify specific messages that can amass millions of views and likes through coordinated efforts.

● Cyberattacks: Beyond direct information dissemination, Information Warfare also involves breaching networks, stealing data, or disrupting IT infrastructure and communication networks. The consequences of such attacks include blacking out communication networks.

● “Fire Hose of Falsehood” or “Flood the Zone”: The goal of these tactics is to flood channels with so much misleading information that people give up on finding the truth.This is a particularly aggressive tactic that involves scattering so many lies, exaggerations, half-truths, and conspiracy theories, through numerous channels simultaneously, that it overwhelms people’s cognitive defenses. Fact-checkers and traditional media often cannot keep up, as by the time two falsehoods are debunked, ten more are introduced. This strategy prioritizes bewilderment over persuasion.

Other Tactics to Know

● Narrative Control: Using emotionally powerful stories to reshape beliefs.

● Repetition: The more often a statement is repeated, the more likely people are to believe it, even if the repetition is part of an attempt to debunk it.

● Reversal: Flipping accusations back onto others.

● Attention Hijacking or “Trolling”: This is the act of hijacking attention through offensive behavior. Directly assaulting reputations or violating norms to consume others’ mental energy, often through outlandish and insulting behavior online.

● Conspiracism: Sowing doubt with vague questions or suggestions.

● Consensus Spoofing: Making fringe ideas look mainstream to influence broader opinion. Examples include using bot-driven activity, and leveraging search engine optimization and influencers.

● AI and Deepfakes: These are viewed as “force multipliers” for existing social dynamics, lowering the barrier to entry for spreading harmful content. AI’s ability to generate convincing, yet sometimes hallucinatory, content can decrease general belief in all content, as it becomes harder to distinguish real from fake.

● Strategic Use of Traditional Channels: Using media or politics to amplify disinformation. Think tanks, blogs, radio shows, and official statements can all be instrumental in a broader ideological battle.

Furthermore, politicians can use lawsuits to drive messages and test networks for disinformation campaigns.

These tools are not merely isolated techniques; they are often combined and deployed in a sustained, cumulative process that builds influence over time and can be used for rapid amplification when needed.

Learning about and identifying Information Warfare tactics are crucial because it equips our communities to understand and resist deliberate attempts to manipulate narratives, beliefs, and emotions.