Firehose of falsehood: Difference between revisions
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* [https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PE198.html The Russian “Firehose of Falsehood” Propaganda Model] | * [https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PE198.html The Russian “Firehose of Falsehood” Propaganda Model] | ||
* [[Pekka Kallioniemi]], “[https://twitter.com/P_Kallioniemi/status/1654061488040992774 In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll be talking about the Russian style of online propaganda and disinformation, “Firehose of Falsehood”. It’s a commonly used Kremlin strategy for Russian information operations, which often prioritizes quantity over quality.]”, May 4, 2023 ([https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1654061488040992774.html thread]) ([https://liberpedia.net/threads/Pekka-Kallioniemi-Firehose-of-Falsehood.pdf pdf]) | * [[Pekka Kallioniemi]], “[https://twitter.com/P_Kallioniemi/status/1654061488040992774 In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll be talking about the Russian style of online propaganda and disinformation, “Firehose of Falsehood”. It’s a commonly used Kremlin strategy for Russian information operations, which often prioritizes quantity over quality.]”, May 4, 2023 ([https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1654061488040992774.html thread]) ([https://liberpedia.net/threads/Pekka-Kallioniemi-Firehose-of-Falsehood.pdf pdf]) ([https://trinitymedia.ai/player/share/b3b916945246ffa8201a209cb13e6b29231c audio]) ([https://vatniksoup.com/en/soups/169 website]) | ||
* [https://twitter.com/DietmarPichler1/status/1681738210148249600 15 rules of Russian disinformation🧵] | |||
== Destroy and ridicule the idea of truth == | == Destroy and ridicule the idea of truth == | ||
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* [[Roman Skaskiw]], “[https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/nine-lessons-of-russian-propaganda Nine Lessons of Russian Propaganda]”, 2016: “3. Destroy and ridicule the idea of truth. Many people, including Peruvian statesman and Nobel Prize winning author [[Mario Vargo Llosa]], have observed that Russian propaganda destroys meaning.” | * [[Roman Skaskiw]], “[https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/nine-lessons-of-russian-propaganda Nine Lessons of Russian Propaganda]”, 2016: “3. Destroy and ridicule the idea of truth. Many people, including Peruvian statesman and Nobel Prize winning author [[Mario Vargo Llosa]], have observed that Russian propaganda destroys meaning.” | ||
* [[Roman Skaskiw]], “[https://twitter.com/shchedri/status/1719372693219270850 Westerners STILL don't understand. The goal isn't to convince you. It's absurdity -- to make nothing true, and ridicule anyone who attempts to discover truth. Only in such a polluted environment, are the whims of their Czar supreme, and the darkness of their history palpable.]” | |||
* [[Jan Krepelka]], “[https://laissez-faire.ch/en/articles/libertarianism-is-against-aggression-5/ Libertarianism is against aggression (5)]”, 2022, “Libertarianism is the opposite of nihilism” | * [[Jan Krepelka]], “[https://laissez-faire.ch/en/articles/libertarianism-is-against-aggression-5/ Libertarianism is against aggression (5)]”, 2022, “Libertarianism is the opposite of nihilism” | ||
* [https://twitter.com/PetrSimon_/status/1584282882876768256 Don’t forget the main russian propaganda technique: when spreading their blatant lies, they don’t expect you to believe them. They want you to believe nothing. This makes you apathetic and unable to form firm opinions or take decisive action. Then they can take their own actions.] | |||
* [https://twitter.com/InfoAgeStrategy/status/1757419239474966998 That's the thing about disinformation campaigns: The facts don't matter. Seriously, they don't. Russia has been the world leader in disinformation campaigns since the 1920s. (That is, by the way, a demonstrable fact -- not just my personal opinion.) The purpose of a disinformation campaign is not to get you to believe the lie; it is to get you to believe no one.] | |||
== [[Bothsidesism]] and [[whataboutism]] == | == [[Bothsidesism]] and [[whataboutism]] == | ||
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The goal of russian propaganda with the [[firehose of falsehood]] is not to prove that [[russia]] is right, or that russia are the “good guys”. Indeed, they admit they’re not. The goal is to ''instill doubt'' about who the good guys are, or that there can be any, by ''creating confusion, chaos, complexity''. [[russia]] might be bad, sure, ''but what about''... | The goal of russian propaganda with the [[firehose of falsehood]] is not to prove that [[russia]] is right, or that russia are the “good guys”. Indeed, they admit they’re not. The goal is to ''instill doubt'' about who the good guys are, or that there can be any, by ''creating confusion, chaos, complexity''. [[russia]] might be bad, sure, ''but what about''... | ||
A case in point is the inviting, by russia, of [[Roger Waters]] to speak ''on their behalf'' at the United Nations. He didn’t deny russian aggression, that would be too obvious, too ridiculous, ''and would not convince anyone to switch sides anyway''. But... let’s add some lies to water it down: “The invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation was illegal. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms. Also, the Russian invasion of Ukraine was not unprovoked. So, I also condemn the provocateurs in the strongest possible terms.” See, all of sudden, the [[russian invasion of Ukraine]] is still wrong... but not so bad! (How exactly does someone go about “provoking” a genocidal invasion? No need to worry about that!) | A case in point is the inviting, by russia, of [[Roger Waters]] to speak ''on their behalf'' at the United Nations. He didn’t deny russian aggression, that would be too obvious, too ridiculous, ''and would not convince anyone to switch sides anyway''. But... let’s add some lies to water it down: “The invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation was illegal. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms. Also, the Russian invasion of Ukraine was not unprovoked. So, I also condemn the provocateurs in the strongest possible terms.” See, all of a sudden, the [[russian invasion of Ukraine]] is still wrong... but not so bad! (How exactly does someone go about “provoking” a genocidal invasion, “provoking” the bombing of restaurants and shopping centers, “provoking” the rapes and torture chambers? No need to worry about that!) | ||
It might be hard to deny that [[Wagner]] are nazis or terrorists, or that russia is a corrupt, dictatorial regime, but what if instead there’s doubt about [[Ukraine]] having some issues too? Nobody’s perfect, right? Doesn’t even need to be proved, ''instilling doubt'' is enough in order to push for questioning [[US support for Ukraine]]. [[Bothsidesism]] is much easier to achieve than altering the truth: since no regime is ever flawless, as long as the [[firehose of falsehood]] can create reasonable doubt through information overload, why support either side in the conflict? And that’s all that russia needs: not for the West to support russia, but merely for the West to '''stop helping russia’s victims'''. | It might be hard to deny that [[Wagner]] are nazis or terrorists, or that russia is a corrupt, dictatorial regime, but what if instead there’s doubt about [[Ukraine]] having some issues too? Nobody’s perfect, right? Doesn’t even need to be proved, ''instilling doubt'' is enough in order to push for questioning [[US support for Ukraine]]. [[Bothsidesism]] is much easier to achieve than altering the truth: since no regime is ever flawless, as long as the [[firehose of falsehood]] can create reasonable doubt through information overload, why support either side in the conflict? And that’s all that russia needs: not for the West to support russia, but merely for the West to '''stop helping russia’s victims'''. | ||
Latest revision as of 10:28, 13 February 2024
- Pekka Kallioniemi, “In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll be talking about the Russian style of online propaganda and disinformation, “Firehose of Falsehood”. It’s a commonly used Kremlin strategy for Russian information operations, which often prioritizes quantity over quality.”, May 4, 2023 (thread) (pdf) (audio) (website)
Destroy and ridicule the idea of truth
“ The “firehose of falsehood” works not just by flooding voters with misinformation. It’s a “say anything, but don’t forget to say everything” model. You broadcast so many different messages that at least one will matter a LOT to a given voter. And they can contradict one another.
The Firehose of Falsehood: the Russian style of propaganda for an age of information abundance.
- High volume and multi-channel approach
- Shameless in its willingness to broadcast lies
- No commitment to, or requirement for consistency
- Rapid, continuous and repetitive messaging
- Point is not to persuade but to confuse and overwhelm
- Assumes a low trust environment and lowers it further
- Number of arguments matters more than their quality
- Drown out competing messages through sheer volume
- — Jay Rosen [1]
- Roman Skaskiw, “Nine Lessons of Russian Propaganda”, 2016: “3. Destroy and ridicule the idea of truth. Many people, including Peruvian statesman and Nobel Prize winning author Mario Vargo Llosa, have observed that Russian propaganda destroys meaning.”
- Roman Skaskiw, “Westerners STILL don't understand. The goal isn't to convince you. It's absurdity -- to make nothing true, and ridicule anyone who attempts to discover truth. Only in such a polluted environment, are the whims of their Czar supreme, and the darkness of their history palpable.”
- Jan Krepelka, “Libertarianism is against aggression (5)”, 2022, “Libertarianism is the opposite of nihilism”
Bothsidesism and whataboutism
“ russia is not squeaky clean. russia is what it is. And we are not ashamed of showing who we are.
- — Sergey Lavrov, “Lavrov: Russia is not squeaky clean and not ashamed”, 17 June 2022
The goal of russian propaganda with the firehose of falsehood is not to prove that russia is right, or that russia are the “good guys”. Indeed, they admit they’re not. The goal is to instill doubt about who the good guys are, or that there can be any, by creating confusion, chaos, complexity. russia might be bad, sure, but what about...
A case in point is the inviting, by russia, of Roger Waters to speak on their behalf at the United Nations. He didn’t deny russian aggression, that would be too obvious, too ridiculous, and would not convince anyone to switch sides anyway. But... let’s add some lies to water it down: “The invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation was illegal. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms. Also, the Russian invasion of Ukraine was not unprovoked. So, I also condemn the provocateurs in the strongest possible terms.” See, all of a sudden, the russian invasion of Ukraine is still wrong... but not so bad! (How exactly does someone go about “provoking” a genocidal invasion, “provoking” the bombing of restaurants and shopping centers, “provoking” the rapes and torture chambers? No need to worry about that!)
It might be hard to deny that Wagner are nazis or terrorists, or that russia is a corrupt, dictatorial regime, but what if instead there’s doubt about Ukraine having some issues too? Nobody’s perfect, right? Doesn’t even need to be proved, instilling doubt is enough in order to push for questioning US support for Ukraine. Bothsidesism is much easier to achieve than altering the truth: since no regime is ever flawless, as long as the firehose of falsehood can create reasonable doubt through information overload, why support either side in the conflict? And that’s all that russia needs: not for the West to support russia, but merely for the West to stop helping russia’s victims.
More
- Putin targets lots of Americans with disinformation. One example? Anti-vaccine groups: “anti-vaccine groups that are already skeptical of the U.S. government are now primed to disbelieve the official U.S. government narrative around Ukraine.”
