propaganda

Each presidential election year, a slew of celebrities come out in support of their candidate of choice, drawing attention to their political causes from some, and harsh criticism from others.  Without exception, each celebrity political endorsement eventually leads to a single argument, however: why should we care what some actor thinks? Despite the inherent logic […]

According to experts, North Korea appears to have doctored the images released of their latest missile launch, depicting their most advanced missile platform to date, the Hwasong-15.  Oddly, it wasn’t the missile itself that appears to have been the subject of the image manipulation, but the backdrop. North Korea has a long history of manipulating […]

Over the years, I’ve done a fair amount of traveling, both in uniform as a U.S. Marine and on my own accord, and although this may sound a little too much like a meme you might find on Tumblr, those experiences have indeed granted me a bit of perspective.   No, it wasn’t about the deeper […]

I lay prone next to a wooden shed, my M16A2 up at the ready. In my sights was a lone enemy figure, some 50 yards away who had just entered my field of view. I bring up the rifle to quickly line up my rear sight with my front sight post. The sights bobbed just […]

In many ways, the modern media landscape goes out of its way to ensure your average person doesn’t really know for sure what type of diet is good for them.  Diet fads are a multi-billion-dollar a year industry, and they invest quite a bit of money into keeping the “secret” to shedding excess weight seem […]

Many within the United States have focused their attention on Russia’s social media based misinformation campaigns as of late. However, it’s important to understand that the online effort to persuade and divide the American people throughout and after the 2016 presidential election is far from an isolated aspect of the nation’s overarching foreign policy.  In […]

Although senior North Korean officials have publicly stated that the nation’s Supreme Leader, Kim Jong Un, refuses to participate in diplomatic talks with the United States until after they have confirmed their ability to hit America’s east coast with a nuclear strike, reports from the region seem to indicate that North Korean officials have begun […]

Hamza bin Laden, son of former Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, released an audio message through the terror network’s media arm on Tuesday, encouraging violence against the United States and their allies. Hamza reportedly urged followers to “rise in rebellion… against the agents of the Americans,” and to “incite the masses… until the preparations […]

In one of the first stops on a major visit with European allies, Secretary of Defense James Mattis praised U.S.-Finnish ties and Finland’s president for spearheading a response to Russian “hybrid warfare.” “With this center, Finland has created an institution fit for our time, and I thank you, Mr. President, for your foresight.” Mattis said […]

Testifying before Congress on Tuesday, representatives from major social media and technology companies Facebook, Google and Twitter said Russian influence activities surrounding the 2016 election were more pronounced than previously reported. Despite earlier claims of minimal exposure, Facebook now says that Russian propaganda and misinformation efforts may have reached up to 126 million users worldwide. […]

As we discussed in Part 3, the domestic home front became a battle for ideas and slogans as the Roosevelt administration pushed the nation to get ready for war. FDR established the Office of Coordinator of Information (COI), based on the directions of Colonel William Donovan. Col Donovan spent considerable time with British officials, and […]

A great deal of attention has been paid to outwardly directed influence campaigns mounted by world governments in recent months.  At the forefront of the public’s attention has been Russia, due to their efforts to influence voters leading up to the 2016 Presidential election, and following efforts to sow discord within the American people in […]