How Do You Define a Problem Like Influence?

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  "authors": [
    "Alicia Wanless",
    "James Pamment"
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  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
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Other

How Do You Define a Problem Like Influence?

While increasing media coverage is dedicated to how information is used to influence target audiences, a common terminology for describing these activities is lacking.

By Alicia Wanless and James Pamment

Published on Dec 30, 2019

Program

Technology and International Affairs

The Technology and International Affairs Program develops insights to address the governance challenges and large-scale risks of new technologies. Our experts identify actionable best practices and incentives for industry and government leaders on artificial intelligence, cyber threats, cloud security, countering influence operations, reducing the risk of biotechnologies, and ensuring global digital inclusion.

Learn More

Project

Partnership for Countering Influence Operations

The goal of the Partnership for Countering Influence Operations (PCIO) is to foster evidence-based policymaking to counter threats in the information environment. Key roadblocks as found in our work include the lack of: transparency reporting to inform what data is available for research purposes; rules guiding how data can be shared with researchers and for what purposes; and an international mechanism for fostering research collaboration at-scale.

Learn More

Source: Journal of Information Warfare

Abstract

While increasing media coverage is dedicated to how information is used to influence target audiences, a common terminology for describing these activities is lacking. This paper offers a literature review of terms currently used by industry, government, and media related to influence operations; analyses the challenges posed by many of these definitions for use in practical policy development; and ultimately argues for a broader definition of such.

Read Full Text

This article is part of a special issue of the Journal of Information Warfare. The issue was arranged to support the launch of the Partnership for Countering Influence Operations. The seven articles in this special issue explore the phenomenon of influence operations (IO) as it has developed in recent years and make a modest but important contribution to forwarding the international debate on IO. Drawing on a mixture of conceptual, empirical, and policy-oriented approaches, the authors represent a range of academic disciplines, methodologies, and perspectives. Far from being the final word, it is hoped that the articles in this collection will stimulate and stake out future directions for further research. For more information, please click here.

About the Authors

Alicia Wanless

Senior Fellow, Technology and International Affairs, Director, Information Environment Project

Alicia is the director of the Information Environment Project and the author of The Information Animal: Humans, Technology and the Competition for Reality. Alicia was a technical advisor to the Aspen Institute’s Commission on Information Disorder and is a founding member of its Global Cybersecurity Group.

James Pamment

Former Nonresident Scholar, Technology and International Affairs Program

James Pamment was a nonresident scholar in the Technology and International Affairs Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Political Reform Security Foreign Policy Technology Iran

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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