Russian Deception Delays Strategic Decisions, General Says | Military.com: This spring, the Army published the Russia New Generation Warfare Study, a detailed look at current and future Russian warfare technology, informed in part by surreptitious visits to the front lines in Ukraine.
But one significant Russian threat doesn't involve advanced technology, and it's having a creeping influence on civilian circles as well as operational spheres, military experts said Wednesday at the annual meeting of the Association of the United States Army in Washington, D.C.
While the "little green men" surreptitiously deployed by Russia during the 2014 annexation of Crimea are perhaps the best example of Russian tactical deception, a widespread Russian information warfare operation that permeates even social media and American political discussion is having its own effect, they said.
Peter W. Singer, a strategist at the New America Foundation, said Russian efforts to infiltrate social media to sow misinformation and discord were having an effect, with polling showing Americans were less likely to believe their vote for president would be counted fairly and that they were less certain about whether to view Russian President Vladimir Putin as friend or foe.
"It's now playing out in the presidential campaign," Singer said. "[Russian] people either trying to appear as fans of a particular political candidate and get more attention, or they appear as fans of a political candidate and do something awful. The goal in all of this is not to make people love Russia, to love Putin. It is, simply put, classic information warfare to disrupt and create distrust."
