A specificity of present-day propaganda and Psywar is the ability to use modern technology. Artificial intelligence enables to generate texts in languages that propagandists do not know. In particular, the Russians were able to reprogram the software for computer-aided translation from Russian to Ukrainian with fewer errors than it had at the beginning of the conflict. The example below shows how it looks like.
At the moment, after the program modification, we can observe a result that will force government systems to look for a way out of this situation. So, the example below shows how the Russian PSYOP units are using an information occasion to disinform and sow discord in the Ukrainian society. As you can see, the audience reach and the absence of errors in the message itself make it possible to manipulate people by providing them with the context needed. So, this information operation has a success.
But modern technology also allows for manipulation through voice and video alteration. For example, a video was shared where an Ukrainian soldier allegedly signed a contract with the Israeli army in exchange for citizenship. The goal is obvious and simple: to sow discord between Ukraine and the Global South countries, while relations have already left much to be desired after the Gaza war began.
But this is not the only thing the enemy is limited to. In addition to the above articles, the Russians tried to sow discord through the modification of the video with Zaluzhnyi, the Commander-in-Chief, where he allegedly calls for a military coup. Against the background of a number of publications in the media and tragic accidents, people would believe that there is a significant and dangerous conflict between the government and the military. Unexperienced people who know a little about this issue can’t distinguish between what is a fake and what is not. After all, the computer makes the voice indistinguishable from the real one, and the lip movement is natural.
It results in a dilemma regarding the control of online information and issues of censorship in societies which are under the influence of psychological operations but not under a state of war.
The resolution of these issues is complex due to the possibility of raising the questions of how far free speech can go and how to control such processes on the Internet.
There is no bloodless and simple solution to this issue, but the sooner it can be found, the more likely it is that the enemy will not be able to successfully conduct its information operations.
Author: Hlib Parfionow
Public task financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland within thegrant comp etition “Public Diplomacy 2023”