Disinformation Handbook: A Concise Guide to Countering Disinformation (3)
Part Three: Further reading on disinformation and how to protect yourselves and others
As the Natto Team discussed previously, disinformation – the deliberate spread of false or misleading information – can do grave political, social and psychological harm to those whom it mischaracterizes and to those who are misled by it.
Part 1 provided some concepts associated with disinformation as well as tactics that information operations use.
Part 2 suggested ways you can detect disinformation and avoid being harmed or manipulated by it. It lists organizations and people who work to detect and counter disinformation and the techniques they use, including developments related to artificial intelligence.
Part 3, the present section, provides links to handbooks on disinformation and how to counter it, as well as the Natto Team’s own postings.
Natto Thoughts Reporting on Disinformation
“Putin: The Spy As Hero” discusses Russian President Vladimir Putin’s emulation of a fictional Soviet spy hero named Stierlitz. “Like Stierlitz, he has no compunctions lying to all sides, because a war is on.”
“Troll Humor.” Amidst pandemic, protests and politics in 2020, a Kremlin-linked troll farm created two opposite English-language online networks posing as left- and right-wing news sources. These networks adhered to well-documented tactics of Russian information operations, but even their names represented inside jokes. Note to self: check the acronym of any questionable organization to see if it sounds like a curse word in Russian!
“Stymied in Ukraine, Putin’s Government Resorts to Covert Sabotage and Panic-Mongering in the West.” Putin’s government wages psychological warfare against Ukraine's allies, exploiting crises ranging from bank failures to chemical disasters, in an effort to sow panic and amplify popular discontent.
“Peace Advocacy with Chinese Characteristics” looks at a progressive advocacy group that has echoed Chinese and Russian propaganda messaging.
“Setbacks in the Battle Against Disinformation.” An EU report pegged to a new law finds Russia using algorithmic manipulation, information laundering, cross-platform campaigns, and other tools in information operations.
“Shen Weiguang - Father of China’s Information Warfare Theory, Who Could not Type.” A story about Shen Weiguang and how he proposed and developed the information warfare theory in China in the 80’s and 90’s.
“US Audiences’ Selective Reception of Russian Propaganda.” A study finds “Russian narratives seem to resonate with U.S. audiences when they find common cause with domestic concerns, exploit ambiguities, and/or obfuscate highly technical topics,” particularly when they align with “broader distrust in domestic institutions.”
“Disrupt and Demoralize, Deniably,” Part 1 and Part 2, look at how Russian military hackers apparently used a seemingly hacktivist Telegram account called Solntsepek to post information they had stolen from Ukrainian entities, and considers whether Solntsepek is a sock-puppet persona or a coopted real person or group.
“Mideast Conflict and Disinformation: The Liar’s Dividend” provides discusses false and misleading information that has circulated since the Palestinian Hamas group’s October 7 attack on Israel and how they help undermine trust in genuine news.
Handbooks and Guides for Detecting and Countering Disinformation
Journalism, “Fake News” & Disinformation:Handbook for Journalism Education and Training, 2018, from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO series on journalism education) “seeks to serve as an internationally-relevant model curriculum, open to adoption or adaptation, which responds to the emerging global problem of disinformation that confronts societies in general, and journalism in particular.”
Handbook on countering disinformation at local and regional level, 2022, from the Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs, European Committee of the Regions 2022. This handbook provides “concrete recommendations and guidance to local and regional authorities in support of efforts to fight online disinformation.”
Verification Handbook for Disinformation and Media Manipulation, April 2020, from the European Journalism Centre, “draws on the knowledge and experience of top journalists and researchers to provide guidance on
how to execute investigations of digital media manipulation, disinformation and information operations.”
The Debunking Handbook 2020 provides practical tips for debunking misinformation and for “prebunking” (debunking in advance).
Tactics of Disinformation, October 18, 2022, by the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), provides a concise overview of disinformation tactics, with examples and action items.
Combatting Targeted Disinformation Campaigns: A whole-of-society issue, Part 2, August 2021, produced under the auspices of the Public-Private Analytic Exchange Program managed by the US Department of Homeland Security, recommends approaches for reducing both the supply and the demand for disinformation.
A Community Toolkit for Addressing Health Misinformation, 2021, by the US Surgeon General, provides 84 slides with basic messages about disinformation.
Disinformation Stops With You, a set of infographics from the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, provides a brief introduction to disinformation, its risks, and how to read critically.
Online Disinformation, from the government of Canada, provides extensive how-to’s for fact-checking and for spotting fake social media accounts.
Learn to Discern: Media Literacy Trainer’s Manual, developed in 2020 by the International Research and Exchanges Board, a Washington DC-based global development & education organization, provides a curriculum for trainings on understanding media and fighting misinformation.
Introduction to Foreign Influence Operations, by Alex Finley, a former officer of the CIA’s Directorate of Operations, is a course on foreign influence operations for paid subscribers.
The Media Manipulation Casebook, a project of the Technology and Social Change (TaSC) Project at Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center, is a “digital research platform linking together theory, methods, and practice for mapping media manipulation and disinformation campaigns… intended for researchers, journalists, technologists, policymakers, educators, and civil society organizers.” The Casebook is no longer updated as of September 1, 2023, due to the closure of TaSC. Archived copies also exist.
Graphic novels Real Fake and Resilience Series: Bug Bytes are among the resources that CISA provides to cultivate public resilience against mis-, dis- and mal-information (MDM), particularly in connection with foreign influence operations during US elections.
Loki’s Loop, a webpage with escape rooms and other “play-based activities for building resilience to misinformation,” from the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public.