Psychological Operations • Hacker News Board

Re: Psychological Operations

#11

Post by jason-phillips » Wed, Mar 02, 2022, 11:32 PM UTC

> ask me (almost!) anything

How well were you able to leverage automation and the internet to scale the effectiveness of your mission?

Re: Psychological Operations

#12

Post by TeeMassive » Wed, Mar 02, 2022, 11:33 PM UTC

Did you notice an increase of techniques or pattern usually related to PsyOps (no matter from which side) during the weeks leading to the Ukraine invasion?

Re: Psychological Operations

#13

Post by sam1r » Wed, Mar 02, 2022, 11:34 PM UTC

Do you have an email we can ask questions directly? Thank you for making yourself available.

Re: Psychological Operations

#14

Post by csa » Wed, Mar 02, 2022, 11:35 PM UTC

Not op, and I don’t know his answer, but…

The most interesting stuff falls into the “almost!” category.

Re: Psychological Operations

#15

Post by boston_clone » Wed, Mar 02, 2022, 11:39 PM UTC

Truthfully, almost no benefit at all, although I've been out of the military for some time now. Obviously there are military networks (e.g. SIPRNET) used to transmit resources / info between units and locations, but that's about the extent of it.

My experiences in Afghanistan were almost entirely on-ground, working directly with local village leaders and OGAs (i.e. other governmental organizations, such as USAID). Perhaps unsurprisingly, direct communication with people provides the best avenue for learning / sharing / influencing. Most of the media we disseminated (whether print or radio) was purpose-made for various objectives like decreasing the prevalence of IEDs.

Re: Psychological Operations

#16

Post by boston_clone » Wed, Mar 02, 2022, 11:40 PM UTC

I remain a believer in open information as much as possible. However, if you feel you have a question that isn't suitable for other people to read publicly, I likely won't be able to answer it privately, sorry!

Re: Psychological Operations

#17

Post by boston_clone » Wed, Mar 02, 2022, 11:48 PM UTC

At a purely definitive level, no. PsyOp cannot create a campaign (i.e. a coordinated approach to influence with objectives, timelines, etc.) with US citizens as an intended audience, but there truly isn't much difference between public relations / mass communication and some core PsyOp procedures.

That said, I think our intelligence community and executive branch did an incredible job of establishing themselves as a high-credibility source from even before the invasion, allowing them to easily counter propaganda sponsored by Russia or whomever else. In my opinion, honest communication and appeals to morality / humanity will always remain effective.

Re: Psychological Operations

#18

Post by wolverine876 » Wed, Mar 02, 2022, 11:50 PM UTC

I don't know psyops well, but I do know just a little about small unit tactics, and I've noticed that certain groups seem to use, at a level sophisticated enough to clearly indicate they know what they are doing, the public information equivalent of the small unit tactics - complementary effects, reinforcing effects, fixing the enemy, the focus on offense and movement, etc.

Is that a fair description of psyops - the information equivalent of more 'physical' tactics? How do they differ? Also, do you notice groups - political groups, companies, governments, etc. - using psyops outside military contexts?

Re: Psychological Operations

#19

Post by throwaway10242 » Wed, Mar 02, 2022, 11:56 PM UTC

How much warfare is currently happening on social media sites, nationally operated or otherwise?

Are sites like 4chan, facebook, reddit or twitter very influenced by governmental PsyOp operations, national or foreign?

To the average bloke like me it would seem like discussions on these pages are being "managed" A LOT, but i could not tell if that is the effects of standard propaganda on the population like the news or from deliberate/strategic postings.

Obviously the phrasing of my question is limited to platforms that operate in my known languages, but the question applies in a general sense to all social media platforms.

As many of us know, one of the most successful PsyOp propaganda tactics is that of controlled dissent. Funding organizations that present a fashionable yet controlled form of dissent in order to sway public opinion. How much of that is from private actors like Soros, Buffet, Gates, etc and how much is Govt funded? The state defends the interests of those with power, so is there a lot of overlap or is there a lot of internal disagreements?

Re: Psychological Operations

#20

Post by carabiner » Wed, Mar 02, 2022, 11:57 PM UTC

How do you feel about psyops deployed domestically, against US citizens? For example, there currently appear to be psyops against worker unions, raising the minimum wage, and the potential for a 4-day work week. Were you experienced in these?