Digital Warfare: How Disinformation is Shaping Global Politics

According to Graphika, China’s state-linked Spamouflage operation impersonated the NGO Safeguard Defenders to advocate for the fall of Spain’s government in the aftermath of a deadly flooding. The effort, which has been running since 2017, has also targeted American elections and Canadian leaders. Spamouflage has regularly targeted Safeguard Defenders since the organization revealed China’s covert abroad police outposts in 2022. Dozens of bogus accounts circulated anti-government information in Spain. Graphika has “high confidence” that these accounts were part of the coordinated disinformation campaign.

Editor’s Note: This illustrates a rising concern in modern geopolitics: one state’s potential to influence and destabilize another via advanced technology and disinformation. With AI-generated content, deepfake videos, and coordinated social media campaigns, the distinction between truth and fabrication is becoming increasingly blurred. The ability to impersonate trusted institutions and incite political turmoil demonstrates how state-sponsored cyber operations can impact public opinion and even change the path of a country’s future, as exemplified in previous US elections. If Spain, a well-established democracy, can be attacked in this manner, nations like the Philippines, with their history of political turmoil and social media influence, are especially vulnerable. Another type of warfare comes to mind: one in which governments engage in silent battles using misinformation rather than military force.

Read Original Article