Digital Disinformation & Domestic Disturbance: Hostile Cyber-Enabled Information Operations to Exploit Domestic Issues on Twitter

Abstract

State and non-state actors leverage social media as a tool for hybrid warfare strategies. It becomes a psycho-political weapon aimed at the adversary's vulnerabilities exhibited in socio-politico-economic fault lines. Twitter, like other social media platforms, is being increasingly used to spread disinformation. Apart from verified accounts and social media teams, bots can be used to enhance a challenging situation for their own benefit. The challenge that many data analysts have is not finding the data only, but sorting through it to segregate fake from the real. Pakistan has been targeted continuously by disinformation. This paper discusses how influence campaigns have been waged over digital platforms in recent years, using Pakistan as a case study to highlight one of the existing fault lines and discuss opportunities in the context of the growing role of social media in modern warfare. It also tries to address the role of belligerent state actors in shaping the psychological makeup of democratic population. This research provides analysis into the worldwide influence operations and their role in international politics. It also provides * Muhammad Rehan Rasheed is a PhD Scholar, Riphah Institute of Media Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan. ** Moazzam Naseer is an Associate Professor, Institute of Media Sciences at Riphah International University, Islamabad, Pakistan _________________ @2021 by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute. IPRI Journal XXI (2): 1-35 https://doi.org/10.31945/iprij.210204