Three tweets to midnight : effects of the global information ecosystem on the risk of nuclear conflict / edited by Harold A. Trinkunas, Herbert S. Lin, Benjamin Loehrke.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Trinkunas, Harold A., editor.

Lin, Herbert S., editor.

Loehrke, Benjamin, editor.

ProQuest ebook central.

Series:

Hoover Institution Press publication ; 707.

Hoover Institution Press publication ; no. 707

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Online social networks--Political aspects.

Online social networks.

Security, International.

Nuclear crisis stability.

Physical Description:

1 online resource.

polychrome

Place of Publication:

Stanford, California : Hoover Institution Press, 2020.

System Details:

text file

Summary:

Disinformation and misinformation have always been part of conflict. But as the essays in this volume outline, the rise of social media and the new global information ecosystem have created conditions for the spread of propaganda like never before--with potentially disastrous results. In our "post-truth" era of bots, trolls, and intemperate presidential tweets, popular social platforms like Twitter and Facebook provide a growing medium for manipulation of information directed to individuals, institutions, and global leaders. A new type of warfare is being fought online each day, often in 280 characters or fewer. Targeted influence campaigns have been waged in at least forty-eight countries so far. We've entered an age where stability during an international crisis can be deliberately manipulated at greater speed, on a larger scale, and at a lower cost than at any previous time in history. This volume examines the current reality from a variety of angles, considering how digital misinformation might affect the likelihood of international conflict and how it might influence the perceptions and actions of leaders and their publics before and during a crisis. It sounds the alarm about how social media increases information overload and promotes "fast thinking," with potentially catastrophic results for nuclear powers.

Contents:

Cover

Title

Copyright

Contents

List of Figures and Tables

Acknowledgments

1. Retweets to Midnight: Assessing the Effects of the Information Ecosystem on Crisis Decision Making between Nuclear Weapons States

2. Psychological Underpinnings of Post-truth in Political Beliefs

3. The Caveman and the Bomb in the Digital Age

4. Gaming Communication on the Global Stage: Social Media Disinformation in Crisis Situations

5. Information Operations and Online Activism within NATO Discourse

Appendix A: Temporal Patterns (Tweets per Hour) by Cluster

Appendix B: Top Most Retweeted Accounts by Cluster

Appendix C: Top Most Tweeted Domains by Cluster

Appendix D: Most Frequent Terms in Account Profi les (User Descriptions)

Appendix E: Most Frequent Terms in (Unique) Tweets by Cluster

Appendix F: Percentage of Retweets from Retweeter Cluster (rows) to Retweeted Cluster (columns)

6. Of Wars and Rumors of Wars: Extra-factual Information and (In)Advertent Escalation

7. Crisis Stability and the Impact of the Information Ecosystem

8. Bum Dope, Blowback, and the Bomb: The Effect of Bad Information on Policy-Maker Beliefs and Crisis Stability

9. The Impact of the Information Ecosystem on Public Opinion during Nuclear Crises: Lifting the Lid on the Role of Identity Narratives

10. What Can be Done to Minimize the Effects of the Global Information Ecosystem on the Risk of Nuclear War?

About the Editors and Contributors

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI Available via World Wide Web.

Online resource; title from PDF title page (EBSCO, viewed March 10, 2020).

ISBN:

9780817923389

0817923381

9780817923365

0817923365

Publisher Number:

99986473194

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.