Damn.
Develop Memetic Warfare Conceptually
The first challenge is conceptual. Neither NATO nor its individual members have fully developed a language or conceptual grounding for social media-focused Strategic Communications. Memetic warfare today is a fringe concept, but it should not be. It needs to be developed and brought into mainstream military thinking.
In doing so, it should be thought of as broader and more strategic than ‘weaponized trolling’. Memeticwarfare,asIdefineit,iscompetitionovernarrative,ideas,andsocialcontrol inasocial- media battlefield. One might think of it as a subset of ‘information operations’ tailored to social media. Information operations involve the collection and dissemination of information to establish a competitive advantage over an opponent. Memetic warfare could also be viewed as a ‘digital native’ version of psychological warfare, more commonly known as propaganda. If propaganda and public diplomacy are conventional forms of memetic warfare, then trolling and PSYOPs are guerrilla versions.
Memetic warfare can be useful at the grand narrative level, at the battle level, or in a special circumstance. It can be offensive, defensive, or predictive. It can be deployed independently or in conjunction with cyber, hybrid, or conventional efforts. The online battlefield of perception will only grow in importance in both warfare and diplomacy. Regardless of what we call it, NATO countries must continue to develop a body of knowledge around social-media Strategic Communications.
https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/b3eb9d_e9b753fb75fe45fa8e05afea81bca8ce.pdf
The meme war is real.
Meme magic is real.