Introduction
Information warfare is one of the most common topics in modern world politics. The information warfare’s psychological character makes it less dangerous to the population yet more effective for defensive purposes. Cyberspace, in this case, often acts as a battlefield for information warfare because it allows a minimum level of autonomy which supports information exchange and discussion between people. However, cyberspace’s fit for political discussions exposes it and the users to the threat of perception influence.
Discussion
Firstly, one of the common ways cyberspace negatively influences the population is the manipulation of political opinions. In some countries, governments may use bots in social media to manipulate the public’s opinion. The bots can spread misinformation, support governmental propaganda, or suppress dissenters’ opinions. Considering that information in social media implies a reduction of uncertainties and more trustful relationships with other users, a significant portion of the population believes the opinions shared by people on social media (Warner-Søderholm et al., 2018). Moreover, people may refuse to check initial sources or other users’ profile credibility. Thus, the manipulation of public opinion violates the values of democracy, influencing the population’s choices and depriving social networks of their purpose of providing a place for the free exchange of opinions. I am concerned about this issue and often discuss it with my peers to raise their awareness on the topic and prevent them from believing in anything that is said in cyberspace and social media.
Furthermore, the issues of information warfare and the influence of perception are especially valid when discussing important events such as elections. For example, the research conducted by Nord VPN Company suggests that the spread of misinformation by Twitter bots can influence midterm election results (Higgins, 2022). For example, 53% of respondents in the research expressed that misinformation about elections can prevent people from voting (Higgins, 2022). The proportion of the population refusing to vote stays high every year, affecting the truthfulness of the final results.
Next, the theory of foreign countries’ interference in elections can jeopardize the government’s integrity and loyalty to the population’s interests. Moreover, the matter is complicated because direct interference from foreign countries will be impossible to prove, reducing the possibility of re-voting. While I am not concerned about the direct interference of foreign countries in U.S. elections, I am concerned about the unknown limits of the possible effect of false information on the internet during the elections.
However, several solutions allow for avoiding the manipulation of public opinion through cyberspace. Firstly, prevention of the further spread of bots in social media can be organized through the technical solution of strict authentication and verification of users’ accounts. Thus, users will trust unverified users less, breaking the circle of misinformation dissemination. Next, it can be helpful to increase the population’s awareness of the topic and familiarize them with the basic methods of verifying information in cyberspace. Alternatively, a governmental policy forcing social media corporations to actively locate and close bot accounts can also have a positive effect on the further process of protecting democratic values in the country.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this essay explored the theme of information warfare and its effect on democracy and elections. The essay defines cyberspace as the primary field for informational welfare and explains how the population can be unintentionally drawn into invisible political conflicts between countries in cyberspace. Lastly, the essay explained how information warfare could be prevented with user verification systems in social media, the development of populations’ awareness about information warfare, and the introduction of governmental policies for social media corporations.
References
Higgins, M. (2022). Midterm elections prompt data privacy concerns. Nord VPN. Web.
Warner-Søderholm, G., Bertsch, A., Sawe, E., Lee, D., Wolfe, T., Meyer, J., Engel, J., & Fatilua, U. N. (2018). Who trusts social media? Computers in Human Behavior, 81, 303-315. Web.