Professor David Gioe

Malign manipulation of the transatlantic information environment by state security organs is an urgent security threat facing western democracies. Dr David Gioe will examine why and how state intelligence services have harnessed emerging technologies – social media platforms in particular – to shape the information environment for strategic ends. Weaponisation of disinformation is neither new nor warfare in the traditional sense, yet blending technological solutions with humanities-based responses has been a neglected puzzle piece. This interdisciplinary project applies intelligence history, strategic studies and technological perspectives to evaluate and counter influence operations that seek to advance state security interests in an asymmetric manner short of war. This project traces the evolution of the Anglo-American response to Cold War disinformation as a foundation to develop a contemporary policy response via historically and technically informed research and global stakeholder engagement.