In this digitization era of the 21st century, disinformation is emerging as one of the most prominent security threats with multifaceted effects. This activity traces back to human history, but now the momentum has increased due to social media. Rapid technical transformations have upended the ways which people acquire information and how they interpret it.
Disinformation means the deliberate attempt to spread false news to appeal to public emotions and biases, to spark instability and chaos, and to affect public policies. It can be propagated by the states or non-state actors for political agendas. It can suppress basic human rights and can lead to deteriorated situations, especially during conflicts or emergencies. During WW1, Britain published the Bryce Report, alleging horrific German atrocities in Belgium. This demonized Germans as “Huns” and justified Britain’s war stance, which convinced the neutral states - especially U.S.- to enter the war in 1917. “Securitization Theory” by Berry Buzan perfectly encodes how disinformation can create panic and mania by branding an issue as an existential threat and how it impacts state policies. Disinformation ranges from using misleading content to making fabricated content. Its impacts go down from the state-level to the individual level when exploring its role in public policies.
Disinformation impacts the working of democratic institutions, judiciary agents, and bureaucrats. It weakens the interest of people in democratic society and exploits their right to participate in public affairs and election interference. In the 2016 elections, the U.S. blamed Russia for using disinformation to influence the elections and European politics. It forced the government to prioritize cyber-security and disinformation countermeasures. After the 2020 presidential elections, disinformation about mass voter fraud spread throughout social media. and multiple lawsuits were filed against the results. According to the surveys, the public trust in the U.S. justice system dropped sharply among groups convinced by the fraud narrative. Under the justification of “election integrity,” many states of the U.S., such as Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona, enacted new voting restrictions. Similarly, disinformation escalates conflict between states and shapes public policies. Institutional communication is crucial to ensure the integrity between the state and the people which is highly disturbed by disinformation. In 2020, the EU Disinfo Lab exposed a fifteen-year-long disinformation campaign by India that aimed at shaping the Western narratives around the issue of Kashmir and Balochistan. Moreover, it was aimed at undermining Pakistan’s global standing. This shifted the attention of Pakistan towards countering this hybrid warfare. Similarly, NATO alleges Russia is the greatest threat to global security and the Euro-Atlantic area and criticizes Russia for using disinformation campaigns through Russia Today and Sputnik against NATO allies and partners. This has compelled NATO to strengthen the deterrence power and defense of its allies.
It has been observed that disinformation impacts societal actors too, such as the media, civil societies, and the private sector. These act as a middleman between the state and individuals. In Pakistan, polio vaccination myths reduced the government’s efforts in combating the disease. It was largely accepted that the vaccination leads to infertility, which complicated the WHO and government’s eradication initiatives. In 2016, a widespread disinformation narrative was that “£350 million per week” was being transferred to the European Union that could possibly be redirected to the NHS. Voters actually believed that leaving the EU would increase funding to the NHS which was a prominent issue in the UK at that time. After Brexit, the UK government was forced to prove that leaving the EU actually increased NHS funding. But, in fact, the funding situation was worse due to the exit of EU staff from the UK. After the July 4 floods in Texas, mounting concerns suggested cloud seeding may be fueling the crisis ravaging Texas. But Texas Agriculture Commissioner and other officials dismissed implications that weather modification techniques contributed to the disaster as a conspiracy theory. Stock markets are manipulated through false propaganda. Stock markets do not crash when they have to crash but crash when people believe they will crash. This has forced regulators to tighten rules on online trading and information privacy.
Public opinion plays a pivotal role in crafting public policies. This process is highly undermined by disinformation. People are likely to believe disinformation if it aligns with pre-existing values, comes from a credible source, or is appealing to the people’s concerns. The Bush administration propagated the disinformation that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. Surveys showed a large number of Americans actually believed that Iraq had WMDs, and this public backing enabled the U.S. to launch the war on Iraq, reshaping U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. People were skeptical of Al-Qaeda’s links to the 9/11, which fueled the anti-Muslim stances in America. Disinformation strengthens political polarization by enforcing hate speech and false claims. It supports parallel realities that go beyond the idea of national integration. Multi-ethnic and multi-linguistic nations are more prone to disinformation due to a lack of coordinating frameworks. In Pakistan, disinformation about the state’s role in sponsoring terrorism and curtailing human rights has led to insecurity in Balochistan, KP, Kashmir, and other regions. India instills the emotions of alienation among Balochis that have affected the people’s interests in state institutions and have escalated the separatist movements. During COVID-19, misinformation about public health created resistance against mask mandates and school closures in some U.S. states, prompting the state to prioritize countering false information over health initiatives. Judicial actors can make decisions on false claims, compromising justice and the credibility of institutions.
The United Nations, Human Rights Council, UNESCO working groups, and many civil society organizations are working to curb the malign effects of disinformation. They have called for responses to eliminate disinformation to protect Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The EU has introduced the EU Code of Practice on Disinformation that requires technology companies to remove false content. Similarly, the U.S. established the Global Engagement Center to counter disinformation from Russia and China. Almost every state has adopted laws and regulations that provide legitimacy to disinformation as a form of cyber threat. Addressing this issue requires a multi-layered approach, as safeguarding public policy from disinformation is not only about protecting truth but also about defending the integrity of democratic governance.
