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Information War
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Information
War
(Dis)information will Decide Future Wars
Ramesh Bhan
EDUCREATION PUBLISHING (Since 2011)
www.educreation.in
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About The Author
Ramesh Bhan is a senior journalist
with three decades of experience
with a national News Agency in
India. After thirty years of English
language journalism, he practiced
Hindi journalism and was Editor of a Hindi
language news agency.
During his journalistic career he has handled
important beats of Prime Minister‘s Office (PMO),
External Affairs Ministry, Ministries of Defence
and Home Affairs which includes internal security
issues, and Science and Technology.
He has travelled with Indian Prime Ministers
Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Dr. Manmohan Singh and
several Foreign Ministers for about 15 years as
member of their delegations and visited about 45
countries.
He has covered several major international
Summits including the UN General Assembly,
BRICS, SAARC, CHOGM, India-US, India-Russia
and India-EU bilateral Summits besides many stand
alone visits.
He specializes in foreign affairs and security
issues, specifically subjects like Disinformation and
Terrorism.
He has been awarded a civilian honour by the
government of Kazakhstan on the occasion of
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viii
Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev
completing 20 years in power.
He was one of the International Observers for
2007 elections in Kazakhstan and visited Almaty.
He has also covered the fall of Taliban in
Afghanistan and the war in 2001 and lived in
Afghanistan for more than a month at the height of
civil war there. He has given lectures at the
prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication
(IIMC).
LLLLL
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Content List
Sr. Content Page
-
About The Author
vii
- Acknowledgements xi
- Preface xiii
- Introduction xvi
- Summary xxvi
1. Disinformation - World War II 1
2. Disinformation - ‗Stealing
Headlines‘
8
3. Disinformation - Selection Of
Words
12
4. Disinformation - Sources 16
5. Disinformation - Terrorism 25
6. Disinformation - US And Russia 52
7. Disinformation - Russia 94
8. Disinformation - Wartime
Reporting
98
9. Disinformation - Malaysian Plane 106
10. Disinformation - Media Co-Op 117
11. Disinformation - Indian Media 124
12. Disinformation - Israel/Palestine 129
13. Disinformation - Europe 132
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14. Disinformation - Failed Attempts 139
15. Disinformation - Digital Media 147
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Acknowledgements
To my mother without whose blessings I could not
have started this project.
I thank my wife Ritu for her cooperation and
my sons Kanishk for helping me with digitization
and editing and Kunal for his encouragement, my
brother Dr Rajinder and sister Babita. I also thank
Prof M L Bhan, Amit, Aditi and Shefali who
supported me with facts and other details in
completing this project. I express gratitude to Vibha
Dhar for designing cover pages and giving final
touches to the book.
I am grateful to all those news agencies/news
portals, newspapers and websites whose reports on
various global issues I have mentioned as my case
studies and commented upon while writing on the
subject.
It has taken me nearly 15 years to research and
write on the subject and had to change track many
times with fast-paced global changes taking place.
During these fifteen years I have read and consulted
and studied thousands of reports published in many
newspapers and news agencies. It was, therefore,
not possible for me to quote each and every
newspaper, news agency or news portal. However, I
have made it a point to name almost all newspapers,
news agencies and news portals whose reports I
have commented upon. My apologies if I may have
by mistake left out any source. While commenting
on their reports, my idea was not to criticize them or
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xii
the reporters and experts who have written for them.
As a journalist, I only wanted to point out where
they have gone wrong and where they could have
done better so that coming generation of journalists
learns the art and is aware of the aspect for future.
I must acknowledge that without commenting
on their reports on various global issues, it would
not have been possible for me to write on the
sensitive subject. I have been very careful to
comment on only those reports which have been
published over the years and are already in public
domain.
Ramesh Bhan
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xiii
Preface
On its way to completion, this book was subjected
to many changes. It took me about 15 years to
complete this book and during these 15 years the
idea and the subject changed at least twice. Finally,
my research stopped on the subject of
Disinformation and Global Information War.
I started writing this book in 2002 on the
subject ‗Media and Terrorism‘. From my
experience of a two-year posting in Jammu and
Kashmir from 1995-1997 when militancy in
Kashmir valley was at its peak, to one-month ordeal
in Afghanistan during and after Taliban rule, I had
firsthand experience of how relations between
media and terrorism in such areas are symbiotic. In
such situations, where truth is the main casualty,
media depends on terrorism and terrorism depends
on media coverage. Journalists covering terrorism
are constantly looking for exclusive stories while
terrorists depend on media coverage to enhance
their effectiveness and terror. I realized that this
symbiotic relationship needs to be broken if
terrorism anywhere is to be defeated. So based on
my experiences, I started writing on the subject.
However, before I could complete the book,
media scene all over the world changed with fresh
global developments and emerging geo-political
situation. Media was now used as a tool to score
strategic and political, and most often military,
victories by countries with bigger economies and
stronger media against those with weaker
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economies and not-so-developed media. It had now
taken the form of a Global Information War which
was being fought through Disinformation.
This became worse after Ukrainian
developments between United States, Europe and
Russia. This was now a full-scale Global
Information War. It was clear that any country with
stronger media will emerge victorious. My visit to
Crimea in March 2015, one year after the
referendum, brought me face-to-face with the real
situation in the Crimean Peninsula and Ukraine.
Media coverage of the Crimean developments was
highly controversial. That gave me the idea of the
Information War on Ukraine which was bound to
worsen.
This changed my track from ‗Media and
Terrorism‘ to ‗Information War and
Disinformation.‘ Terrorism was just a small
component of this Global Information War. With
the emerging of terrorist outfits like Daesh and Al
Qaida, terrorism had no longer remained terrorism.
It had taken the form of a clash between faiths. This
has been mentioned very clearly by Islamic State
(IS) in their propaganda magazine that their fight is
against ‗‘Rome and Jews‘‘. It was getting
dangerous. Unfortunately, journalists, especially in
India, have not evolved. When migration into
Europe became a global concern, IS explained in its
propaganda magazine that migration is the third
step in their battle for supremacy and jihad will
follow.
That made me feel concerned and I decided to
write on the subject to at least make journalists
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aware of what was happening. Terrorism reporting
does not involve bomb blasts and terrorist killings
only. It has a deeper social danger which if not
realized and corrected, will spell disaster. That was
my motivation to change the track and write on
Information War and Disinformation instead of
Terrorism.
Ramesh Bhan
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Introduction
Information has been weaponized. Cold war
between Russia and the United States and its allies
may have ended but it has now been replaced by a
more vicious one—the Information War. Use or
misuse of ‗Information‘ is increasingly becoming a
part of strategies, military or otherwise, adopted by
countries all over the world. Countries with stronger
information apparatus dominate in this Information
War while those with not so developed information
machinery are pushed to the wall.
If Cold War was targeted at creating fear
psychosis in the opponent‘s mind, Information War
is aimed at controlling the opponent‘s mind and
through the opponent, the people of the opponent
country.
The strategy is clear. Constantly feed the
opponent‘s people, and even the world‘s population,
with negative reports so that people and the world at
large, start believing the reports and discredit their
own government. It may take months and
sometimes years. But the damage is severe.
It may have picked up during the Second
World War , but got evolved over the years and has
now become more sophisticated. This is
‗DISINFORMATION‘—a non-military method to
achieve strategic and political aim. Now another
dimension has been added—achieving economic
goals as well subverting a rival nation‘s economy.
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Wikileaks ‗exposes‘ is a clear case of
Disinformation made sophisticated. It may be
recalled that Arab Spring began after Wikileaks
‗exposures‘. Wikileaks exposures stopped but the
purpose is served --- Arab World is in turmoil. Most
interesting was that Wikileaks ‗exposes‘ were
country-specific----about democracy in countries
which had monarchies or dictatorships and about
corruption and other issues where there are
democracies and ‗‘exposes‘‘ about democracy
would not have worked. Where is Wikileaks now?
Its purpose has been served.
Media, including social media, is used to create
such chaos and adds to the damage potential. I am
not saying that all Disinformation can be false or
concoction. ‗Wikileaks‘ disclosures may be true. No
one is disputing that. Some such reports also may be
true. Most often they are facts. But these become
Disinformation by the timing of their publication or
broadcast. Such reports are given out or published,
or even leaked selectively, when the time is ripe and
when it has the most damage potential. It depends
upon the judgment of the source from where the
report is emanating. The end result is what is
already expected. Intelligence agencies and
politicians are often the architects and they have a
terrific sense of timing when to give out such
reports.
The potential to cause damage through such
reports should not be underestimated. The damage
caused is unimaginable, sometimes governments are
overthrown. But by the time people realize that, the
damage is done and in most cases, it is irrevocable.
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That is the power and role of media in the modern
world and most governments have realized that. In
many countries, media including television and
social media, were consciously developed by
governments with assistance--financial and
otherwise--and used to serve the intended purpose.
The classic strategy is ‗create/plant a
controversy in media including newspapers and
television, and create an impression in the minds of
the people‘. News agencies play a crucial role. That
is the trend followed by most governments,
including in India.
Three main principles must be kept in mind
while resorting to Disinformation:
Information sought to be circulated, must look
doubtlessly truthful.
It must not be self-contradictory.
It must be focused and should concentrate on
the target and accordingly, information should
be spread with a clear policy and frame of mind.
Developed countries have stronger media and
media policies. It is only in poorer countries that
media is not very well developed and they are more
vulnerable.
The ‗Information War‘ which was at its best
during the Ukrainian developments, in fact began
much before the Ukrainian crisis and was seen as a
prelude to Crimean developments. While Russian
media accused Western countries of presenting
distorted versions of the developments, Western
media said Russian media spread ‗lies‘ and ‗half-
truths‘. In any case truth was the main casualty
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which never came out and probably never will—as
happens in most such cases.
Before the Ukrainian crisis, Russian media
including television channels, showed a flood of
refugees from Ukraine coming into Russia. It
however, later became known that the footage was
actually of some other developments at an outpost
on the Russian-Polish border.
Third Party people who have nothing to do with
either warring party, are often victims of this
Information War and their voice is never heard and
problems never noticed. A classic example is that of
nearly 350 Indian students of the Crimea Medical
College in 2014. When Crimea became part of the
Russian Federation, the students came under
Russian medical laws. They were not sure who
would give them the degrees after Crimea became
part of Russia. They could not come to India
because Russian medical degrees were not
recognized by the Medical Council of India (MCI).
When Crimea was part of Ukraine, entire Europe
was open for them and they could go to any
European country, also the US, for specialization.
After Crimean developments, all this changed and
their fate became unknown. In this war over
Crimea, no media highlighted their problems.
This is just an example of what happens to
Third Party population, which normally becomes an
unwilling victim of such developments aided by
Information Warfare.
Yet another case of ‗Disinformation‘ is
‗Stealing the Headlines‘. ‗Stealing the Headlines‘ is
also a global phenomenon. Russia‘s military
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intervention in Syria and aerial attacks on Islamic
State (IS) targets, shifted focus and world attention
from Ukraine to Syria, particularly Europe which
has witnessed one of the worst humanitarian crises
in the form of refugee influx from war-torn Syria.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was clever
enough to send in troops into Syria at a time when
the whole world was sympathizing with refugees.
No finger was raised at Russia. Even the US and its
European allies could not do much at that time to
stop the refugee crisis.
The military intervention in Syria also bolstered
Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s personal image
back home by projecting him as a strong leader who
takes the bull by the horns. Such ‗Stealing the
Headlines‘ strategy won him support which had
started taking a beating after the sanctions imposed
in the wake of Crimean developments.
Disinformation means intentionally spreading
false and misleading information to achieve an
objective. It is not a new concept. In fact it started
even before First World War but gradually gained
strength over the years. With internet, it has become
the most modern form of warfare. The use of
Disinformation as a weapon of war is slated to grow
and become more sophisticated.
Newspapers, news agencies/wire services and
television channels earlier played a crucial role in
Disinformation. Now social media and use of cyber
space have taken over, but the role of news agencies
and wire services and television has not died down.
It continues to be equally important although it has
gone into slight background. In the coming years it
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xxi
is certain to become more technology driven. It is
commonly believed that with the onset of television
and internet, newspapers and news agencies/wire
services may be losing relevance. It is a wrong
notion. Neither newspapers nor news agencies/wire
services have lost relevance. It is just a matter of
public perception. In fact newspapers and news
agencies/wire services are relevant even today and
will become more important as the use of
Disinformation as a tool in Information War grows.
Disinformation is an important link of a system
which follows a pattern. A report is conceived by a
government with a motive or intention. It is
prepared in a closed room by experts and
intelligence agencies and then published or
‗planted‘ in a ‗friendly‘ newspaper or magazine
through a ‗friendly‘ journalist. From there it is
picked up by a news agency/wire service. The next
stage is a television channel, which telecasts it
across borders. It is taken up by social media and
cyber world for wider impact. This is the modus
operandi for spreading Disinformation in which all
the modes of communication constitute an
important link in a chain of reports leading to
conceived or desired results. Such reports of
different nature on various topics are constantly
‗planted‘, sometimes for months and years
depending upon the seriousness of the situation.
When the desired result is achieved, Disinformation
stops until a new issue comes up.
Reports about Iraq‘s President Saddam Hussein
possessing Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs)
that would endanger human population, were
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planted for more than two years in global media
until the world believed these reports. Rest is
history. Libya‘s President Muammar Gaddafi was
another victim of Disinformation. In modern times,
North Korea and its dictator could be yet another
target. Russia and its President Vladimir Putin have
already become a target of Disinformation.
Special skills are required to write such reports.
First a purpose is decided and then a report written.
Normally sources from where such reports emanate,
are not mentioned and even if these are mentioned,
multiple sources are quoted to confuse a reader.
Sources in such reports are never identified. An
authentic source is a must in any such report to be
convincing.
Disinformation should not be confused with
Misinformation or Hiding Information. Even though
all three aspects are important, Disinformation has
gained more importance because of its damaging
potential.
Disinformation should not be confused with
propaganda either. These are two entirely different
exercises. While propaganda is spread mainly by
governments and others to convey their policies and
programs and achievements, Disinformation is
meant to spread information with a motive, often to
undermine the opponent. Propaganda is mainly
confined within the borders of a country while
Disinformation focuses primarily on rivals, mainly
other countries. However, in both cases--
propaganda as well as Disinformation—
dissemination has evolved from traditional means of
communication like newspapers, magazines, news
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xxiii
agencies and radio and television to internet and
cyber space. That is what makes Disinformation
more sophisticated and dangerous because cyber
space does not recognize any borders. In this entire
exercise, however, news agencies‘ role has
remained consistent.
Not only United States and Europe, Russia too
uses Disinformation as an instrument of Information
Warfare. The word Disinformation did not appear
in dictionaries until late-1980s and the use of the
term related to a Russian tactical weapon started in
1923.
Any Disinformation campaign has two main
phases. One is aimed at preparing the people
psychologically while the second is to feed the
already psychologically ready people to receive and
believe a motivated Disinformation campaign. This
principle remains true even now with modern day
Disinformation campaign. Both aspects are inter-
related and directly proportional to each other.
It is more obvious in Kashmir. The first phase
was to feed the people in the terrorism-affected
valley with motivated and most often incorrect
reports while the second was to make them react,
often violently, to any situation. They are in a way
totally brainwashed. When people are brainwashed,
rumors have a field day and people readily believe
any rumor. And when rumor gains strength, logic
and reasoning take back seat. That is when
Disinformation becomes easy and result-oriented. In
such cases judgment becomes the main casualty and
people are not able to decide the difference between
right and wrong.
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Disinformation which is normally the forte and
job of a country‘s intelligence agencies and is
practiced mainly against rival countries, sometimes
rival political parties and candidates, assumes the
dimension of Information War when it is unleashed
against rival countries. But Disinformation
unleashed against a country‘s President by that
country‘s intelligence agencies is perhaps very rare
as we have witnessed against US President Donald
Trump by CIA and FBI.
Even in revered Hindu epic Mahabharata, we
come across ‗Disinformation‘ during the height of
the battle between Kaurvas and Pandavas at
Kurukshetra. On the 15th day of the epic battle,
when Guru Dronacharya was unstoppable and
started killing the army of the Pandavas, there was
only one way to make him lay down arms and that
was if he could be told that his son Ashwaththama
was dead. But it was a big question how to do that.
Yudhishthira was told to convey this to Guru
Dronacharya since Yudhishthira did not tell lies and
therefore, Dronacharya would believe him only. So
Pandavas killed an elephant named Ashwaththama.
Yudhishthira, sticking to his dharma of speaking the
truth, shouted at Dronacharya saying
‗Ashwaththama Hatha Kunjara‘ which means
Ashwaththama the elephant is dead. However, after
Yudhishthira said the first two words
‗Ashwaththama Hatha‘ meaning Ashwaththama is
dead, on the third word ‗Kunjara‘ meaning
elephant, Lord Krishna blew the conch shell so loud
that Guru Dronacharya could not hear it and took it
as ‗Ashwaththama Hatha.‘‘ He laid down arms and
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