Letter to Editor: Social media movements against China, Russia's disinformation campaigns

讀者投書：反對中國與俄羅斯在社群媒體上進行造謠

Authoritarian regimes like China and Russia have invested considerable resources in not only controlling the information their citizens receive, but also constructing a favorable narrative for the international audience to consume. During times of great social turmoil, such as wars, mass protests, and revolutions, the control of information is even more imperative for dictators.

Following the 2019 protests in Hong Kong, the puppet government of Hong Kong has utilized increasingly draconian methods to eradicate voices of opposition. Besides destroying Hong Kong’s press freedom, the CCP is also eager to provide the Western audience with an alternative viewpoint also known as Chinese government propaganda, that argues the silent majority of Hong Kong welcomes CCP rule.

Similarly, Russia has also attempted to dominate the narrative after invading Ukraine. Russia launched direct cyberattacks against Ukrainian infrastructure with the intent of taking down Ukrainian command and control. Furthermore, this can also be seen as an attempt to cut off Ukraine from the outside world in order to control the narrative surrounding the war. However, Ukraine’s internet access was quickly restored, in part with the help of Starlink. President Zelenskyy was able to update and galvanize Ukrainian civilians daily even after local cell networks were knocked out. Nevertheless, Russia still runs many elaborate misinformation campaigns targeting Western audiences.

Social media is often overwhelmed with claims from these state-sponsored propaganda campaigns, but many netizens are learning how to identify misinformation. Some netizens are even taking a proactive approach to combat misinformation.

Most tend to think of information warfare from the perspective of government versus government. However, the constantly evolving dynamic of the internet ecosystem means that state actors usually fail to catch up. This is when online communities like NAFO come into play.

NAFO, or North Atlantic Fella Organization, is a rag-tag group of netizens who are intensely pro-NATO and debunk Russian propaganda through memes. This group has risen in popularity following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Many NAFO members place close attention to open-source intelligence regarding the development of war. For instance, footage of Ukrainian TB2 drones attacking Russian convoys was widely shared within the community as soon as it was released by Ukraine. Following that, NAFO members began to make memes to mock the ineptitude of Russian air defenses. During the dire hours of the initial invasion, these memes helped capture the public’s attention as well as discredit the myth of the Russian army’s invincibility.

Memes are becoming the new frontier of information warfare. They are digestible to a wide audience and can also be more memorable compared to mainstream news articles. However, the humor behind the meme can also be politically incorrect and unpredictable.

The most prominent example of this double-edged sword is the subreddit r/NonCredibleDefense, which has 150K members at the time of writing. The subreddit, an online forum for discussing defense and geopolitics in a humorous and/or ironic fashion, has a significant overlap with members of NAFO.

The humor of this subreddit often undermines the carefully constructed personality cults of strongman rulers like Putin, Lukashenko, and even Xi. However, it also often promotes militarism, the use of lethal force to respond to diplomatic obstacles, and drastic increases in funds for the military-industrial complex.

One of the main goals behind CCP’s highly publicized military drills is to intimidate Taiwan and the West into thinking that the defense of Taiwan is a hopeless cause. On the information warfare front, groups like NAFO and NonCredibleDefense help prevent this from becoming a reality. These groups’ reach is even greater than the Political Warfare Bureau of the Taiwanese military.

Behind the absurdist and sometimes esoteric humor of these groups is a subculture dedicated to combating disinformation and producing pro-western propaganda. Policymakers may see this internet subculture as a loose cannon, but it remains one of the most efficient and effective ways of challenging the narrative put forth by authoritarian states.

Linus Chiou studies history at the University of Virginia with a concentration in “War, Violence, & Society.”