A collective defense requires misinformation.The increasingly intertwined relationship between the technology sector and global politics examines the TechCrunch Global Affairs Project.
A collective defense requires misinformation
After the 2016 elections, the term disinformation, targeting political campaigns, was widely used to refer to government agencies.
The nature of the threat continues to shift faster
Democracies can adapt to it despite the vigilance and great effort on the part of the government. In exchange for paid employment, government actors and disinformation devices targeting corporations, individuals, and governments alike with financial motivation and ideologically motivated individuals disseminate disinformation.
With the turbulent shifts in the geopolitical landscape now underway in the US election year, targeting democratic institutions and private sector entities, we expect an increase in disinformation campaigns.
Companies need to confront today's threat on their own with unregulated regulation and limited protections from government, if they are to protect their ability to operate tomorrow.
Disinformation campaigns are causing huge damage to brand, reputation and value in 2020
In the past two years only
who have gained notoriety for targeting politicians with baseless accusations of corruption and abuse faced online retailer Wayfair
To convince consumers that the company was trafficking children by delivering its furniture was an attempt by conspiracy theorists QAnon.
But they thought enough that it inspired calls for a boycott, many people ignored the absurd claims, the publication of physical locations of executives' home and office addresses, attempts to manipulate the value of company stock, and efforts to stop call center operations by spamming phone lines.
Disinformation campaigns benefited
Of lately false narratives about drug companies, coin-pumping and cryptocurrency scams, spurred consumer confidence and attempted to manipulate high-tech solutions, such as aerospace technologies, electric vehicles, and vaccines. In just one example, a 2020 investigation conducted by our organization, Alethea Group, and a former adviser to the president assessed a network run by Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui Trump, Steve Bannon, who was manipulating conversations related to QAnon in an attempt to spread election plots.
It was also referring to private companies but the network wasn't just targeting elections, and high-profile brands, including travel, hospitality, food and beverage and technology companies.
With the development of the threat and misinformation
And agencies that have historically sought to defend us against misinformation and the regulations governing the digital space have not persisted, facing inconsistencies that are difficult to overcome on their own.
Constraints on social media data collection A combination of insufficient and bureaucratic inertia has exacerbated this inconsistency and failure to develop new technical solutions that meet this threat, against a full threat landscape where government entities often have the resources to defend.
Unable to count, the private sector must lead in protecting customers, employees, and financial profits if organizations are to government to defend them in the digital realm.
Catch nascent disinformation campaigns by implementing strategies before they gain momentum, with their brands, reputation, stock prices, and consumer confidence, companies can mitigate malicious attempts to manipulate.
Launching accurate message campaigns rooted in reality In addition to defending against reputational damage through, by exposing their efforts or taking legal action there are often opportunities to seek redress against those who launch disinformation campaigns.
Companies can also raise awareness of the situation where law enforcement and by sharing information with the government, and the intelligence community enable law enforcement to act within authorities to act against those who seek to harm United States interests.
It's a threat to our economy too, disinformation is not only a threat to democracy
And not just government agencies. This means that companies and individuals have an important role to play in detecting and mitigating malicious influence efforts, in helping to defend our society at large and in protecting themselves and their economic interests.
In ways that the government cannot do, companies can act to protect consumers and shareholders, pursuing a variety of treatment options that range from work to expose their target threats from legal action to public awareness campaigns.
Indeed, our collective democratic and economic interests will depend on it.