Information Operations `Blowback'

Abstract

The US's adoption of the broad doctrine of `information operations' (IO) in 2003 put information and media strategies on a par with conventional means of military power and made them pivotal to achieving `full-spectrum dominance'. This article focuses on the role of IO in shaping the global media ecology and in the battle for hearts and minds, especially in Muslim-majority countries. However, the author also argues that the impact of such operations at home may be their most important legacy. IO `blowback' occurs as surveillance and propaganda campaigns targeting foreign audiences spill back into the US because of the nature of the global media and information flows. The all-encompassing doctrine also blurs the boundaries between `normal' media spin and public affairs, on the one hand, and propaganda and covert media operations, on the other. The convergence of commercial media and the military and government in such operations is also yielding what some call the military—information—media—entertainment (MIME) complex. Lastly, the US military's heavy reliance on the Internet and other public communication networks means that cyberspace is being retooled to meet national security, surveillance, propaganda and cyberwarfare needs.