Friday essay: forget Big Brother, propaganda is now a form of hybrid warfare

In early October, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham claimed that Russia had interfered in the 2016 Brexit referendum, though he did not provide evidence of this assertion. He also alleged that disinformation was spreading from Russia into German politics, a claim echoed by European leaders such as Kaja Kallas, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, and German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul.

These leaders described Russian actions as part of a "disinformation, threats, sabotage, and aggression" campaign against European nations.

The European Union defines hybrid threats as coordinated harmful activities planned and carried out with malign intent, aiming to undermine a state or institution through various means, including targeting core values and fracturing society to undermine political decision-making. This form of propaganda has evolved from the top-down control seen during the 20th-century propaganda wars to a more bottom-up approach, leveraging networks, online platforms, bot farms, and AI-generated content.

While it is difficult to defend against this propagation due to its covert nature and lack of direct electoral sabotage, European leaders are framing these issues as matters of national defense. Andy Burnham announced a new National Centre for Information Defence to detect and counter "hostile state information attacks." Russia is reportedly spending £1.3 billion annually on such influence campaigns, with the aim of swaying elections to their advantage.

Politicians and legacy media are often seen as accomplices in this process, with populist leaders aligning themselves with divisive narratives to appeal to domestic audiences, and journalists choosing sensational personalities over more measured politicians.