Countering Disinformation: Concepts and Institutions

Yıl 2022, Cilt: 21 Sayı: 3, 1574 - 1586, 31.07.2022

Ahmet Ateş

https://doi.org/10.21547/jss.1066605

Cited By: 3

Öz

Disinformation activities, which are a relatively new phenomenon and whose impact on national and international security have increased in the last decade, do not receive sufficient attention in the literature and practice. This study analyzes combating disinformation in the literature and in practice. In this context, the disinformation literature was systematically surveyed and related studies were classified under three groups. These groups are; the conceptual framework of disinformation, the (social and political) consequences of disinformation and disinformation and cognitive processes. As a result of the analysis, it has been determined that the literature will expand on the formation of the conceptual framework of disinformation and its derivatives, the analysis of the disinformation activities of authoritarian regimes and the examination of the technical dimension of disinformation. Then, the practices of combating disinformation were examined at national and international level. Firstly, the practices of fighting against disinformation of Armenia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Czechia and France, which were targets of Russian-originated disinformation activities, were examined and it was determined that there were differences in terms of perception and capacity in combating disinformation. Secondly, the methods of combating disinformation of the NATO, the EU and ASEAN were analyzed comparatively. As a result of the comparative analysis, it has been determined that the EU is the most successful and institutional international organization in combating disinformation. It has been concluded that the two main reasons for this are the EU's handling of disinformation in a wider framework and the fact that it has started the fight against disinformation relatively earlier. As a result of NATO's limited use of the definition of disinformation at the military level, it has been determined that it is relatively less institutionalized compared to the EU. Finally, it has been determined that ASEAN has followed a more proactive way in combating disinformation compared to the other two international organizations.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Disinformation, Misinformation, NATO, EU, ASEAN

Dezenformasyonla Mücadele: Kavramlar ve Kurumlar

Öz

Göreceli olarak yeni bir olgu olan ve son on yılda ulusal ve uluslararası güvenliğe olan etkisi giderek artan dezenformasyon faaliyetleri literatürde ve pratikte yeterli ilgiyi görmemektedir. Bu çalışma, dezenformasyonla mücadelenin literatürde ve uygulamadaki durumunu analiz etmektedir. Bu bağlamda, dezenformasyon literatürü sistematik olarak taranmış ve ilgili çalışmalar üç grupta toplanmıştır. Bu gruplar; dezenformasyonun kavramsal çerçevesi, dezenformasyonun (sosyal ve politik) sonuçları ve dezenformasyon ve bilişsel süreçlerdir. Yapılan analiz sonucunda literatürün, dezenformasyon ve türevlerinin kavramsal çerçevesinin oluşturulması, otoriter rejimlerin dezenformasyon faaliyetlerinin analizi ve dezenformasyonun teknik boyutunun incelenmesi hususunda genişleyeceği tespit edilmiştir. Ardından, dezenformasyonla mücadele uygulamaları ulusal ve uluslararası düzeyde incelenmiştir. İlk olarak, Rusya menşeili dezenformasyon faaliyetlerine hedef olan Ermenistan, Bulgaristan, Ukrayna, Çekya ve Fransa’nın dezenformasyonla mücadele pratikleri incelenmiş ve dezenformasyonla mücadele konusunda algı ve kapasite yönünden farklıklar olduğu tespit edilmiştir. İkinci olarak, NATO, ABD ve ASEAN’ın dezenformasyonla mücadele yöntemleri karşılaştırmalı olarak analiz edilmiştir. Gerçekleştirilen karşılaştırmalı analizin sonucunda, dezenformasyon ile mücadelede AB’nin göreceli olarak en başarılı ve kurumsal uluslararası örgüt olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Bu durumun temel iki sebebinin ise AB’nin dezenformasyonu daha geniş bir çerçevede ele alması ve dezenformasyon ile mücadeleye göreceli olarak daha erken başlamış olması olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. NATO’nun ise dezenformasyon tanımını askeri düzlemde sınırlayarak kullanmasının sonucu olarak AB’ye oranla göreceli olarak daha az kurumsallaşmış olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Son olarak, ASEAN’ın ise dezenformasyon ile mücadele konusunda diğer iki uluslararası örgüte oranla daha proaktif bir yol izlediği tespit edilmiştir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Dezenformasyon, Mezenformasyon, NATO, AB, ASEAN

Kaynakça

• ASEAN. (25 Ağustos 2020). Joint Statement of the ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Information to Minimise Negative Effects of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). https://asean.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Joint-statement-of-AMRI-for-COVID-19-Adopted-AMRI-25Aug20.pdf (Erişim Tarihi: 31/01/2022).
• Bastick, Z. (2021). Would you notice if fake news changed your behavior? An experiment on the unconscious effects of disinformation. Computers in human behavior, 116, 106633.
• Beskow, D. M., & Carley, K. M. (2020). Characterization and comparison of Russian and Chinese disinformation campaigns. Disinformation, misinformation, and fake news in social media (ss. 63-81). Springer, Cham.
• Bliss, N., Bradley, E., Garland, J., Menczer, F., Ruston, S. W., Starbird, K., & Wiggins, C. (2020). An agenda for disinformation research. arXiv preprint arXiv:2012.08572.
• Bowen, A. S. (2019). Coercive diplomacy and the Donbas: Explaining Russian strategy in Eastern Ukraine. Journal of Strategic Studies, 42(3-4), 312-343.
• Bran, R., Tiru, L., Grosseck, G., Holotescu, C., & Malita, L. (2021). Learning from Each Other—A Bibliometric Review of Research on Information Disorders. Sustainability, 13(18), 10094.
• ccdcoe.org (2022). About us. https://ccdcoe.org/about-us/ (Erişim Tarihi: 31/01/2022).
• disinfobservatory.org (2022). About us. https://www.disinfobservatory.org/about-us/ (Erişim Tarihi: 28/01/2022).
• edmo.eu (2022). EDMO at a Glance. https://edmo.eu/edmo-at-a-glance/ (Erişim Tarihi: 28/01/2022).
• European Economic and Social Committee. (2018). Joint Communication of the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Action Plan Against Disinformation, TEN/687 – EESC-2018-06302-00-00-AC-TRA. https://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/our-work/opinions-information-reports/opinions/action-plan-against-disinformation (Erişim Tarihi: 28/01/2022).
• Farkas, J., & Bastos, M. (2018). State propaganda in the age of social media: Examining strategies of the Internet Research Agency. 7th European Communication Conference (ECC), Lugano, Switzerland (31 October-3 November).
• Galeotti, M. (2016). Hybrid, ambiguous, and non-linear? How new is Russia’s ‘new way of war’?. Small Wars & Insurgencies, 27(2), 282-301.
• Guess, A. M., & Lyons, B. A. (2020). Misinformation, disinformation, and online propaganda. Social media and democracy: the state of the field, prospects for reform, 10-33.
• Haciyakupoglu, G., Hui, J. Y., Suguna, V. S., Leong, D., & Rahman, M. F. B. A. (2018). Countering fake news: A survey of recent global initiatives. https://www.think-asia.org/bitstream/handle/11540/8063/PR180307_Countering-Fake-News.pdf?sequence=1 (Erişim Tarihi: 31/01/2022).
• Hanley, S., & Vachudova, M. A. (2018). Understanding the illiberal turn: democratic backsliding in the Czech Republic. East European Politics, 34(3), 276-296.
• Hedling, E. (2021). Transforming practices of diplomacy: the European External Action Service and digital disinformation. International Affairs, 97(3), 841-859.
• Humprecht, E., Esser, F., & Van Aelst, P. (2020). Resilience to online disinformation: A framework for cross-national comparative research. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 25(3), 493-516.
• Hybridcoe.fi (2022). Establishment. https://www.hybridcoe.fi/establishment/ (Erişim Tarihi: 31/01/2022).
• Kapantai, E., Christopoulou, A., Berberidis, C., & Peristeras, V. (2021). A systematic literature review on disinformation: Toward a unified taxonomical framework. New media & society, 23(5), 1301-1326.
• Karami, A., Lundy, M., Webb, F., Turner-McGrievy, G., McKeever, B. W., & McKeever, R. (2021). Identifying and analyzing health-related themes in disinformation shared by conservative and liberal Russian trolls on twitter. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(4), 2159.
• Kremlinwatch.eu/armenia (2022). Armenia. https://www.kremlinwatch.eu/countries-compared-states/armenia/ (Erişim Tarihi: 27/01/2022).
• Kremlinwatch.eu/bulgaria (2022). Bulgaria. https://www.kremlinwatch.eu/countries-compared-states/bulgaria/ (Erişim Tarihi: 27/01/2022).
• Kremlinwatch.eu/czechia (2022). Czechia. https://www.kremlinwatch.eu/countries-compared-states/czechia/ (Erişim Tarihi: 27/01/2022).
• Kremlinwatch.eu/france (2022). France. https://www.kremlinwatch.eu/countries-compared-states/france/ (Erişim Tarihi: 27/01/2022).
• Kremlinwatch.eu/ukraine (2022). Ukraine. https://www.kremlinwatch.eu/countries-compared-states/ukraine/ (Erişim Tarihi: 27/01/2022).
• Kux, D. (1985). Soviet active measures and disinformation: overview and assessment. The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters, 15(1), 19-28.
• Lyons, B. A., Montgomery, J. M., Guess, A. M., Nyhan, B., & Reifler, J. (2021). Overconfidence in news judgments is associated with false news susceptibility. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(23), 1-10.
• McKay, S., & Tenove, C. (2021). Disinformation as a threat to deliberative democracy. Political Research Quarterly, 74(3), 703-717.
• NATO. (25 Kasım 2020). NATO 2030: United for a New Era: Analysis and Recommendations of the Reflection Group Appointed by the NATO Secretary General. https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/2020/12/pdf/201201-Reflection-Group-Final-Report-Uni.pdf (Erişim Tarihi: 31/01/2022).
• Patel, S., Moncayo, O. E., Conroy, K., Jordan, D., & Erickson, T. (2020). The landscape of disinformation on health crisis communication during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine: hybrid warfare tactics, fake media news and review of evidence. https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/37364388/Patel%20-%20JCOM-Ukraine-Disinformation-Review-2020-v2.pdf?sequence=1 (Erişim Tarihi: 27/01/2022).
• Payne, K. B., & Foster, J. S. (2017). Russian strategy Expansion, crisis and conflict. Comparative Strategy, 36(1), 1-89.
• Saez-Trumper, D. (2019). Online disinformation and the role of wikipedia. arXiv preprint arXiv:1910.12596.
• Saurwein, F., & Spencer-Smith, C. (2020). Combating disinformation on social media: Multilevel governance and distributed accountability in Europe. Digital Journalism, 8(6), 820-841.
• Smith, R. B., Perry, M., & Smith, N. N. (2021). ‘Fake News’ in Asean: Legislative Responses. JAS (Journal of ASEAN Studies), 9(2), 117-137.
• Stratcomcoe.org (2022). About NATO Stratcom COE. https://stratcomcoe.org/about_us/about-nato-stratcom-coe/5 (Erişim Tarihi: 31/01/2022).
• Temiz, S. (2020). Asya-Pasifik'te Uluslararası ve Bölgesel Güvenliğe Yönelik Politika Geliştirme Mekanizması: ASEAN Bölgesel Forumu. H. Acar içinde, Küresel Terör ve Güvenlik Politikaları (s. 373-397). Ankara: Nobel Akademik Yayıncılık
• The European Parliament, Policy Department for Economic, Scientific and Quality of Life Policies. (2018). The legal framework to address “fake news”: possible policy actions at the EU level. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/IDAN/2018/619013/IPOL_IDA(2018)619013_EN.pdf (Erişim Tarihi: 28/01/2022).
• Tucker, J. A., Guess, A., Barberá, P., Vaccari, C., Siegel, A., Sanovich, S., ... & Nyhan, B. (2018). Social media, political polarization, and political disinformation: A review of the scientific literature. Political polarization, and political disinformation: a review of the scientific literature (March 19, 2018).
• Vosoughi, S., Roy, D., & Aral, S. (2018). The spread of true and false news online. Science, 359(6380), 1146-1151.
• Wagnsson, C., & Hellman, M. (2018). Normative power Europe caving in? EU under pressure of Russian information warfare. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, 56(5), 1161-1177.
• Wiesenberg, M., & Tench, R. (2020). Deep strategic mediatization: Organizational leaders’ knowledge and usage of social bots in an era of disinformation. International Journal of Information Management, 51, 102042.
• Wilson, T., & Starbird, K. (2020). Cross-platform disinformation campaigns: lessons learned and next steps. Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review, 1(1), 1-13.
• Zhou, X., & Zafarani, R. (2018). Fake news: A survey of research, detection methods, and opportunities. arXiv preprint arXiv:1812.00315, 2.