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THE WAR OF DISINFORMATION AND FOREIGN INTERFERENCE IN LATINAMERICA

by labsul | nov 27, 2023 | Publications

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THE WAR OF DISINFORMATION AND FOREIGN INTERFERENCE IN LATINAMERICA

Gustavo Borges e Felipe Prestes*

Hyperconnectivity has created onlife experiences where online and offline experiences are indistinguishable. This represents a fundamental change for democracy, which needs to adapt to this new reality. In the context of information disorder, hyperconnectivity facilitates the spread of misinformation, which can be used to create risks for democracy and representative governments.

Disinformation threatens democracy because it can be used to manipulate public opinion, weaken democratic institutions, and undermine trust in the media. Their main objective is to spread material with incorrect or biased data, knowing it will cause harm.

Disinformation spreads quickly in a participatory, challenging-to-understand, complex, and dynamic digital ecosystem in which participants only sometimes have the critical capacity to identify false and misleading content.

Russian disinformation campaigns are a powerful tool that can undermine democracy and regional stability. There is a risk to society, so much so that there is growing concern in Europe and Latin America. Countries like Germany and Canada, for example, have specific websites to combat the Kremlin’s onslaught against their democracies.

Russia is using a disinformation tactic known as the “Firehose of Falsehood” Propaganda Model, spreading disinformation in Latin America to promote its interests. According to information from the US State Department, the Russian government is funding a disinformation campaign targeting the whole of Latin America. The plans include using media contacts and influencers in countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay, among others, to conduct an information manipulation campaign.

The apparent aim is to spread disinformation organically among the populations of these countries, to weaken support for Ukraine, and to promote narratives contrary to those of the United States and NATO. Vigilance and democratic resilience in the face of disinformation tactics that seek to influence public opinion and destabilize the democratic order are essential.

In addition, according to the US Intelligence Community’s Annual Threat Assessment Report, the Kremlin has been improving its tactics to conceal its role in spreading disinformation further. This strategy involves using websites that mimic independent news organizations, aiming to intensify its penetration in the West by publishing false content and amplifying information that can be seen as beneficial to Russian ideals. Observers of this phenomenon have noted that Russian propaganda “entertains, confuses, and overwhelms the public,” operating on multiple fronts with various channels and messages, often promoting partial truths or pure fiction.

This situation underscores the need for constant attention and a critical approach to information fundamental to maintaining democratic integrity and freedom of expression.

There is an outline of the mechanics of the Russian campaign, which would work in Chile, based on proliferation through various individuals who form editorials – journalists and public opinion leaders – from different countries. This editorial would receive material created and sent by Russia to review and edit for later publication in the Latin American media so that it would appear as an organic movement, using a tactic already practiced by Russia since 2014.

Ilya Gambashidze, director of the Russian public relations company known as Social Design Agency, is the one who led a group of DAS influencers to conduct a campaign of manipulation against Latin American countries. In addition to him, DAS project director Andrey Perla, Structura CEO Nikolay Tupikin, and pro-Kremlin journalist Oleg Yasinskiy are also involved.

Russia uses a vast ecosystem of proxy websites, subjects, and organizations that are new independent sources. This “influence-for-hire” is believed to be able to exploit open information environments, which can proliferate disinformation and propaganda to further Russia’s external influence objectives.

In Brazil, the influence of Russian disinformation takes shape in the work of the Brazilian branch of the “New Resistance,” which promotes the influence of movements throughout Latin America. The New Resistance co-organizes events with Russian philosopher Aleksandr Dugin and includes high-ranking Russian officials, “academic” seminars, and training courses on YouTube, as well as publishing pro-Kremlin and pro-authoritarian disinformation on its Moscow-registered website. The New Resistance has been instrumental in creating a group of like-minded “nationalist and revolutionary organizations” throughout Latin America, and its efforts are not only limited to political coordination and philosophy but also extend to supporting paramilitary activities.

In addition to the existence of the New Resistance’s open propaganda and disinformation in support of Russia against Ukraine, the organization aims to strengthen the struggle through Brazilians on the side of Russia and its representatives in the Donbas region.

Thus, it is possible to see a threat from Russian efforts to gain social support through disinformation campaigns, not only to achieve political ends but to threaten Latin America’s constantly developing democracies. Disinformation is a hybrid war that uses the integrated use of information-related resources – “information operations” (IO) – to influence, disrupt, corrupt, or usurp decision-making to undermine democracy and the sovereignty of countries in the region.

*About the authors

Gustavo Borges

President Director of LABSUL – Human Rights and New Technologies Laboratory

Professor of Human Rights and New Technologies on the Master’s Degree in Human Rights at UNESC, Brazil

Consultant in Law and Technology

Felipe Prestes

Researcher at LABSUL

Master’s student in Law at UNESC

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Marcela

30 de abril de 2024

Exceptional

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