Normalizing the untruth

“Don’t accept and shrug your shoulders on the normalization of untruths... [do not accept it] as the new normal.” Dr Anthony Fauci gave this statement in the context of the spread of Covid-19, but it makes every piece fall in the right place generally.

Someone once referred a book to me regarding the same idea of the ‘decay of truth’ in our era. The book, ‘Wires of War’ by Jacob Helberg, is an outstanding description of how information becomes ‘disinformation’ and outlandish opinions become reality. This forms part of fifth-generation warfare tactics.

In the 1980s, the US increased its dependence on computer networks and the world’s renewed focus was on foreign espionage. It was former US president Ronald Regan who first came up with the idea of cyber-attacks and cyber war. The latter’s main tactics were spreading disinformation to the extent of converting it into the new reality by using the cyber domain.

The English word ‘disinformation’ comes from the application of the Latin prefix dis- to information making the meaning "reversal or removal of information". Meanwhile, the word had appeared with this usage in print at least as far back as the year 1887. It is the label often given to foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI).

Its broader concept is more concerned with the ‘behaviour of an actor’ that is described through the military doctrine concept of tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs). In order to distinguish between similar terms, including misinformation and malinformation, scholars collectively agree on the definitions for each term: disinformation is the strategic dissemination of false information with the intention to cause public harm; misinformation represents the unintentional spread of false information; and malinformation is factual information disseminated with the intention to cause harm, these terms are abbreviated 'DMMI.

So, the normalization of untruths is related to spreading false information in order to achieve strategic goals. Historically, it was used in the cold-war era by the KGB Black Propaganda department.

The major characteristic of black propaganda is that the audience are not aware that someone is influencing them, and do not feel that they are being pushed in a certain direction. It purports to emanate from a source other than the true source. Sometimes the source is concealed or credited to a false authority and spreads lies, fabrications, and deceptions. It relies on the willingness of the receiver to accept the credibility of the source.

During the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin created and circulated a fake supplement to a Boston newspaper that included letters on Indian atrocities and the treatment of American prisoners. This is an example of Black propaganda.

During World War I, a rumour was circulated by the British that there had been a German attempt to land on British shores at Shingle Street, but it had been repulsed with large German casualties.

This was reported in the American press, and in William L Shirer's Berlin Diary but was officially denied. British papers, declassified in 1993, have suggested this was a successful example of British black propaganda to bolster morale in the UK, US and occupied Europe.

Hence, Helberg’s revelations in his book and Dr Fauci’s alarm on the use of information for attaining strategic goals is in fact an extension of its historical usage. In today’s era, where the spread of disinformation is at its peak, we as the audience and citizens of Pakistan should be aware of its designs. Any information which has an impact on our lives, like fake news regarding Covid-19, Indian media’s claim of Pakistan’s weaknesses to the extent of disintegration, failures of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and others, should be authenticated before spreading.

It all comes down to a simple action: If we are not sure about the reality of information, all we have to do is to break the chain of its spread and in this way we can break free from untruths, and normalization of disinformation.

The writer is a freelance contributor.