Domestic Democratic Messaging in Countering Democracy-Destructing Narratives

• In Event: Russian Disinformation Activities

Abstract

Democracies across the world are confronting a rising threat to their existence – the use of information warfare by autocratic regimes aiming to undermine their citizen’s confidence in democratic governance and western democratic values. Although the Russian and formerly Soviet governments have engaged in attempts at democracy-destruction for nearly a century, the sophistication and penetration of these messages and techniques for delivering them to receptive audiences have made countering them an imperative for states wishing to keep their democratic spirit.

In countering these narratives, democracies often face peril in that rule of law and free expression are cornerstones of democratic values, something that makes the strictest regulation unpalatable for all but those states who already embrace elements of authoritarianism. Criminalization of disinformation can easily lead to anti-government groups being targeted by security services. Media literacy education, another option being used in the European Union, shows short term promise with unknown future impacts.

This paper argues that there is a role for democratic states to engage in domestic messaging efforts – that governments seeking to confront the issue of Russian meddling in democratic processes should do so in the information space, countering, prebunking, and revealing efforts by the Russian government and others to hijack the minds of citizens of democracies into tearing down their systems of government.

Author

• Steven Feldman