Disinformation and Narrative Warfare

Never before has the world experienced the pollution of the information environment to the breadth and scope that we are experiencing today. Between the rise of authoritarian populists and the pervasive adoption of online behavior modification platforms, we risk the return of a technologically-enabled myth-based society that threatens to undo progress we can trace all the way back to the Enlightenment itself. This course will help the student become aware and make sense of the world of deliberate information manipulation, or disinformation, that has created such historical threats. It will educate them on the motivations behind such actors, from State-level actors to grassroots ones, and help them understand the modern internet-enabled tools available to them. Finally, it will help them identify policy, regulatory, diplomatic, and technological interventions that can help stem the pollution of and help protect our future information environment.