LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media

Speaker(s):

Singer, P. (New America)

Date of Event:

December 3, 2018

Associated SMA Project

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“LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media”

Speaker: Singer, P. (New America)

Date: 3 December 2018

Speaker Session Preview

SMA hosted an exclusive Q&A session featuring Dr. Peter Singer (New America) as a part of its SMA DHS Speaker Series. During this Q&A session, the following questions were addressed:

1. Could you explain the meaning of the term “likewar”?

2. How did you conduct the research for this book?

What motivated you to write on the weaponization of social media?

4. What can we do to prevail and thrive during the age of “likewar”?

Does objective proof exist, and does it matter? How can we use truth to our advantage?

6. Do you think that there is a need for a national information strategy? Do you believe the government should create an information agency to tackle this “likewar” issue?

7. A prior SMA presenter discussed a study on the indoctrination of fake news in which study groups were provided falsified materials for a court case, and their reactions were observed. The only factor that reduced the impact of this fake news was if the subjects were warned beforehand that falsified information may be presented to them. What do you think of the impact of initial skepticism?

8. China is starting to implement a social credit system, which is based on the premise that what you do and say online reflects your character. Do you think it’s possible to find a middle ground, where we can identify problematic individuals but also avoid the implementation of such a system?

9. What are your thoughts on the following statement?: “The network days will have a larger impact on society than the Enlightenment or the Industrial Revolution.”

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Peter W. Singer is a Strategist at New America and has been recognized as one of the nation’s most influential thinkers on defense and security. He has been named by the Smithsonian as one of America’s 100 leading innovators, by Defense News as one of the 100 most influential people in defense, and by Foreign Policy to its Top 100 Global Thinkers list. He has also been designated an official “Mad Scientist” by the U.S. Army’s Training and Doctrine Command.

Singer is the author of multiple award-winning books, including Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry; Children at War; Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century; Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What Everyone Needs to Know; and Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War, a technothriller blending nonfiction research and storytelling. Ghost Fleet received endorsements from leaders ranging from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to the co-inventor of the Internet to the writer of HBO’s Game of Thrones. His latest book, LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media (HMH, 2018), examines how social media has transformed war and politics—and how war and politics have reshaped social media. It was named an Amazon “Book of the Month,” featured as a New York Times “New & Notable” title, and praised by Booklist as “required reading for everyone living in a democracy and all who aspire to.”

Singer’s previous roles include serving in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, at Harvard University, and as the founding director of the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence at the Brookings Institution—where he became the youngest senior fellow in its century-long history.

NSI Contributors

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Region

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Methodology

Social Media Analysis

Social Network Analysis

National Security Topic

Cyber

Outcome

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