Draft:Narrative Attack

Narrative Attack is a form of strategic communication employed to influence public opinion, disrupt societies, or achieve specific political, economic, or social objectives. This tactic involves deliberately constructing and disseminating false, misleading, or manipulative narratives to target specific audiences.

Definition

A narrative attack is a coordinated effort to shape, distort, or manipulate the narrative around a particular event, issue, or person. It typically involves using disinformation, misinformation, and propaganda to create a biased or misleading storyline that influences public perception and behavior.

Characteristics

Intentionality: Narrative attacks are deliberate efforts to influence beliefs and actions (https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2960.html).

Strategic Targeting: These attacks often target specific groups, such as political opponents, ethnic minorities, or vulnerable populations (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13523260.2019.1627440).

Disinformation and Misinformation: They rely heavily on false or misleading information to construct and perpetuate the desired narrative (https://www.brookings.edu/research/weaponizing-narrative/).

Emotional Appeal: Successful narrative attacks often exploit emotional triggers to elicit strong reactions from the audience (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563220303034).

Techniques

Fake News: Creating and spreading false news stories that support the desired narrative (https://www.cjr.org/special_report/fake-news-crisis.php).

Manipulated Media: Using altered images, videos, or audio clips to misrepresent facts (https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/jan/06/deepfake-technology-manipulated-media-fake-news).

Astroturfing: Orchestrating fake grassroots movements to give the impression of widespread support or opposition (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5838344/).

Echo Chambers: Amplifying the narrative through controlled or sympathetic media outlets and social media platforms (https://academic.oup.com/joc/article/68/2/212/4959061).

Historical Examples

Cold War Propaganda: Both the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in narrative attacks to promote their ideologies and discredit the other side (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/review-of-international-studies/article/propaganda-and-the-cold-war/59E57279E0F8C0D9A6B3CF4C5CDEB5C3).

2016 U.S. Presidential Election: Russian interference in the election included narrative attacks aimed at influencing voter opinions and sowing discord (https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Report_Volume1.pdf).

COVID-19 Disinformation: Various state and non-state actors have used narrative attacks to spread misinformation about the origins, treatments, and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-020-0831-4).

Impact

Narrative attacks can have profound effects on societies, including: Polarization: Deepening divisions within societies by promoting extreme viewpoints (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1940161218771902).

Distrust: Eroding trust in institutions, media, and between individuals (https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/12/31/how-americans-see-distrust-in-society-and-its-consequences/).

Conflict: Inciting violence and conflict through inflammatory and divisive narratives (https://www.icrc.org/en/document/how-narratives-shape-armed-conflict). Behavioral Influence: Affecting public behavior and decision-making processes (https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0230837).

Defense Mechanisms Media Literacy: Educating the public to evaluate information sources critically and recognize manipulation (https://www.medialit.org/reading-room/what-media-literacy-definition-and-more).

Fact-Checking: Strengthening fact-checking initiatives and promoting reliable information sources (https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2020/how-to-fact-check-misinformation/). Regulation: Implementing policies to reduce the spread of disinformation on social media platforms (https://www.brookings.edu/research/tackling-disinformation-in-social-media-what-can-be-done/).

Technology Solutions: Developing AI and machine learning tools to detect and counteract narrative attacks (https://www.nature.com/articles/s42256-019-0136-8).

Notable Researchers and Organizations Blackbird.AI: A company specializing in detecting and mitigating narrative attacks and disinformation campaigns (https://blackbird.ai).

RAND Corporation: Researches the impact of information operations and strategies to counteract them (https://www.rand.org/topics/disinformation.html).

First Draft: A non-profit organization addressing misinformation through research and training (https://firstdraftnews.org).

Further Reading Bennett, W. Lance, and Steven Livingston. "The Disinformation Age: Politics, Technology, and Disruptive Communication in the United States." (https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/disinformation-age/0A57B563B25F76017A812176D5F60F1D) Benkler, Yochai, Robert Faris, and Hal Roberts. "Network Propaganda: Manipulation, Disinformation, and Radicalization in American Politics." (https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/oso/9780190923624.001.0001/oso-9780190923624)

Narrative Attacks

Overview

Narrative attacks are a form of information manipulation where misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation are used to shape perceptions about individuals, organizations, or events. These attacks can have significant financial, reputational, and societal impacts, making them a critical concern for organizations worldwide.

Narrative Intelligence is used to uncover narrative attacks which are a new defense category. Narrative intelligence helps brands and public-sector organizations make better decisions by surfacing hidden risk signals and combat narrative attacks fueled by misinformation and disinformation.

CISA - Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security agency reduces risk to U.S. critical infrastructure by building resilience to foreign influence operations and disinformation. Through these efforts, CISA helps the American people understand the scope and scale of these activities targeting election infrastructure and enables them to take action to mitigate associated risks.

'''Types of Narrative Manipulation '''
 * Misinformation: Unintentional spread of false or misleading information.
 * Disinformation: Deliberately false information shared to deceive or manipulate.
 * Malinformation: Factual information used maliciously to cause harm.

Components of a Narrative Attack Trigger: An event such as a data breach or scandal. Actors: Individuals or groups who amplify the narrative using various platforms. Bots: Automated accounts that enhance the spread of the narrative. Narrative: The storyline is constructed using selective evidence, emotional language, and biased imagery. Platforms: Open, deep, dark web including social media, traditional media, forums, and blogs where the narrative spreads. Generative artificial intelligence is used to create targeted narrative attacks.

Impact Narrative attacks can rapidly spread online, causing serious financial, reputational, and societal harm that may persist for long periods. It is estimated that $78 billion is lost each year to private firms due to disinformation. A 2022 survey found that 88% of investors consider disinformation attacks on corporations to be a serious issue. While narrative attacks can target any industry, governmental entities and corporations in financial services, consumer brands, pharmaceuticals/healthcare, and entertainment are at especially high risk.

Misinformation, Disinformation and Malinformation Narrative attacks leverage these three key manipulation types: Misinformation, Disinformation and Malinformation.

Narrative Attacks by Use Case


 * Crisis Communications and Brand Reputation Management
 * Cyber Attacks
 * Geopolitical Risks
 * Financial Markets Risk
 * Stock Manipulation
 * M&A Due Diligence
 * Insider Threats
 * Executive Targeting
 * Environmental, Social, and Governance
 * Supply Chain and Infrastructure
 * Physical Security
 * Labor Relations

How Narrative Attacks Spread

Narrative attacks typically start with a triggering event, such as a data breach, scandal, or controversial incident. Various actors, including social media influencers, biased journalists, disgruntled employees, and activists then begin spreading misleading or false information about the event across online platforms. In more sophisticated attacks, malicious bots may be used to rapidly amplify the messages.

Specific manipulation techniques used in narrative attacks include:
 * Fabricating information
 * Cherry-picking evidence
 * Using loaded language to shape perception
 * Leveraging biased imagery to manipulate emotions
 * The misleading narratives are spread via social media, online forums, websites, blogs, and sometimes even in traditional media and personal conversations.

'''Strategies for Mitigating Narrative Attacks ''' Monitor for Narrative Attacks: Use dedicated tools to detect coordinated narrative attacks. Assess Business Risk: Focus on the potential impact rather than just factual accuracy. Get Visibility: Understand the actors, networks, and automation accelerating narratives. Move Faster: Respond quickly to minimize damage.  Consider Counter-Narratives: Use data-driven approaches to counter disinformation. Add Narrative Intelligence Expertise: Incorporate specialists in narrative analysis. Take It Seriously: Acknowledge the significant risk posed by narrative attacks. Establish Partnerships: Work with narrative intelligence experts for proactive defense.  Glossary of Key Terms Actor: An individual or group spreading content. Bot: Automated program that amplifies content. Deepfake: Digitally altered video to misrepresent someone. Influencer: Individual with a large online audience. Information Ecosystem: The network through which information flows. Narrative Generation: The process of building a narrative. Risk Landscape: The range of potential threats. OSINT: Open-source intelligence gathered from public sources.

Narrative attacks were recently covered in Fortune. The conversation delved into how narrative intelligence helps companies and security organizations protect themselves against disinformation, misinformation, and narrative attacks. The conversation ranged from the ways AI is used to create warped realities, how companies can fight back against misinformation, and why the major AI platforms haven’t focused on the disinformation problem.  See also: Counter Misinformation Team Deepfakes Denial and deception Disinformation attack Fake news False flag Fear, uncertainty and doubt Internet manipulation Knowledge falsification Manufacturing Consent Media manipulation Military deception Post-truth politics Sharp power Social engineering (political science) Astroturfing Conspiracy theories clickbait Culture wars Echo chambers Hoaxes Fake news Propaganda Pseudoscience