Disinformation – Дезинформация
(Dezinformatsiya)
Aristedes Mahairas
Mikhail Dvilyanski
Disinformation is defined by Merriam-Webster as “false information deliberately and often covertly spread (as by the planting of rumors) in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth.”[1] The word disinformation did not appear in English dictionaries until the 1980s. Its origins, however, can be traced back as early as the 1920s when Russia began using the word in connection with a special disinformation office whose purpose was to disseminate “false information with the intention to deceive public opinion.”[2] Russia considered disinformation as a strategic weapon to be used in its overall Active Measures strategy. Active Measures, активные мероприятия, is a Soviet term for active intelligence operations for the purpose of influencing world events to achieve its geopolitical goals.[3] Major General Oleg Kalugin, retired KGB, considered disinformation as a critical component of the Active Measures strategy. Major General Kalugin described this as “the heart and soul of Soviet intelligence. Not intelligence collection, but subversion: active measures to weaken the West, to drive wedges in the Western community alliances of all sorts, particularly NATO, to sow discord among allies, to weaken the United States in the eyes of the people of Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and thus to prepare ground in case the war really occurs.”[4] To achieve these ends, many different methods were employed; such as, the creation of front organizations, the establishment of opposition parties, the support of criminal and terrorist organizations, and even the spread of disinformation through official and unofficial channels designed specifically to sow discord among the targeted audience.
1960S: OPERATION NEPTUNE
Operation Neptune was one such example. In this 1964 disinformation operation, the Czechoslovak secret service, working with the KGB, participated in the sinking and
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