Information War in the Internet: The Conflict Which Cannot Be Won
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2015-09-25
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en
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The debates over Ukraine in 2014 were very popular. The events shocked people, and the discussions over these events were everywhere. The discussion was particularly massive in the Internet. Eventually the discussion over the discussion became more and more intensive, regarding the issues of propaganda, ‘brainwashing’ and Information War. So-called Internet Armies became the focus of news, while different groups of people were trying to oppose different propaganda. However, the same concept of Information War is not that clear in science. The role of propaganda in this phenomenon is not researched well enough either. In this paper I attempt to understand what Information War is, what its specifics in the Internet is, and what role propaganda plays in it. I resumed that Information War is actually a social conflict by means of communication. Though in some forms of such a conflict propaganda can play a significant role, in the Internet it can never succeed in its goals of changing people’s attitudes. That is why any mobilization of ‘Internet Armies’ can never lead to a ‘victory’. No propaganda in the Internet can force people to change their mind. However, this ‘war’ is still a social conflict, and it should be treated as such. It is about people fighting each other in a limitless network. It is a conflict which can never be won.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen