A new front in global conflict has emerged, targeting not military assets or borders but minds and public opinion. In the U.S., Russia, China, and Iran have escalated a covert war aimed at spreading disinformation to erode trust in democracy and create division. This sophisticated information war is being waged across social media, with hostile foreign actors leveraging misinformation to sway public opinion and exploit political rifts. As David Shedd and Ivana Stradner highlight in Foreign Affairs, the U.S. response has been limited, disjointed, and insufficient. Here’s a look at the strategies used by foreign adversaries and what America must do to protect its democracy from this covert attack.
Russia, China, and Iran
In recent years, authoritarian powers have refined their techniques for influencing public opinion in the U.S., often by amplifying existing societal divides. Each country has unique objectives within this information war. Russia is determined to deepen U.S. polarization, believing that a divided America is less capable of global leadership. By sowing distrust, Moscow hopes to erode U.S. influence and shift global power in its favor.
China’s approach is less confrontational but still disruptive. Rather than pushing a singular agenda, China’s campaigns aim to sow doubt about American democracy and portray Beijing’s system as a preferable alternative. China’s methods include spreading content that criticizes U.S. policies on social issues, like reproductive rights and foreign policy, thereby undermining the credibility of American leadership.
Iran’s strategy focuses on issues that resonate with specific American groups, such as criticisms of U.S. involvement in the Middle East. Tehran’s disinformation campaigns seek to exploit American sentiments around foreign policy, using these controversies to cast the U.S. as an unstable global actor. According to intelligence reports, Iranian-backed hackers have even attempted to interfere with U.S. elections by circulating sensitive information and engaging in smear campaigns that amplify domestic discontent.
Key strategies in the information war
Foreign actors employ a range of techniques to target American audiences. Social media platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter) have become central battlegrounds where disinformation can easily circulate. By creating fake accounts, “troll farms,” and bots, adversaries spread incendiary content on divisive topics like immigration, race relations, and gun rights. Russia’s “bot farms,” for example, use AI to create fake personas that mimic Americans, making their disinformation harder to detect. These bots have been particularly active in promoting falsehoods and exaggerating narratives that stir mistrust in the electoral process, such as stories questioning the validity of mail-in ballots.
Chinese influence operations have similarly evolved, often under programs like “Spamouflage” that deploy fake American users to criticize the U.S. government. These campaigns have also promoted skepticism about U.S. foreign policy and social issues, with Chinese bots and trolls highlighting criticisms of U.S. support for Israel or amplifying calls for boycotts related to international events, such as the conflict in Gaza.
In addition, Iran has developed strategies to interfere with the U.S. electoral process by hacking campaign databases and leaking files to manipulate public opinion. Earlier this year, Iranian actors reportedly breached a political campaign’s security and attempted to share information with U.S. media in an effort to influence election narratives.
The cumulative impact
The covert tactics used by these autocratic regimes are less about shifting votes in a single election and more about eroding trust in democratic institutions over time. The goal is to create an environment where Americans lose faith in their government, question the legitimacy of elections, and doubt the media. Rather than a quick shift in public opinion, these operations aim for gradual destabilization, making Americans more susceptible to conspiracy theories and less confident in their institutions.
By continuously feeding misinformation into U.S. media ecosystems, these campaigns hope to weaken American social cohesion. The effects are difficult to quantify but evident in growing political polarization and declining trust in democratic processes. The potential long-term impact of these information campaigns is a public that is not only divided but also cynical about the possibility of effective governance—a win for authoritarian regimes that view Western democracy as their ideological competitor.
America’s response
The U.S. has made efforts to counteract foreign influence campaigns, but these measures have often been fragmented and reactive. For instance, U.S. Cyber Command has taken steps to disrupt Russian troll farms, and government agencies have exposed foreign influence operations. However, these actions are largely episodic and lack the cohesion required to address a sustained disinformation campaign.
Moreover, the U.S. government’s response has been hampered by bureaucratic inertia and limitations on interagency coordination. As Shedd and Stradner argue, the National Security Council (NSC) needs to lead a whole-of-government approach to address disinformation comprehensively. Currently, the responsibility for managing foreign information threats is divided across multiple agencies with limited shared resources, reducing the government’s agility in countering fast-moving digital threats.
The challenge of respecting free speech further complicates the U.S. response. Adversaries exploit First Amendment protections to spread disinformation, framing any countermeasure as an attack on free speech. This dilemma has created hesitancy among policymakers, who fear accusations of censorship. Critics of government intervention worry that efforts to monitor disinformation could infringe on free speech, limiting the scope and effectiveness of countermeasures.
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Recommended countermeasures
To effectively counter foreign influence operations, Shedd and Stradner propose several strategic actions:
- Establish a government-wide task force: The NSC should create a task force comprising representatives from key departments, such as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Department of Defense. This task force would develop a centralized strategy to identify and counteract disinformation campaigns.
- Strengthen partnerships with social media platforms: The U.S. government should form a joint working group with social media companies to improve the monitoring of disinformation on their platforms. Unlike previous collaborations during the COVID-19 pandemic, which faced criticism for perceived overreach, this partnership would focus specifically on countering known influence campaigns from foreign adversaries without impinging on domestic free speech.
- Increase transparency and public awareness: By declassifying and disseminating information on foreign disinformation activities, the government can help the public recognize and resist manipulation. Increased transparency would enable citizens to identify and question suspicious content, decreasing the effectiveness of these influence operations.
- Launch proactive U.S. information campaigns abroad: Taking a page from Cold War-era public diplomacy efforts, the U.S. should consider launching its own influence operations in autocratic countries. By promoting democratic values and highlighting the deficiencies of authoritarian governance, the U.S. can push back against the disinformation narratives spread by its adversaries. This would shift the burden onto foreign intelligence agencies, forcing them to divert resources to counteract U.S. influence.
- Extend the mandate of the Global Engagement Center: The State Department’s Global Engagement Center, which coordinates U.S. efforts to counter foreign propaganda, is set to lose its authorization at the end of 2024. Renewing and expanding this mandate would bolster America’s ability to respond to foreign disinformation campaigns and provide a vital tool in the information war.
Conclusion
In the digital age, the fight to protect American democracy goes beyond securing borders or deploying troops. It requires a focused effort to counteract information campaigns that seek to undermine the foundations of democratic society. The U.S. faces a critical moment: if it does not act decisively, adversarial influence operations will continue to exploit America’s open society to advance authoritarian agendas.
Shedd and Stradner’s recommendations outline a path forward, emphasizing the need for cohesive action, public transparency, and collaboration with private-sector partners. By adopting a proactive strategy, the U.S. can counter foreign disinformation campaigns while upholding democratic values at home. The information war is here, and America must rise to the challenge, defending not only its political institutions but also the minds of its citizens from adversarial manipulation.
