The terminology we use to describe new phenomena matters.  On this week's podcast, defense intellectual Frank Hoffman reviews Chinese, Russian, European, and--to the extent there is any--American writings about 'cognitive warfare.' For the uninitiated--this runs the gamut from traditional tools of influence to novel technologies, including chemical and directed energy weapons that can "alter peoples’ brains and thought processes. . . .” Co-hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson also discuss the latest news about CopyCop/Storm1516 and the latest recruiting ad for the 4th PsyOp Group.

The terminology we use to describe new phenomena matters.&nbsp; On this week's podcast, defense intellectual Frank Hoffman reviews Chinese, Russian, European, and--to the extent there is any--American writings about 'cognitive warfare.' For the uninitiated--this runs the gamut from traditional tools of influence to novel technologies, including chemical and directed energy weapons that can "alter peoples&rsquo; brains and thought processes. . . .&rdquo; Co-hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson also discuss the latest news about CopyCop/Storm1516 and the latest recruiting ad for the 4th PsyOp Group.

From the Pell Center at Salve Regina University and the creators of the Active Measures Newsletter, a weekly dive into the latest trends in political warfare, influence, and information campaigns. 

From the Pell Center at Salve Regina University and the creators of the Active Measures Newsletter, a weekly dive into the latest trends in political warfare, influence, and information campaigns.

A weekly dive into the headlines in the Active Measures Newsletter from the Pell Center at Salve Regina University.

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast

The terminology we use to describe new phenomena matters.  On this week's podcast, defense intellectual Frank Hoffman reviews Chinese, Russian, European, and--to the extent there is any--American writings about 'cognitive warfare.' For the uninitiated--this runs the gamut from traditional tools of influence to novel technologies, including chemical and directed energy weapons that can "alter peoples’ brains and thought processes. . . .” Co-hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson also discuss the latest news about CopyCop/Storm 1516 and the latest recruiting ad for the 4th PsyOp Group.

Cognitive Warfare with Frank Hoffman

American social media is filled with high-strung posters, outrage-addicts, and partisan players.  It's a perfect avenue for amplifying division and most platforms let anyone play anonymously.  So it came as a shock to some this week when X turned on a new geolocation service and the overseas posting of active accounts--some with hundreds of thousands and even millions of followers--proved to originate from Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia.  In this special edition of the podcast, host Jim Ludes takes us back to 2017, when Russia's use of fake personas on social media first became obvious.

American social media is filled with high-strung posters, outrage-addicts, and partisan players.&nbsp; It's a perfect avenue for amplifying division and most platforms let anyone play anonymously.&nbsp; So it came as a shock to some this week when X turned on a new geolocation service and the overseas posting of active accounts--some with hundreds of thousands and even millions of followers--proved to originate from Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia.&nbsp; In this special edition of the podcast, host Jim Ludes takes us back to 2017, when Russia's use of fake personas on social media first became obvious.

American social media is filled with high-strung posters, outrage-addicts, and partisan players.  It's a perfect avenue for amplifying division and most platforms let anyone play.  So it came as a shock to some this week when X turned on a new geolocation service and the overseas posting of active accounts--some with hundreds of thousands and even millions of followers--proved to originate from Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia.  In this special edition of the podcast, host Jim Ludes takes us back to 2017, when Russia's use of fake personas on social media first became obvious.

Special Edition: Social Media's "Fake Americans" Problem

This week, Naomi O’Leary, European Correspondent for The Irish Times describes Russia’s hybrid warfare across Europe—from severed pigs heads dumped at French mosques to cases of arson in Poland and the United Kingdom.  “Russia is recruiting what they call ‘Telegram agents’ over this messaging app to do small-scale sabotage,” she says, “and the aim is . . . ‘to disrupt the unity of Western states and sow discord among citizens of European countries. . . .’” Hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson also discuss emerging details about the Trump administration’s latest push for a deal in Ukraine; the potential for U.S. agentic AI information operations in Venezuela; and a litany of current disinformation campaigns in the Balkans.

This week, Naomi O&rsquo;Leary, European Correspondent for The Irish Times describes Russia&rsquo;s hybrid warfare across Europe&mdash;from severed pigs heads dumped at French mosques to cases of arson in Poland and the United Kingdom.&nbsp; &ldquo;Russia is recruiting what they call &lsquo;Telegram agents&rsquo; over this messaging app to do small-scale sabotage,&rdquo; she says, &ldquo;and the aim is . . . &lsquo;to disrupt the unity of Western states and sow discord among citizens of European countries. . . .&rsquo;&rdquo; Hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson also discuss emerging details about the Trump administration&rsquo;s latest push for a deal in Ukraine; the potential for U.S. agentic AI information operations in Venezuela; and a litany of current disinformation campaigns in the Balkans.

This week, Naomi O’Leary, European Correspondent for The Irish Times describes Russia’s hybrid warfare across Europe—from severed pigs heads dumped at French mosques to cases of arson in Poland and the United Kingdom.  “Russia is recruiting what they call ‘Telegram agents’ over this messaging app to do small-scale sabotage,” she says, “and the aim is . . . ‘to disrupt the unity of Western states and sow discord among citizens of European countries. . . .’” Hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson also discuss emerging details about the Trump administration’s latest push for a deal in Ukraine; the potential for U.S. agentic AI information operations in Venezuela; and a litany of current disinformation campaigns in the Balkans.

Hired Agents Sow Russian Chaos in Europe with Naomi O’Leary of The Irish Times

Journalists at Sky News created an elegant experiment to assess whether content on X in the United Kingdom had political bias. From a database of 90,000 posts created by 21,690 accounts collected over two weeks in May of 2025, they were able to observe ". . . a clear imbalance of content promoted on the platform, with right-wing voices dominating and the algorithm pushing posts to new users that don't align with their interests." Digital Investigations Journalists Kaitlin Tosh and Michelle Inez Simon join hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson to discuss their experiment and its findings.

Journalists at Sky News created an elegant experiment to assess whether content on X in the United Kingdom had political bias. From a database of 90,000 posts created by 21,690 accounts collected over two weeks in May of 2025, they were able to observe ". . . a clear imbalance of content promoted on the platform, with right-wing voices dominating and the algorithm pushing posts to new users that don't align with their interests." Digital Investigations Journalists Kaitlin Tosh and Michelle Inez Simon join hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson to discuss their experiment and its findings.

Journalists at Sky News created an elegant experiment to assess whether content on X had political bias. From a database of 90,000 posts created by 21,690 accounts collected over two weeks in May of 2025, they were able to observe ". . . a clear imbalance of content promoted on the platform, with right-wing voices dominating and the algorithm pushing posts to new users that don't align with their interests." Digital Investigations Journalists Kaitlin Tosh and Michelle Inez Simon join hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson to discuss their experiment and its findings.

Cognitive Warfare with Frank Hoffman

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