Did you ever think that disinformation, misinformation, and other forms of digital subversion will ever end? Nations like Ireland, who have a level of digital adoption above a threshold, currently are targets for digital subversives. Manipulation and social disruption brought on by these campaigns are affecting our daily thinking, our daily view of the world, and our daily lives!
Well organised and structured digital subversion campaigns are as effective as the ordinary citizen’s level of connectivity to, and use of, social media platforms. Also of note is the “Digital Authoritarian”, who relies on social media platforms for the mass distribution of false narratives.
Their strategic approach involves structuring these digital distributions to spread geographically throughout the target nation. False narratives, to be effective, require a geographical spread to progress the digital authoritarian’s agenda. We did not see this coming in any democratic society after the Arab Spring of 2011. However, 11 years after the international debut of digital subversion in Egypt; we know it’s real, and it’s here to stay. How it affects us, however, is up to us!
Where fact meets fiction
Like the musings of Jack Debaut in my forthcoming novel, From Terror to Valor: Echoes and Shadows, the risk potential of this new threat is a primary concern. If left unchecked, digital subversion can have far-reaching consequences. Fast developing strategies in education and in other areas, will help combat this phantom menace of the digital age.
As the EU has shown, regional leadership in the digital realm is not only possible, but is also a reality. Recently, the EU introduced the Digital Services Act to help combat disinformation and misinformation. Elon Musk, who publically vowed to fight it on behalf of the X/Twitter platform, has received a simple response from EU officials. Compliance for social media companies is not an option, it’s a requirement.
This hallmark act by the EU commission laid down a new premise. The digital user in the EU has a voice against scaled digital misinformation, disinformation, and other forms of digital subversion. Also of note is AI. It plays a huge part in this era of ‘Fake News’, and it has been instrumental in hyper-accelerating cybercrime tactics.
Recently, the European Parliament voted in the AI act. It’s a landmark piece of legalisation to protect users from malicious AI. While the ‘tech bros’ may fear this, ethical tech companies and engineers should embrace it as a reasonable construct for future development that does not lose sight of user safety and interests.
Are developing countries safe from digital subversion?
The answer is an emphatic no! Disinformation, misinformation, and other aspects of a digital subversion campaign often include physical world strategies and tactics. It’s a transnational problem. If your neighbouring country surpasses the threshold of digital adoption, there is no guarantee that a subversion and/or digital subversion campaign will not target your own people.
APO Africa Newsroom wired me a heart-warming press release about how Ghanians will benefit from a 1.2 MegaWatt boost to their digital economy. This is great news, and one to be shared for Ghanians the world over. However, this digital path taken by Ghana comes with inherent dangers. Ghanians, along with the Ghanian Government, will in time be required to address these dangers as they travel down the digital path.
The good news is that Ghana does not have to start from the beginning. In Ireland, and in the face of unprecedented digital aggression, we are now waking up to the dangers of digital use, malicious digital tactics, and nation influencing digital subversion.
Ireland is now part of an EU family that seeks to advance our new digital reality. We are an EU community who learned, under attack from digital subversives, how to respond. We are also doing this in a manner which places the digital protection of our citizenry as equals with the physical protection of our member nations, and our people.
Digital subversion has a solution
Our regional reply to these new threats is one that nations in Africa can learn from. The pioneering work in the EU shows nations, like Ghana, the value of our learned lessons, and how we faced challenges, such as disinformation campaigns. It’s also a valuable resource that can make false narratives fade into the ether of societal discourse. It will free up constrained resources to become more effective in just about everything a nation moving towards digital adoption does.
While Ireland and Ghana have some loosely coupled commonalities in terms of our cultures; the sharing of digital ideas, knowledge, and knowhow can bring new friends into the fold. It also lets common enemies know we won’t give up our dream of digital adoption and prosperity; sewn into a fair digital future for our societies. In collaborating around our common interests, we are telling digital subversives; we know you are hiding in the shadows and we are not afraid!
About the Author
John is a versatile author known for his gripping fiction narratives in the thriller, action, and suspense genres. With a background as a non-fiction journalist since 2016, and expertise in cloud technologies as an engineer; John brings a unique blend of storytelling prowess and technical acumen to his work.
