Uncovering a Faked War: Exploring Infowar in 2094

[anorlunda]

• We're all aware to some extent about information, disinformation, misinformation, deep fakes, propaganda and so on.
• We've seen how unpopular ideas like revolt or anti-vax or trucker's protests are deplatformed and suppressed.
• We see right now how both sides in a war assure that their people see only video and info from their side, and none of the other side's stuff. i.e. balkanization. (My info is journalism. Your info is propaganda.)

I extrapolate into the future, say 50 years, and visualize a war in which all the combat is virtual and deep faked, no physical combat happens anyplace. In today's parlance, a faked war. But in tomorrow's parlance, that's the way wars are fought.

Star Trek TOS had an episode about a faked war, but they connected it to the physical by having people report for execution. Now we could imagine that but sans any physical connection.

What's the point of a faked Infowar?

I could see it gaining political support for the home administration and fostering hatred for the bad guys. It could only work if the world was fully balkanized, so that the public never get's to see the other side's info. War mongering is hardly modern, it is classic and traditional.​

What's the advantage of Infowar compared to physical war?

It's much cheaper. The authorities could run several simultaneously.​

Here' my question? Might that make a fun premise for a SF novel? The novel would have to depict competing Infowars told from the vantage point of both sides. Or maybe more than 2 sides.

Could it be plausible that the public never finds out that the war is fake?

It would be a very dark rewrite of George Orwell's 1984, so naturally the title must be 2094.

But it's really hard to have an original idea. Is there already a SF novel using this theme?

 

[Bystander]

Is there already a SF novel using this theme?

Crime and Punishment?

 

[jack action]

We see right now how both sides in a war assure that their people see only video and info from their side, and none of the other side's stuff. i.e. balkanization. (My info is journalism. Your info is propaganda.)

I noticed that as well.

During the pandemic, I remember someone showing me a video on Youtube to explain to me how efficient were masks. The only thing I could think of was that Youtube is also the information source of anti-vax et al. So how can I trust this info more than the one from "the other side"? Apparently, it's just a number's game: the side with the most videos wins and all others must follow.

During this war in Ukraine, I'm being told that part of the country is inhabited by pro-Russian Ukrainians. Both sides affirm that. Putin's official reason for this war is to deliver those people from the "awful" government that is in place in Ukraine. In the news, I'm shown people in Kyiv, but never the ones in Crimea. Aren't they dancing in the streets, happy to be saved from the evil government? Or are they thinking Russian are crazy and want them to stop bombing everything like everyone else? Those are the people I want to see in the news.

When I see reports about how clueless ordinary Russians are because they are being fed misinformation about us, how do I know we are not the ones being fed misinformation about Russians? I remember when we were told that we had to go to war in Iraq because they supposedly had "weapons of mass destruction".

I extrapolate into the future, say 50 years, and visualize a war in which all the combat is virtual and deep faked, no physical combat happens anyplace.

How do we know it is not happening right now?

Could it be plausible that the public never finds out that the war is fake?

I can't even be sure anyone on this forum is real. I'm might be just discussing with AI, programmed to humor me.

 

[anorlunda]

I can't even be sure anyone on this forum is real.

And I have my doubts about you.

 

[Hornbein]

You could have side A fake the war in order to increase media viewership and build up support for more military spending. Side B simply goes about life as usual. Side B would be aware this is happening, but side B's declarations that there is no war are suppressed as misinformation.

The fictitous war could end in glorious victory, boosting support for the government.

The more I think about it, the more doable it seems. Many North Koreans believe they are the strongest and most prosperous nation on Earth and that Kim Il Sung had magical powers. A fake war seems relatively easy to pull off. It has all the "advantages" of a real war with none of the drawbacks. Heck, I'm starting to think it's a good idea.

Why should side A have all the fun? Side B could join into enjoy a similar boost. The true enemy would be anyone who dares try to expose the scam.

 

[256bits]

During this war in Ukraine

What war in Ukraine?

I thought is was reality TV at its best. With real politicans dong their acting at the best they can. The favourite right now is Zellinsky. Boy that guy can act and charm an audience. He just might come out on top and win the prize, whatever that may be. Other players are trying, Biden, Trudeau types, some from Europe, attempt a shot at the spotlight and it works for a while, but it is still Zelinski who is still in the lead, showing the others up as being just amateurs as he spins and wiggles them out of the picture. Putin had been at one time taking the spotlight with his show of strength and comebacks, but as a one trick pony its not working for him as well as it did in the beginning and there has come out some very unfavourable critizism in his role as just trying to bully each and everyone around him, not expecting the pushback from the others players.
Not sure, nor is anyone, how this will end, but whoever came up with this world production deserves an Emmy and Ocsar and Golden Globe for the portrayed realism.

BTW, the last production, Covid, well people just grew tired off it, same thing over and over again, not much creativity there, as seen by the complete fallback of position during and after the trucking thing started showing its unpopularity creeping into the population. Xi had thought it was a winner for him at the outset, so maybe that's why he has chosen a bit part in the Ukraine production, once burnt, twice shy I guess.

All the world's a stage I heard from somewhere.

The above is an exerpt from Plant Chunj on Earth Theatre Production, and in no way reflects the actually of events in earth.

 

[jack action]

To bring this back to the original question:

But it's really hard to have an original idea. Is there already a SF novel using this theme?

Wouldn't Wag the dog classify as based on such a theme? It was based on the novel American Hero. Saw the movie, didn't read the book.

 

[geordief]

I think Russian society would benefit from a deep fake Putin hacked onto prime time tv where ha exposes his real self shorn of his deceptions and manipulations.

Something like a good cartoon take off.

No need to be too realistic, just enough to show the emperor without his clothes.

 

[DaveC426913]

a war in which all the combat is virtual and deep faked, no physical combat happens anyplace.

Isn't that literally what corporate marketing is?

Even today some corporations have a bigger budget than some countries. They battle using misinformation, propaganda - even sabotage - to win the sentiment of citizens for their money and fealty.

 

[anorlunda]

Isn't that literally what corporate marketing is?

Not really. Facebook can't convince us that Europe doesn't exist.

It's a question of the scale of disinformation. Truth be told, everyone does it a little bit.