Attacking socio-technical systems with modern information techniques
Propaganda is not just about content — it’s about exploiting systems and targeting how society functions. From algorithmic amplification and platform design to synthetic identities and psychological operations, modern influence campaigns exploit the entire socio-technical stack. They manipulate attention, hijack trust, and erode collective sense-making.
In this talk, I consider how digital information operations — or propaganda — function as a systemic practice. Drawing on real-world influence campaigns, cyber threat intelligence cases, and academic research, I will show how these operations weaponise the interplay between technology, institutions, and human behaviour. The boundaries between marketing, warfare, and governance are increasingly blurred.
Rather than framing this solely as a cybersecurity issue or a problem of content moderation, I argue for a deeper perspective: propaganda as the strategic misuse of socio-technical systems. I will share practical suggestions for analysing these operations and explain why recognising propaganda as infrastructure — not just as speech — is critical for effectively countering it.
Recommendations for both individuals and states will be included.
