From ‘Moles’ to ‘Trolls’ and ‘Botnets’

Saturday, Mar. 21, 3 p.m.

After the Cold War ended Soviet leaders worried that their nation could not defeat the United using traditional military methods. To compensate they sought to level the playing field — turning to spies and "moles" instead of relying on an arms race many in the Kremlin did not believe they could win. 

 The advent of social media in the early 21st century greatly simplified this.  As Americans turned to social media platforms to organize, commiserate, evaluate, shop/sell, date, support, socialize, and — occasionally — to eviscerate, intimidate, humiliate, etc., these new platforms provided America's enemies access to more real-time information about more people that had ever before been possible. 

 A university professor who teaches graduate seminars on US foreign policy, Dr. Pearcy will discuss the ways in which social media is being exploited by our nation's enemies to divide and weaken western democracies.  If Moscow, China, and our enemies cannot defeat the United States in war, can they get the nation's citizens to turn against one another to the point that the nation self-destructs?  What we do to protect ourselves and our nation? 


 
 
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