Where Russian Disinformation Comes From [Disinformation]

Social media bot armies, nation-state cyberattacks, election manipulation, fake news plants, military deceptions. It might all seem very novel, but every Russian disinformation strategy has an historical precedent we can trace decades, even centuries back. Can understanding the past help us fight it today?

Russia was gripped with fear. Anybody could have been the next victims of the shadowy terrorist conspiracy against the nation and its people. Who was doing this, and why? And why did those in power refuse to stop them?

Decades ago, Vladimir Putin was an almost unknown figure. But then, at a crucial inflection point in history, the Kremlin devised an evil disinformation campaign. Arguably one of the most evil acts ever conceived. Nobody has ever proven exactly who was behind it, but one thing is for sure: it undoubtedly helped launch Putin to the power he still enjoys today.

Maybe you assumed that disinformation is formulated in strange, faroff corners of the internet. But go down the rabbit hole and you’ll find that, in fact, some of the crazy ideas your uncle talks about at Thanksgiving were, in fact, deliberately invented, cultivated, and spread by powerful nation-state actors dedicating huge money, manpower, and time for the goal of leading millions of people astray and, potentially, inciting consequences far worse than that.But Russia’s fake news didn’t begin with the guy you’re thinking of -- that one, you know who. No, in a meaningful sense, the history of Russian disinformation began over a century ago.