Competing Narratives in Hybrid Warfare
Channel Analysis: TV Penetration in LATGALE
Region (G+32)
x ca
25
Figure 2: Information environment estimates for Latgale region within the exercise scenario
High consumption of television media for news and entertainment
level of coherence required to be effective in
labor organisations, etc., and then mapped
talked about on each of the different plat-
Clear forms.
segmentation in audiences between
Latvian
and for
Bothnian
programming
communicating
in an unfamiliar information
them against
their propensity
violence and language
environment.
against their congruence or dissonance with
All of to
this
was fascinating
and gave us
Access
Bothnian
language
TV tre- heavily
constrained via BDR control of local media
our objectives and narrative.
It is through detailed staff work and creative
mendous insight, but we needed one more
2
corporations
and agencies
thinking that we can manoeuvre in the infor-
The heat maps for each of our hotspots al-
layer of information
before we could really
leverage this understanding. When we add-
ed our traditional target audience analysis in
the form of a “heat map”, we were in a posi-
tion to develop a targeting strategy and then
find ways to enter the conversation in order
to compete effectively in the local information
space. We laid out each of the various target
audiences, everything from ethnic minorities,
to organized armed groups, to local religious
and municipal leaders, key media influencers,
lowed for the development of our targeting
strategy, which target audiences did we want
to affect and to what aim (Figure 3). Then by
leveraging our newfound understanding of
the content of the conversations in each of
our hotspots, we were well postured to start
joining the conversation and adjusting our
messaging carefully tuned to the regional
nuances, specific target audiences and con-
sistent with the appropriate medium. It is this
mation domain with the same effectiveness
that we manoeuvre armed formations, but this
requires greater appreciation of the informa-
tion domain as a military domain and a realiza-
tion that if we fail to understand and compete
in this domain, we have essentially ceded it to
our adversaries. Perception is reality and it is
within the information domain that perception
is shaped.
Colonel John T. Harris, US Army, is
the Chief of Information & Influence
Operations within the Joint Fires and
Influence Branch at HQ ARRC.
Pro-BDR AG
Pro-BDR AG
Pro-BDR AG
Red Warriors
Red Warriors
About the author:
-
-
Red Warriors
NA/Unity/UGF
GovLVA
NA/Unity/UGF
SC SC GovLVA
SC
GovLVA
BEM
BEM
NA/Unity/UGF
BEM
Local
BRE BRE
Govt Local
Local
Govt
Govt
Support for BFOR Narrative
BRE
+
- Support
Support
for BFOR
BFOR Narrative
for
Narrative
Figure 3: Ex ARRCADE FUSION exercise scenario targeting strategy diagram
+
+
5