Intelligence Report Draft 2

National Security Agency

Declassified

February 23, 2021

MEMERANDUM FOR: General Paul M. Nakasone, USA Director of the NSA

FROM: Sarah Abouelseoud, Student of Analytic Writing, POS 4784

SUBJECT: Federal action in the prevention of the spread of misinformation through the media.

Introduction: The threat of “fake news” or otherwise known as disinformation is growing at an alarming rate. With the rapid pace of social media, information has become more easily accessible. Due to the free nature of the internet, as well as censorship laws, there has been little to no regulation on what kind of information is present. Disinformation is defined as “false information deliberately and often covertly spread . . . in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth.” (Library of Congress) Disinformation is a national security threat because it can change public opinion and lead citizens to lose trust in the government. It is also a threat in its anonymity because anyone from anywhere could be spreading this information. The trouble lies between the disinformation and the protections of the First Amendment. The First Amendment protects speech of “public discourse” so it would be beneficial to test the depths of public discourse and define what type of speech disinformation classifies as. Search engines and places of information may be required to put alternative views in plain sight to prevent mass misinformation.

Background: In this new age of information, many fail to question the credibility of their sources. As Heidi Legg mentions in her article about the spread of disinformation, credibility comes with popularity. The more people that believe a statement, the truer it seems. (Shorenstein Center) This culture of gullibility catalyzed the spread of disinformation. Recently, many independent media outlets have taken matters into their own hands and added a fact checker on articles and posts that have a wide reach. However, even this may be skewed based on what kind of views the independent media outlets want their viewers to reach. In recent news, the U.S witnessed, first-hand, the detrimental affects disinformation can have. Allegedly, China released mass disinformation around the world regarding the on-going pandemic. In the early stage of the virus, China refused any inquiry surrounding the origin of the virus, and instead spread disinformation that incriminated the U.S military for spreading the virus. This was deliberate misinformation to relieve blame from the Wuhan lab the virus developed in, and cause distrust in the American government.