Countering the Viral Power of False “News”

Online falsehoods can have very real effects, but despite AI development, there’s little that can be done when a narrative spreads.

“There’s really only one defense right now, which is to fully understand the attacker as much as you can to understand the nature of the attacker, and you basically have to counter [public relations] with [public relations],” explained Daniel Miessler, founder of Unsupervised Learning, a tech company.

Stopping an untrue story entails having a well-oiled early warning system, effective technology in place, and a team of media-savvy practitioners who will counter the spread at an appropriate speed, according to Miessler.

Preparation is key, as time is of the essence during an emergency.

It starts with a clear identification of the ultimate actor behind a negative campaign and a clear history of its activities. Based on that previous work, countermeasures are easier to produce.

Substantive naming and shaming are the defender’s best weapon, according to Miessler.

“You can actually use AI for this on the defensive side. You could have a list of all the campaigns and all the malicious actors already ready,” Miessler told SIGNAL Media in an interview.