Caroline Orr BuenoNov 16, 2022
Every day is a good day to remember that Russia's "firehose of falsehood" propaganda model has been adopted by the likes of Trump, Steve Bannon, etc., and we are all targets of it. The goal of this style of propaganda is not to convince you that any particular narrative is true, but to exhaust your cognitive resources and make you question whether the truth really exists at all.
Show threadCaroline Orr BuenoNov 16, 2022

This style of propaganda is part of a doctrine of asymmetric information warfare, which uses our information channels and spaces to wage an endless cycle of chaos and confusion.

Chaos is the strategy, confusion is the result.

The purpose is to overwhelm you, distract you, and exhaust you with constant information overload so you don’t have the clarity to see the big picture or the energy to fight the real battle against fascism.

Show threadCaroline Orr BuenoNov 16, 2022
Asymmetric information warfare takes place on a battlefield with no rules and no consistency — it seeks to confuse you to the point where you don’t know what your enemies are doing or even who your enemies are. It seeks to overwhelm you and break you down by subjecting you to an ever-shifting state of reality.
Show threadCaroline Orr BuenoNov 16, 2022

The ultimate goal is to undermine your perceptions of the world so you never really know what is happening. It’s a strategy to maintain power by keeping you constantly confused and overwhelmed.

Because it is undefinable, it often seems unstoppable. But it's not unstoppable -- you just have to know what you're up against.

And that's my goal: To help you see it, characterize it, and develop the cognitive resilience you need to fight it, so you can save your energy for the real fight ahead.

Show threadCaroline Orr BuenoNov 16, 2022

And I would just like to emphasize that 1) you are not crazy, 2) you are not alone in feeling like we’re spinning out of control, and 3) our collective experience with asymmetric information warfare has been greatly complicated and resulted in far more trauma than it should have because we were betrayed by people and institutions that were supposed to protect and support us. That’s called institutional betrayal, and the result is betrayal trauma.

You are not crazy. You will heal from this.

Show threadMirishuli
@rvawonk Thank you, Caroline. I have had trouble today conceiving how how or wether healing is possible. I’ve had too many things go wrong in the last few years from my health, to the health of my children, to financial hits. Having my country fall apart is just too much. I also know I’m not alone in being overwhelmed and feeling lost. Thanks for putting into words what I could not.
Nov 17, 2022 at 12:10amWeb
Show threadCaroline Orr BuenoNov 17, 2022
@MiriShuli I’m sorry for what you have experienced, and I hope you can find some comfort in knowing that you are not alone. I will try to post more about the healing process as we move forward. You *will* heal from this.
Show threadWrathofJan 🌞🌻🌎🖖Nov 27, 2022

@rvawonk @MiriShuli

I help myself in great part by speaking out on #SocialMedia, disseminating facts to help counter the *firehose* of #Propaganda / #Disinfo.

We need to do it out in public too.