Abstract:

After the events of 11 September 2001, the past year has demonstrated how controlling publicly available information is of strategic advantage, both economically and politically. Governments find the ability to anticipate public opinion indispensable, as this permits to disseminate "appropriate" elements of information on which the public will base its decisions.

Army psychological operations units ("psy-ops") represent this new era, in which wars are won primarily in public opinion. On this new theater of operations, the different information providers and actors in the world of communication are themselves tools of influence and manipulation – willingly or unwillingly. Taking into account the speed at which data is exchanged today and the reductions in information processing time, it becomes more and more difficult to find the guide marks necessary for an independent opinion.