Memes That Kill: The Future Of Information Warfare

Memes and social networks have become weaponized, while many governments seem ill-equipped to understand the new reality of information warfare. How will we fight state-sponsored disinformation and propaganda in the future? In 2011, a university professor with a background in robotics presented an idea that seemed radical at the time. After conducting research backed by DARPA -- the same defense agency that helped spawn the internet -- Dr. Robert Finkelstein proposed the creation of a brand new arm of the US military, a "Meme Control Center." You'll learn about cybersecurity trends to watch and high-momentum startups with the potential to shape the future of security. In internet-speak the word "meme" often refers to an amusing picture that goes viral on social media. More broadly, however, a meme is any idea that spreads, whether that idea is true or false. It is this broader definition of meme that Finklestein had in mind when he proposed the Meme Control Center and his idea of "memetic warfare." From "Tutorial: Military Memetics," by Dr. Robert Finkelstein, presented at Social Media for Defense Summit, 2011 Basically, Dr. Finklestein's Meme Control Center would pump the internet full of "memes" that would benefit the national security of the United States. Finkelstein saw a future in which guns and bombs are replaced by rumor, digital fakery, and social engineering.