1st Troll Battalion: Influencing military and strategic operations through cyber-personas

Abstract

The Twenty-First Century has seen the dawn of the Internet as a pervasive medium by which nearly all information flows. However, the permissive environment in which the Internet was founded fostered a community plagued by Internet trolls, individuals who deliberately post inflammatory, off-topic, or offensive material on online message boards to elicit angst, or other emotions, from their targets. Then American adversaries weaponized information using trolling, and stories of its increased use and technology to influence behavior dominated headlines over the past year. Foreign influence in cyberspace directed towards the 2016 Presidential Election demonstrates how trolling has changed the political environment in the United States. Americans are vulnerable to the influence of these foreign actors, and most troubling, some will not realize foreign intelligence services target their online activities. Adversaries leverage access through Internet trolling to shift public opinion in a new and original way by distributing politically charged narratives and suppressing the free exchange of ideas through a variety of means. By combining cyber operations, information warfare, and military intelligence with automated infrastructure in one military unit, the Troll Battalion, leaders can influence military operations by shaping adversaries' social and political environments while protecting Americans from the effects of foreign trolls. The practical application of influencing strategic and tactical outcomes via cyber-personas requires further analysis for use on the battlefield, and the protection and defense of American leaders, institutions, and persons must also be analyzed to protect Americans from information warfare.