POLS 073. Disinformation, Propaganda, and Election Interference (IR)

“We have interfered, we are interfering, and we will continue to interfere.” This boast came from the infamous (and now deceased) Russian oligarch Evgeny Prigozhin on the eve of the 2022 US midterm elections. In 2016, his Internet Research Agency spread false information across social media to support Trump’s candidacy and Brexit. The internet has made it easier than ever for autocracies to weaponize information against democracies, who struggle to contain conspiracy theories, combat political polarization, and protect electoral integrity. Has the internet supercharged disinformation, or is it just the latest in a long line of technological advances which have empowered propaganda? Are democracies weaker than autocracies when it comes to subversion, or do they make better propagandists and election meddlers? How serious is the threat to US democracy in the 2024 election? This course explores the theory, history, strategy, and effectiveness of subversive statecraft. We’ll trace how propaganda acquired a negative connotation, mutated into public diplomacy, and re-emerged in the present as mis-, dis-, and malinformation. We’ll explore surprising cases where the US interfered in elections abroad and repressed fifth columns at home. Finally, we’ll ask what can be done to stem interference and the assault on truth itself.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2024. Casey.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: swarthmore.edu/political-science

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