Dev Diary #24: Memetic Warfare
Bring in the memes!
Hello everyone! Today we wanted to talk about meme's. Not just because we think they are funny, but because we feel they are a necessary thing to contribute to the information domain. In the past months we have casually introduced memes in our channels. Whether it was in the calls for Atlantica authors, or Alvin Nathaniel Joiner (xzibit) introducing our Transatlantic Incubator, memes have been a part of Atlantic Forum's outreach.
Partly inspired by the fictional satirical Directorate-General Meme (according to itself the number one priority of EU citizens) and we honor Jeff Giesea's 2017 call for NATO to embrace memetic warfare. NATO officials at that time, during the 2017 Riga Conference in Latvia, concluded that NATO would not be able to adapt to such measures, in part attributing such activities to Russia, and in part simple because with 29 member states to agree, it would be unlikely for NATO to adapt meme's as part of it's communication strategy. So this is where we come in! As an official independent organizations we can make decisions on our own, and if we want meme's we can get them!
When looking for NATO memes on the internet, one is quick to find anti-NATO imagery, some harmless jokes, but many part of our adversaries attempts to influence citizens of NATO countries to oppose NATO. Often they are a mix of humor and disinformation, with elements of lies and deception. Jeff Giesea, in his 2017 paper, called this memetic warfare, and argued for NATO allies to embrace it and counter our adversaries in the same field.
How can NATO / the west adapt to memetic warfare? Giesea worked with NATO Concept Development & Experimentation (CDE), to create this 2 minute video. Open publications are not formal NATO publications and do not represent the official openions or positions of NATO or individial nations etc. etc. (actually the last 30 seconds of this 2 minute video is the whole disclaimer). Short version: Memetic warfare is not a NATO initiative (but it can be an Atlantic Forum initative!).
How can you contribute? We are looking for NATO meme contents. Either meme formats which educate the public about NATO, memes that in a funny way highlight key questions for NATO, or that are critical of NATO members (We are looking at you Turkey), or the adversaries of the alliance.
You can send your contributions to info@atlantic-forum.com, DM / tag us on twitter, sent them via messenger, or postal pidgeon. The best contributions will be featured on our social media channels. (Are you already following Atlantic Forum via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram?). In the coming weeks we will also create a presence on Reddit and 9GAG, world's premiere source of good qualty memes.