Countering disinformation : using systems thinking to develop an integrated approach

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, System Design and Management Program, 2020

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Tan, Brendan Weijian.
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/145243
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author Tan, Brendan Weijian.
author2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division.
author_facet Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division.
Tan, Brendan Weijian.
author_sort Tan, Brendan Weijian.
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description Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, System Design and Management Program, 2020
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spelling mit-1721.1/1452432022-09-01T03:27:45Z Countering disinformation : using systems thinking to develop an integrated approach Tan, Brendan Weijian. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division. System Design and Management Program. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division System Design and Management Program. Engineering Systems Division. System Design and Management Program. Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, System Design and Management Program, 2020 Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Page 126 blank. Includes bibliographical references (pages 101-119). Although disinformation has been used by malicious actors throughout the ages, technological advances and social changes in the Internet era have made it a more potent problem than ever before. Several key elections in 2016 were heavily influenced by disinformation -- including the Brexit referendum and US presidential elections -- which made it evident that information is increasingly being used as a weapon. Fittingly, the Center for European Policy Analysis has highlighted that the "age of information is fast becoming the age of disinformation". Although disinformation campaigns can have a significant impact on the population, the manpower and costs required to carry them out are disproportionately low. It is thus imperative that nations are adequately prepared to deal with this asymmetric and dangerous threat using a suite of countermeasures, as there is no one silver bullet to tackle this problem. Countermeasures that have been proposed or implemented around the globe are analyzed, and a systems thinking methodology is used to develop an integrated approach to deal with this complex issue at the national-level. To guide the entire thought process, the ARchitecting Innovative Enterprise Strategy (ARIES) framework is utilized. Finally, a case study on the annexation of Crimea by Russia serves to qualitatively validate the proposed system and ascertain its applicability in a real scenario. This particular case study is chosen as it is a prime example of how disinformation can be a powerful tool in the hands of adversaries. by Brendan Tan Weijian. S.M. in Engineering and Management S.M. in Engineering and Management Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, System Design and Management Program 2022-08-31T16:29:45Z 2022-08-31T16:29:45Z 2020 2020 Thesis https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/145243 1342108937 eng MIT theses may be protected by copyright. Please reuse MIT thesis content according to the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy, which is available through the URL provided. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 126 pages application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Engineering Systems Division.
System Design and Management Program.
Tan, Brendan Weijian.
Countering disinformation : using systems thinking to develop an integrated approach
title Countering disinformation : using systems thinking to develop an integrated approach
title_full Countering disinformation : using systems thinking to develop an integrated approach
title_fullStr Countering disinformation : using systems thinking to develop an integrated approach
title_full_unstemmed Countering disinformation : using systems thinking to develop an integrated approach
title_short Countering disinformation : using systems thinking to develop an integrated approach
title_sort countering disinformation using systems thinking to develop an integrated approach
topic Engineering Systems Division.
System Design and Management Program.
url https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/145243
work_keys_str_mv AT tanbrendanweijian counteringdisinformationusingsystemsthinkingtodevelopanintegratedapproach