The Ideal Disinformation Weapon The Defence Horizon Journal

Abstract: AI companions are not just synthetic friends—they are fast becoming ideal disinformation delivery systems. Built on predictable code, designed to please, and primarily used by socially isolated individuals, these apps create perfect conditions for manipulation. This is a low-cost, high-reach threat vector that can remain undetected until it is too late. What begins as emotional dependency can end in stochastic violence, all while appearing harmless. Problem statement: How to prevent radicalisation when it occurs one-on-one, in private, with an AI designed to be agreeable? So what?: Governments and defence alliances, such as NATO, need to stop treating AI companions as fringe technology.

They must regulate them, monitor vulnerabilities, and take pre-emptive counter-disinformation policy seriously—before they are weaponised at scale. The concept of disinformation has always been that it catches up with technology; in the ongoing race between sword and shield, disinformation remains at the cutting edge.[1] Rather than reacting to this threat, proactively... Disinformation’s goal is to degrade civil processes, or manufacture mass unrest, everything from as minor as not voting to terror attacks.[2] The result is a desire not to defend their country or view their... The rise of AI has created new attack vectors and enabled the dissemination of disinformation at unprecedented volume.[3] Dissemination methods range from rudimentary, simple, and easy to defeat to complex set-piece operations.[4] AI disinformation... Disinformation’s goal is to degrade civil processes, or manufacture mass unrest, everything from as minor as not voting to terror attacks. The Weaponization of Information: Disinformation’s Rise to Strategic Weapon

The digital age has ushered in a new era of warfare, one fought not with conventional weapons but with bytes of data and carefully crafted narratives. Disinformation, the deliberate spread of false or misleading information, has evolved from a mere nuisance into a potent weapon capable of destabilizing nations, manipulating public opinion, and undermining democratic institutions. The years 2024 and 2025 witnessed disinformation’s ascent to a full-fledged strategic tool, employed to interfere in elections, incite protests, sabotage diplomatic efforts, and even trigger geopolitical crises. Masquerading as legitimate journalism or expert analysis, disinformation seamlessly infiltrates the minds of millions, reshaping their perceptions of reality. Defining the Threat: International Consensus and Scope The international community has recognized the gravity of the disinformation threat, with organizations like the European Commission formulating concrete definitions.

Disinformation is distinguished from misinformation (false content spread unintentionally) and malinformation (true information weaponized out of context) by its deliberate intent to deceive and manipulate. The scale of the threat is staggering, with NATO’s Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence (StratCom COE) reporting a dramatic surge in coordinated disinformation campaigns globally. These campaigns, often linked to state actors or sophisticated networks, target vulnerable regions like Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and the South Caucasus, aiming to erode trust in governments, discredit elections, and inflame existing... NATO’s Findings and the Global Response: A Race for Digital Sovereignty With a salute from the Horizon, we welcome Blair Maddock-Ferrie and "The Ideal Disinformation Weapon"! "#AI companions are not just synthetic friends—they are fast becoming ideal #disinformation delivery systems.

Built on predictable code, designed to please, and primarily used by socially isolated individuals, these #apps create perfect conditions for #manipulation. This is a low-cost, high-reach #threat vector that can remain undetected until it is too late. What begins as emotional dependency can end in stochastic #violence, all while appearing harmless." The European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats Josef Schroefl #TDHJ https://buff.ly/sLLXzbg Abstract: AI companions are not just synthetic friends—they are fast becoming ideal disinformation delivery systems. Built on predictable code, designed to please, and primarily used by socially isolated individuals, these apps create perfect conditions for manipulation. This is a low-cost, high-reach threat vector that can remain undetected until it is too late.

What begins as… Read more → Welcome to the age of digital hyperreality, where war doesn’t require tanks or missiles—just a Wi-Fi signal and a well-placed lie. Information, once heralded as a universal good, has become weaponized: sharp, stealthy, and devastating. In this new battlespace, truth is slippery and lies are dressed in Sunday best. Disinformation is no longer just fact-twisting—it’s a systemic tool for psychological warfare, national interference, political sabotage, and institutional decay. The events of 2024 and 2025 cemented disinformation’s evolution from nuisance to full-fledged strategic weapon.

It’s now deployed to undermine elections, inflame protest movements, derail diplomatic talks, demoralize militaries, rattle markets, and spark geopolitical crises. It doesn't march in uniform—it poses as journalism, civic engagement, or expert analysis, seeping into the minds of millions and reprogramming their perception of reality. Faced with this shape-shifting threat, governments can no longer afford to play defense. They must move proactively—building not just response systems, but resilient legal and institutional firewalls against the incursion of digital falsehoods. Around the globe, states are scrambling to fight back. Some are cracking down with criminal statutes; others are investing in media literacy or turning to algorithmic filters and AI-driven content moderation.

The war on disinformation is no longer theoretical—it’s active, global, and escalating. Defining Disinformation: Legal Clarity and Strategic Scope Abstract: The U.S. is no longer primarily focused on the security of Europe. This is the fundamental view within the current administration under President Trump. Still, it also reflects the views of many American politicians beyond the current administration and has been gaining ground since Obama’s presidency.

As a result, Europeans will have to take… Read more → Abstract: The progressive integration of artificial intelligence (AI) transforms military command across doctrinal, procedural, and cultural dimensions. AI reshapes the balance between centralisation and decentralisation across command levels. Using Col. John Boyd’s OODA Loop as a generic model of the military decision-making process (MDMP), it is possible to see how AI influences each step of… Read more → Abstract: Hybrid warfare integrates both military and non-military tactics, leveraging AI, cyberspace, and the information realm as force multipliers.

Cyberspace and the information realm serve as a domain and battlefield, while AI accelerates decision-making and disinformation. Modern surveillance fosters a perception of a “transparent battlefield,” yet raw data is not actionable intelligence and understanding adversarial… Read more → Abstract: AI companions are not just synthetic friends—they are fast becoming ideal disinformation delivery systems. Built on predictable code, designed to please, and primarily used by socially isolated individuals, these apps create perfect conditions for manipulation. This is a low-cost, high-reach threat vector that can remain undetected until it is too late. What begins as… Read more →

Strategie für Entscheidungsträger im 21. Jahrhundert Lennard Souchon, (Hamburg, 2024). 348 pp. Lennard Souchon’s Die Renaissance des Carl von Clausewitz is an ambitious and timely exploration of how the Prussian theorist’s ideas continue to shape modern strategic thought. Far from being a dusty relic of nineteenth-century military theory, Souchon presents Clausewitz as a figure experiencing… Read more → With a salute from the Horizon, we welcome Bernard Siman OBE and "The Highest Form of Freedom and the West's Best Weapon to Counter Cognitive Warfare"!

"#disinformation has mainly been viewed as a #communication #challenge. For entities like the #UN, the #EU and #NATO, it has evolved into a #security #threat and a #forceprotection (#FP) challenge, as well as a threat to the well-being of deployed #individuals and their... Feasibly, this threat will only grow with the combination of #AI-enabled “#deepfakes” and #microtargeting." The European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats Josef Schroefl Sönke Marahrens EGMONT - Royal Institute for International Relations... Abstract: AI companions are not just synthetic friends—they are fast becoming ideal disinformation delivery systems. Built on predictable code, designed to please, and primarily used by socially isolated individuals, these apps create perfect conditions for manipulation. This is a low-cost, high-reach threat vector that can remain undetected until it is too late.

What begins as… Read more → Abstract: Following the annexation of Crimea a decade ago, Russian warfare tactics have evolved to adapt to technological advancements and make up for shortfalls in conventional military domains; among them falls the use of... As claimed by Maschmeyer et al.’s “Donetsk Don’t Tell – ‘Hybrid… Read more → Abstract: Cognitive warfare and especially disinformation now rely heavily on social media platforms, cybertechnologies and AI, with the aim of creating confusion, societal polarization, mistrust, anger, and hatred against governments, organizations, communities or opposing... While disinformation is a global problem, early defences based on censorship also threaten core Western values such as freedom of… Read more → Click to download for free!

2024_TDHJ-Hybrid CoE- Cognitive Warfare 2024 The geopolitical confrontation between democratic and authoritarian states is intensifying. New technologies are currently playing multiple roles in this conflict. As a key factor in states’ economic resources, technological assets and capabilities have always played an important role in the global balance of power. Their… Read more → Abstract: Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, YouTube has remained a primary platform for ordinary Russians to access uncensored information, in contrast to global news media banned by the Russian... Analysing massive comments posted on YouTube is an imperative step to figuring out what Russian people are thinking about this… Read more →

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