Editing Psychological warfare (section)

{{Short description|Information operations to assist military objectives}}
{{Redirect|Psyop|other uses}}
{{Redirect|Psywar|the song by the Norwegian metal band Mayhem|Psywar (Mayhem song)}}
[[File:8th Air Force psychological warfare leaflet.jpg|thumb|250px|An example of a [[World War II]] era leaflet meant to be dropped from an [[B-17 Flying Fortress|American B-17]] over a German city (see the [[:Image:8th Air Force psychological warfare leaflet.jpg|file description page]] for a translation)]]
{{war}}
'''Psychological warfare''' ('''PSYWAR'''), or the basic aspects of modern '''psychological operations''' ('''PsyOp'''), has been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations ([[Psychological operations (United States)|MISO]]), Psy Ops, [[political warfare]], "Hearts and Minds", and [[propaganda]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.journal.forces.gc.ca/vo9/no1/05-clow-eng.asp |title=Forces.gc.ca |publisher=Journal.forces.gc.ca |access-date=18 May 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/Army-Press-Online-Journal/documents/Cook-Cowan-PSYOP.pdf |title=What's in a Name? Psychological Operations versus Military Information Support Operations and an Analysis of Organizational Change |first=David |last=Cowan |first2=Chaveso |last2=Cook |date=March 2018 |work=Military Review }}</ref> The term is used "to denote any action which is practiced mainly by psychological methods with the aim of evoking a planned psychological reaction in other people".<ref>{{cite book |last=Szunyogh |first=Béla |date=1955 |title=Psychological warfare; an introduction to ideological propaganda and the techniques of psychological warfare |url= http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.libezp.lib.lsu.edu/eds/detail/detail?sid=11483538-24de-49b9-a526-8708fa45e67e%40sessioGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=edshtl&AN=mdp.39015002229154 |location=United States |publisher=William-Frederick Press |page=13 |access-date=11 February 2015}}</ref>

Various techniques are used, and are aimed at influencing a target audience's [[Value (personal and cultural)|value]] system, [[belief]] system, [[emotion]]s, [[Base motive|motives]], [[reasoning]], or [[behavior]]. It is used to induce [[confession (law)|confessions]] or reinforce attitudes and behaviors favorable to the originator's objectives, and are sometimes combined with [[black operations]] or [[false flag]] tactics. It is also used to destroy the morale of enemies through tactics that aim to depress troops' psychological states.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chekinov |first1=S. C. |last2=Bogdanov |first2=S. A. |title=The Nature and Content of a New-Generation War |journal=Military Theory Monthly = Voennaya Mysl |url=http://www.eastviewpress.com/Files/MT_FROM%20THE%20CURRENT%20ISSUE_No.4_2013.pdf |location=United States |publisher=Military Thought |page=16 |issn=0869-5636 |access-date=11 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150220060800/http://www.eastviewpress.com/Files/MT_FROM%20THE%20CURRENT%20ISSUE_No.4_2013.pdf |archive-date=20 February 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>Doob, Leonard W. "The Strategies Of Psychological Warfare." Public Opinion Quarterly 13.4 (1949): 635–644. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 20 February 2015.</ref>

Target audiences can be [[government]]s, [[organization]]s, [[Group (sociology)|groups]], and [[individual]]s, and is not just limited to soldiers. Civilians of foreign territories can also be targeted by technology and media so as to cause an effect on the government of their country.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wall |first=Tyler |date=September 2010 |title=U.S Psychological Warfare and Civilian Targeting |url= http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/52975796 |location=United States |publisher=Vanderbilt University |page=289 |access-date=11 February 2015}}</ref>

Stories are said to be a key factor in a successful operation.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Newitz |first=Annalee |title=Stories are Weapons: Psychological Warfare the American Mind |publisher=W.W. Norton |year=2024 |isbn=978-0-393-88151-6}}</ref> Mass communication such as radio allows for direct communication with an enemy populace, and therefore has been used in many efforts. Social media channels and the internet allow for campaigns of disinformation and misinformation performed by agents anywhere in the world.<ref>{{Cite report |last=Kirdemir |first=Baris |date=2019 |title=Hostile Influence and Emerging Cognitive Threats in Cyberspace |publisher=Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep21052 |jstor=resrep21052 }}</ref>