Editing Psychological warfare (section)

===21st century===
[[File:Your future al-Zarqawi.jpg|thumb|upright|An American PSYOP leaflet disseminated during the [[Iraq War]]. It shows a caricature of [[Al-Qaeda|Al-Qaeda in Iraq]] leader [[Abu Musab al-Zarqawi]] caught in a [[rat trap]]. The caption reads "This is your future, Zarqawi".]]

The [[CIA]] made extensive use of [[Contras|Contra]] soldiers to destabilize the [[Sandinista]] government in [[Nicaragua]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.democracynow.org/2005/1/10/is_the_u_s_organizing_salvador|access-date=16 December 2008|title=Is the U.S. Organizing Salvador-Style Death Squads in Iraq?|work=[[Democracy Now!]]|date=10 January 2005}}</ref> The CIA used psychological warfare techniques against the [[Panama]]nians by delivering unlicensed TV broadcasts. The United States government has used propaganda broadcasts against the [[Cuba]]n government through [[TV Marti]], based in [[Miami, Florida]]. However, the Cuban government has been successful at jamming the signal of TV Marti.

In the [[Iraq War]], the United States used the [[shock and awe]] campaign to psychologically maim and break the will of the [[Iraqi Army]] to fight.

In cyberspace, [[social media]] has enabled the use of [[disinformation]] on a wide scale. Analysts have found evidence of doctored or misleading photographs spread by social media in the [[Syrian Civil War]] and [[2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine]], possibly with state involvement.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://jsis.washington.edu/news/russia-disinformation-ukraine/|access-date=25 October 2017|title=Countering Disinformation: Russia's Infowar in Ukraine|work=[[University of Washington]]|date=25 October 2017}}</ref> Military and governments have engaged in psychological operations (PSYOP) and [[Information warfare|informational warfare]] (IW) on social networking platforms to regulate foreign propaganda, which includes countries like the [[Ntrepid|US]], [[Internet Research Agency|Russia]], and [[50 Cent Party|China]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/story/what-we-know-and-dont-know-about-facebook-trump-and-russia/|access-date=25 October 2017|title=What We Know—and Don't Know—About Facebook, Trump, and Russia|magazine=Wired|date=26 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/mar/17/us-spy-operation-social-networks|access-date=17 March 2011|title=Revealed: US spy operation that manipulates social media|work=The Guardian|date=17 March 2011}}</ref>

In 2022, [[Meta Platforms|Meta]] and the [[Stanford Internet Observatory]] found that over five years people associated with the U.S. military, who tried to conceal their identities, created fake accounts on social media systems including [[Balatarin]], [[Facebook]], [[Instagram]], [[Odnoklassniki]], [[Telegram (software)|Telegram]], [[Twitter]], [[VKontakte]] and [[YouTube]] in an influence operation in Central Asia and the Middle East. Their posts, primarily in Arabic, Farsi and Russian, criticized Iran, China and Russia and gave pro-Western narratives. Data suggested the activity was a series of covert campaigns rather than a single operation.<ref name=voa-20221124>{{cite news |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/meta-report-us-military-behind-online-influence-campaign-targeting-central-asia-middle-east/6848112.html |title=Meta Report: US Military Behind Online Influence Campaign Targeting Central Asia, Middle East |publisher=Voice of America |date=24 November 2022 |access-date=24 November 2022}}</ref><ref name=sio-20220824>{{cite web |url=https://public-assets.graphika.com/reports/graphika_stanford_internet_observatory_report_unheard_voice.pdf |title=Unheard Voice: Evaluating five years of pro-Western covert influence operations |website=Stanford Internet Observatory |date=24 August 2022 |access-date=24 November 2022}}</ref>

In operations in the South and East China Seas, both the United States and China have been engaged in "[[Cognitive Warfare|cognitive warfare]]", which involves displays of force, staged photographs and sharing disinformation.<ref>{{Cite web|date=11 April 2021|title=US navy sends China the message: 'we're watching you'|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3129122/us-navy-warns-china-were-watching-you-destroyer-shadows|access-date=12 April 2021|website=South China Morning Post|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| last=Chung | first=Lawrence | title=Beijing using 'cognitive warfare' to sway Taiwan public opinion by feeding it misinformation, warns report |newspaper=South China Morning Post | date=5 January 2021 | url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3116539/beijing-using-cognitive-warfare-sway-taiwan-public-opinion}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| last=Farahany | first=Nita | title=TikTok is part of China's cognitive warfare campaign | newspaper=The Guardian | date=25 March 2023 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/25/tiktok-china-cognitive-warfare-us-ban}} Article has detailed analysis of development, risks, and countering of brain-centred techniques.</ref> The start of the public use of "[[Cognitive Warfare|cognitive warfare]]" as a clear movement occurred in 2013 with China's political rhetoric.<ref>{{Cite web|date=28 December 2023|title=Cognitive Warfare: The Forgotten War with Tanguy Struye de Swielande|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMSDL02yDag|access-date=1 January 2024|website=Youtube|language=en}}</ref>