Digital diplomacy

Propaganda

Author: Iris O'Hara

Potential Downfalls of Digital Diplomacy

Felix Mittermeier: Pixabay

Digital diplomacy, by definition, requires access to the internet. As a result this kind of diplomacy, when solely practiced, can leave a country vulnerable to attack or natural events. Digital diplomacy has revolutionized a variety of aspects of everyday life, however all it takes to disrupt or cripple it is damage to the cables that provide internet access to any given country or region. Other factors such as slow internet coverage, availability of data in an area as well as country development can also effect the rate at which digital diplomacy is practiced and how effective it is. (Diplo Foundation, n.d.)

memyselfaneye: Pixabay

Fake News and Propaganda

Propaganda is a tool utilized by governments and other organizations since far before the internet existed. The Cold War for instance was a war heavily founded and continued on propaganda from both sides. Propaganda exists in almost every society in multiple forms. Some examples in American society can be found in political campaigns, culture wars between nations and the United States and human corporation relations. Propaganda can be partially or directly factual, but it is utilized in a dishonest way to influence the way that people think. (John Hopkins, 2024)

Fake news consists largely of misinformation and disinformation. Misinformation consists of information that is not true that is spread largely through negligence of fact checking. Disinformation is information that is not true that is spread on purpose. It can happen benignly or maliciously. Some examples are misleading content, fabricated content, manipulated content, and false context or connection (Oehrli & Desai, 2024)

How these relate to digital diplomacy?

The spread and utilization of both fake news and propaganda has expanded along with everything else as the internet has continued to grow. It continues to get easier to mislead people and frame things in a certain way with the growing trough of information available. The internet expanded access to people exponentially and therefore made more people reachable from a propaganda and fake news stand point. According to research done by the Pew Research Center, 51% of adults report seeing fake news articles online, with 32% saying they have seen "completely made up" news stories and 51% saying they have seen misleading news stories. 23% of Americans say that they have either mistakenly or on purpose shared fake news. 645 of Americans believe that fake news causes mass confusion (Barthel et al., 2016). On the front of propaganda, social media is directly being used to spread falsities by governments around the world. Evidence of political social media manipulation went up 15%. 71 countries showed this phenomena in 2019 and 81 countries, all surveyed, found evidence a year later. The utilization of disinformation was found in 93% of countries surveyed (University of Oxford, 2021). Evidentally, the utilization of the internet in this old political practice is gaining traction.

Definition of Diplomacy: "The art and practice of conducting negotiations between nations" and "skill in handling affairs without arousing hostility": (Merriam-Webster, 2025)

Definition of Digital Diplomacy: Although exact definitions vary the consensus remains, any diplomacy performed through the use of the internet (Jayatilaka, n.d.)

Definition of Propaganda: "the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person" and "ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause": (Merriam-Webster, n.d.)

Positive Results of Digital Diplomacy

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Larger scale government interactions

The United Nations and other organizations like it have existed for centuries. However organizations involving multiple governments have previously been restricted to strictly in person meetings, often annually or for special ocasions. Governments are increasingly using the internet to connect with and negotiate with other governments of the world. Group sessions with international governments have been going on since 1963 and remote diplomacy has only increased with time (Diplo Foundation, n.d.).

Geralt: Pixabay

increased speed of governmental communication

Governmental interactions have gotten faster over time with the advancement of technology. Horseback riding is faster than walking, steamboats are faster than paddleboats, planes are faster than cars, etc. The internet however has been the only thing to make long distance communication nearly instantatious. Governments from the other side of the world can know what is going on in a government here hours, minutes or even seconds after said thing happens due to the internet.

dmncwndrlch: Pixabay

Increased impact of the public

Government officials are increasingly using social media to push their campaign messages and round up public support. In addition, as the population is kept more and more informed, they have started to petition online for political changes. According to the Pew Research Center, 46% of American social media users have utilized social media for political means such as looking up information on protests, encouraging political action from others and remaining active in groups which share political interests in 2022 and 2023 (Bestvater et al, 2023). People from all over the world also have increased access to information on the activities of their government as well as others leading to quicker and more put together public response towards pressing issues.

Pixabay

Instant and collaborative crisis management

Natural disasters have always been a very prominent and destructive problem. Warning systems for things like tsunamis, hurricanes and tornados have continued to be improved upon, often being utilized by government branches to prepare their populations and prevent loss of life and injury. Tornado warnings have transitioned from radio to phone notifications, as a result many more people get them in a timely manner. Regardless distasters are still devastating. Luckily, the internet can connect victims of disasters with the search and rescue teams with increasing speed These teams can find out what areas need their attention most and act accordingly (Internet Society Foundation, 2024). In addition, things like financial aid to help with clean up and rebuilding can be assessed and distributed much faster utilizing the internet. The assessment gets done much faster with technology and the transactions between local and federal governments happen much faster as well. In addition, in the case of war, countries can reach out to other governments for assistance, and document the damage caused by the war quickly and effectively.

Geralt: Pixabay

Changing expectations for government officials

Government officials continue to utilize social media for their campaigns. An increasing number of political newcomers are utilizing the internet to advertise their campaigns (Yildirim, 2020). It is easier and more convenient to learn about the political beliefs of candidates with documentation online. In addition, with the digital footprint it is easier to hold politicians accountable and avoid politicians who play the field rather than sticking to their beliefs by looking up their voting histories on various bills. Politicians can use platforms including video streams to talk directly with prospective voters and get donations. (Yildirim, 2020).

By: The Carlsberg Foundation

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