Cognitive Wargame #1: Operation Echo Chamber

Theme: Narrative amplification and social polarization inside the unit.

Primary DISARM families: Polarization, Trolling, Amplification, Conspiracy.

Scenario summary: During an ongoing regional crisis, adversary influence accounts infiltrate a closed DoD discussion forum, spreading rumors that a recent cyber incident was caused by insider negligence. Posts target specific units, creating inter-service blame and emotional conflict.

Gameplay flow:

• Attack phase: Players acting as “influence operators” seed posts with moral-emotional language and doctored screenshots. The attacker may need to find optimal strategies for spreading, such as identifying entities or nodes that can maximize damage. 

• Defense phase: Other players identify indicators (reused usernames, emotional spikes, bot-like timing) and implement countermeasures such as friction posting, lateral reading, or internal briefings. We will incorporate the definition of, and cost-effective detection strategies for identifying cognitive attack indicators.

• Learning outcomes: Detecting group polarization, understanding rumor lifecycles, restoring cohesion through fact-based messaging. 

Benchmark focus: In terms of our framework, Operation Echo Chamber is designed to achieve: (i) high A1 cognitive fidelity by explicitly embedding PFs/PTs/PTacs (e.g., social proof, fear, trolling, amplification) and logging players’ response choices and latencies; (ii) moderate-to-high A2 scenario richness by modeling realistic unit-level chat channels, multiple actor roles, and evolving rumor cascades; and (iii) strong A4 educational value through structured debriefs and pre/post items that measure changes in rumor-recognition skill, trust calibration, and willingness to fact-check.