The Weaponization of Social Media

spying software and ways to exploit and prevent activists’ use of social
network media. In Egypt, for instance, internet access was shut down for
several days by Mubarak’s regime. Later on, internet activists were harassed
by the Egyptian security forces. 41
In a world where conflicts are being dramatically re-shaped by the
information revolution, and there is no neat polarity, the outcome of
contemporary conflicts will involve a struggle for the perceptions of
multiple strategic audiences who are un-aligned to either side. 42 In this
struggle in the information environment, social network media facilitated
by mobile devices linked to or being a part of the internet become very
important. Being a part of the internet also makes it a cyber (war) issue.
Whether organized violence has been applied or threatened remains a
central distinction between military and non-military activity, though this is
increasingly complicated by activities such as cyber-threats or operations. 43
This is especially the case when these activities or operations to a larger and
larger extent are being regarded as “military operations”.
Efforts to shape worldwide political perceptions according to the actors’
security interests are, nonetheless, a characteristic of contemporary conflict.
The problem, though, is how to define when something is a conflict or war
when it comes to taking the struggle to the cyber domain – in which social
network media resides.
THE CYBER WAR DEBATE
Defining “cyber-warfare” is no trivial task and many definitions currently
exist, often very broad in scope, making it difficult to determine what it in
reality is and when a cyber-attack is actually happening. Also if it is part of a
criminal activity, political activism or actual war-fighting, and if so, if it can
be categorised as war. The use of the word “war” also muddies the waters.
There is therefore a need for separating cyber-crime, online vandalism,
civil policy orientated ”hacktivism” from what actually constitutes the use
of cyber for warfare purposes. 44 Even though much of the first mentioned
activities can be elements of armed conflicts, they do not constitute the use
of military force per say. To narrow the scope of what we are dealing with, it
is important to define the concepts of “Cyber-Warfare” and “Cyber-Attack”
before we start discussing the role of social network media in contemporary
conflicts.
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