AFSA National High School Essay Contest: The Winning Essay Disinformation: A Threat to Every Level of Diplomacy BY IAN ROSENZWEIG In his intellectual explorations, Benjamin Franklin, the first diplomat of the fledgling United States of America, committed himself to truth. Franklin created “Junto,” a discussion group, “in the sincere Spirit of Enquiry after Truth, without fondness for Dispute, or Desire of Victory.” Franklin recognized the value of truth over personal benefit or gain. But today, truth is becoming elusive. In public life, biased media publish sensationalized content, and social media platforms allow unverified information—from deep fakes to fabricated “facts”—to gain traction. Artificial intelligence, too, has allowed disinformation and misinformation to infiltrate the public sphere. Beyond depriving global citizens of the United Nations– declared right to information, which is expressed in Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, these disinformation tactics influence intergovernmental affairs. They allow nations to exploit each other and sow seeds of distrust. Accordingly, the UN is seeking to raise awareness about and combat disinformation. Disinformation is more than a danger to individual relationships between specific nations. It impacts every global conflict and major geopolitical challenge, from pandemics to immigration policy, and is therefore a pervasive diplomatic challenge itself. Diplomats can mitigate the damage that disinformation causes by ensuring truth in their dealings; promoting public trust-building initiatives; engaging in honest, principled efforts; and collaborating to take direct action against those who spread disinformation. Some international disinformation efforts are targeted toward individual nations, creating public distrust, sowing division, and violating the fundamental expectation that nations be granted sovereignty over their land and people. Election interference provides a prominent example of disinformation efforts. The Russian Federation and its “Internet Research Agency” (IRA) are frequently cited for disinformation tactics used to interfere in other nations’ elections. According to a report from the Policy Department for External Relations of the European Parliament, the IRA “purchased around 400 advertisements on Facebook and Instagram during the U.S. 2016 election campaign,” reaching millions of American voters. The IRA is also presumed to be responsible for disinformation regarding casualties of the Russia-Ukraine war. Other disinformation, although not necessarily of Russian origin, has been flagged in recent European democratic procedures, including the 2016 Brexit referendum and the 2016 referendum in the Netherlands on the European Union (EU) Association Agreement with Ukraine. These matters, although originating in national elections, are relevant to the diplomats of the countries involved and to every global power, including the U.S. Ideologically, protecting democracy is one of the foremost priorities of the U.S. and its foreign policy. Pragmatically, interference in election initiatives as contentious as Brexit has the potential to reshape international decisions and relationships, thus impacting every nation. And beyond election interference, disinformation campaigns have successfully impacted issues from public health to armed conflict, allowing one nation to dictate other nations’ actions by creating public unrest and pressuring governments. Through preventing the spread of disinformation, nations preserve democracy and sovereignty and protect uninformed and vulnerable populations worldwide. In addition to influencing national politics and their global impacts, disinformation also creates tension in international diplomatic relations. In 2017, a series of reports regarding apparent Qatari support for terror, including accusations of praise for Hamas and Iran and a ransom payment to al-Qaida, led the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other Arab League countries to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar and implement a blockade on the nation. Qatar referred to the reports, which Qatar claims were uploaded to Qatari news sites via a hack orchestrated by the UAE, as a “smear campaign,” and U.S. officials reported that the accusations were “false” and “apparently planted.” NBC News reported that the campaign against Qatar was also an effort to damage relations between Qatar and the U.S.—an effort that seems to have been successful given then-President Donald Trump’s signaled support for the blockade against Qatar. Normal relations between Qatar and the group of Arab League nations did not resume until 2021. This crisis highlights how disinformation damages international relationships. Had the U.S. not investigated the accusations of the “smear campaign,” its relations with Qatar could have deteriorated. Such a shift could have upended diplomatic dynamics in the Middle East and incited significant foreign policy changes. Similarly, disinformation regarding crime and immigration in Sweden led to tensions between Sweden AFSA NEWS THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2024 67 Continued on next page
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