Likewar: The Weaponization of Social Media

by P.W. Singer

arms smuggling. He began by searching for some common weapons-related words in Farsi, courtesy of Google Translate. Soon he discovered an article that profiled a young Iranian CEO, who had launched a company specializing in drones. The journalist also found a video online that showed the CEO’s face. This allowed him to locate the CEO in a registry of Iranian aerospace professionals, which, in turn, yielded an email address as well as phone and fax numbers. Translating the CEO’s name into Farsi and searching Facebook (cross-referencing it with the email address), he quickly found the CEO’s account. It was confirmed with a perfect facial match. He was then able to trace the CEO’s movements, including a trip to Malaysia, where there is a market for drone parts. He also found that, despite working for a theocratic state, the Iranian CEO had a notable friendship with a charming young woman there,