Mindf*ck: Cambridge Analytica and the Plot to Break America

by Christopher Wylie

Information warfare has evolved in similar fashion. At first, no one could have imagined that Facebook or Twitter could be battlefield tools; warfare was waged on the ground, in the air, at sea, and potentially in space. But the fifth domain—cyberspace—has proved to be a fruitful battleground for those who had the imagination and foresight to envision using social media for information warfare. You can draw a straight line from the groundwork laid by Gerasimov, Chekinov, and Bogdanov, right through the actions of Cambridge Analytica, to the victories of the Brexit and Trump campaigns. In only five or so years, the Russian military and state have managed to develop the first devastatingly effective new weapon of the twenty-first century.