Case Study: Military Cyberprofiles
An extreme example of a centralized social media operation is the revelation in March 2011 that the U.S. military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) is developing software with a company called Ntrepid and implementing tactics to manipulate social media sites for military purposes.1 A concerted effort across departments is aimed at creating fake online profiles to influence the conversations on sites, gather information, and spread specific messages. These false personas, known as sock puppets, are being developed and managed by a third-party for the military.
1Nick Fielding and Ian Cobain, “Revealed: US Spy Operation that Manipulates Social Media,” The Guardian (March 17, 2011), http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/mar/17/us-spy-operation-social-networks.
CENTCOM spokesman Commander Bill Speaks said, “The technology supports classified blogging activities on foreign-language websites to enable CENTCOM to counter violent extremist and enemy propaganda outside the US.” U.S. personnel can manage multiple profiles and track potential enemies. General James Mattis said the process “supports all activities associated with degrading the enemy narrative, including web engagement and web-based product distribution capabilities.”
What can corporations learn from this? Well, there are some negatives and positives. First, it’s probably not really a good idea to get into the business of creating fake profiles and spreading fake marketing messages. You eventually get found out and there goes your reputation. A government agency is probably better at doing this. Second, there is a lot of value in centralizing your social media efforts across departments. And third, using the right tools for the job is always a good idea. Numerous innovative tools are being developed that can be a boom to your social media security strategy.