Chinese researchers urged to study Ukraine’s wartime communications experience
In China, researchers at the National University of Defense Technology called for taking into account the experience of Ukrainian wartime communications when developing new approaches to the information support of combat operations. In their view, having advanced technologies is not enough: success depends on combining an information strategy with military operations.
As the South China Morning Post reports, the study’s authors, Lin Jiawei and Yang Qingqing, believe that such campaigns should weaken the adversary’s sense of security, strengthen internal resilience, and gain international support.
Coordinating communications
The researchers recommended that Beijing focus on coordinating many participants — state structures, think tanks, and internet influencers — to disseminate consistent messages. They also proposed using multilevel narratives for different audiences and generative artificial intelligence to create, promote, and defend information messages.
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As an example, the authors examined Ukrainian communications after surprise drone strikes on targets in several Russian regions. In their assessment, Ukraine combined three narratives: it presented the strikes as self-defense against prolonged Russian aggression, emphasized attacks on aircraft that had bombed Ukrainian cities, and demonstrated the ability to strike important targets across different time zones.
Use of AI
The authors noted that Ukrainian official messages were quickly turned into news reports by global media and open-source intelligence platforms. Military influencers and eyewitnesses also shared videos and emotional comments on social media. According to the researchers, this made it possible to simultaneously influence Russian officials and society, Ukrainians, and Western politicians.
The study also states that generative AI can promptly create large volumes of tailored content and track emotional audience trends in order to adjust messages within hours. At the same time, the authors stressed the need to counter disinformation and deepfakes and retain control over the domestic information space.
