Cognitive Warfare

Cognitive warfare is an emerging concept that refers to operations aimed at influencing the perception, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors of individuals and collectives. The aim of which is to attack, exploit, degrade or even destroy how someone constructs their own reality, their mental self-confidence, their confidence in the processes and approaches necessary for the efficient functioning of groups, societies or even nations. Unlike conventional warfare, which focuses on military confrontation and the use of physical force, cognitive warfare focuses on the manipulation of information and narrative to achieve strategic objectives. In the contemporary context, cognitive warfare has become especially relevant due to the proliferation of digital platforms and social networks, which facilitate the dissemination of information, disinformation and propaganda on a large scale. Cognitive warfare methods include disinformation, the creation of misleading narratives, the use of bots and trolls in social networks, and the exploitation of psychological vulnerabilities in audiences.