The KGB and Soviet Disinformation
Preceded by | The Deception Game: Czechoslovak Intelligence in Soviet Political Warfare (1972) |
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The KGB and Soviet Disinformation: An Insider's View is a 1983 non-fiction book by Lawrence Martin-Bittman (then known as Ladislav Bittman), a former intelligence officer specializing in disinformation for the Czech Intelligence Service and retired professor of disinformation at Boston University.[1][2][3] The book is about the KGB's use of disinformation and information warfare during the Soviet Union period.
Under the direction of the
The book received a positive reception from
Background
Ladislav Bittman graduated from
Bittman became a professor in the department of communication at Boston University (BU) and began to use the name Lawrence Martin.[1][2][10] While there, Bittman taught journalism with a focus on disinformation at BU and founded the Program for the Study of Disinformation, the first academic center in the U.S. to focus on the study of disinformation.[1][2] Prior to the publication of The KGB and Soviet Disinformation, Bittman had written a book on the history of disinformation in Soviet covert operations, The Deception Game: Czechoslovak Intelligence in Soviet Political Warfare (1972).[11]
Contents summary
Bittman recounts his time as a Czech State Security (StB) expert at misleading individuals. He describes information warfare tactics used by the Soviet Union, which they internally referred to as disinformation, intended to fool and defraud others. The author defines disinformation as "a carefully constructed false message leaked to an opponent's communication system in order to deceive the decision-making elite or the public".[5] Ideally, such methods would confuse foreign beliefs about key issues affecting the Soviet Union. The author recounts covert operations that significantly affected international relations. Bittman writes that for disinformation covert operation campaigns to succeed, "every disinformation message must at least partially correspond to reality or generally accepted views".[4] In some instances such covert operations led to blowback and unintended consequences from intelligence agency actions, which were harmful to the Soviet Union. Bittman argues such disinformation tactics had the cumulative effect of negative political consequences to the Soviet Union, because its subterfuge campaigns injected false information into society.[3][4][5]
The author recalls a StB operation which began in 1964 with the assistance of the KGB, whose goal was to inflame public opinion within
The KGB and StB ruse succeeded in causing paranoia and the Indonesia president began to make public statements highly critical of the U.S. Reporters within the employ of the two Soviet intelligence agencies promptly capitalized on Sukarno's remarks and incensed the Indonesians with broadcasts of the false reporting on Radio Moscow and groups of angry citizens attacked U.S. buildings in the city of Jakarta. Negative commentary about the U.S. grew markedly within the country at a rapid pace. Perceptions of American interests within the country were decreased to a negligible level, directly due to the Soviet intelligence disinformation campaign.[3]
Bittman recounts other case studies, including efforts by the Soviet intelligence services to influence the views of the Third World against Americans so that such countries would support Russian interests in the United Nations. The author details fruitful efforts of the KGB to stop the building of an aerospace facility in West Germany, after Soviet intelligence fomented false notions that the building was part of a Central Intelligence Agency plot to turn Germany into a nuclear-capable country. He describes a failed attempt by the Soviet intelligence services to make Dan Rather, then a newsman with CBS News, appear guilty of killing citizens in Afghanistan.[3][5]
Release and reception
The book was first published in 1983 by
Seth Arenstein analyzed the book for
The KGB and Soviet Disinformation received both a negative and a positive review in the International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, with Phillips writing "Chez Espionage regulars consider" the book "an excellent study", referring to its author as "the top authority on disinformation in the U.S.".[7] The other reviewer, Peter C. Unsinger, wrote "At times his examination is superficial, and for depth into some specific events, the reader will have to look at Bittman's earlier work".[8] The book was reviewed by Cesare Marongiu Buonaiuti in the Italian-language journal Rivista di Studi Politici Internazionali.[9]
See also
- 1995 CIA disinformation controversy
- Active measures
- Active Measures Working Group
- Blowback (intelligence)
- Counter Misinformation Team
- Denial and deception
- False flag
- Fear, uncertainty and doubt
- Forgery as covert operation
- Information warfare
- Internet manipulation
- Media censorship and disinformation during the Gezi Park protests
- Manufacturing Consent
- Operation Shocker
- Operation Toucan (KGB)
- The Plot to Hack America
- Politico-media complex
- Post-truth politics
- Propaganda in the Soviet Union
- Russian military deception
- Social engineering (political science)
- Persuasion
References
- ^ a b c d e f Richman, Evan (April 27, 1994), "The Spy Who Came Into the Classroom Teaches at Boston U.", The New York Times
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Butterfield, Fox (November 18, 1986), "Boston U. focuses on disinformation", The New York Times
- ^ ISBN 978-0-08-031572-0
- ^ a b c d Boghardt, Thomas (26 January 2010), "Operation INFEKTION - Soviet Bloc Intelligence and Its AIDS Disinformation Campaign" (PDF), Studies in Intelligence, 53 (4), retrieved 9 December 2016
- ^ S2CID 153446909
- ^ OCLC 5547492362
- ^ OCLC 12566055
- ^ OCLC 12566055
- ^ OCLC 5792426414
- ISBN 978-0-8156-8078-9
- OCLC 59067176
- OCLC 443300735
- OCLC 16103979
Further reading
- ISBN 978-0-396-08194-4
- ISBN 978-1-936488-60-5
- Fletcher Schoen; Christopher J. Lamb (June 1, 2012), "Deception, Disinformation, and Strategic. Communications: How One Interagency Group. Made a Major Difference" (PDF), Strategic Perspectives, 11, retrieved 9 December 2016
- ISBN 978-0080315737
- Taylor, Adam (26 November 2016), "Before 'fake news,' there was Soviet 'disinformation'", The Washington Post, retrieved 3 December 2016
- OCLC 987592653
External links
- The dictionary definition of disinformation at Wiktionary
- Quotations related to Disinformation at Wikiquote