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ON THIS WEEK’S “INTELLIGENCE MATTERS” PODCAST: TACKLING DISINFORMATION IS A NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUE, SAYS FORMER NSA GENERAL COUNSEL
In the latest episode of “Intelligence Matters,” CBS News national security contributor and podcast host Michael Morell speaks with former NSA general counsel Glenn Gerstell about national security issues stemming from disinformation on social media. Gerstell outlines legal, technological and policy approaches the new administration can take to combat the spread of disinformation on social media. Read more online about this episode at CBSNews.com HERE.
Excerpts from the latest episode:
On disinformation as a national security threat: “Disinformation, whether it’s foreign or domestic, is a national security threat very simply because it does one of two things. It either sows discord in our society or it undermines confidence in our democratic institutions, whether that’s governmental institutions, the press or other important societal structures. That’s why it’s a national security threat. What makes it effective is that disinformation falls on receptive eyes and ears. In order to believe some falsehood, you have to be predisposed to it. Disinformation doesn’t create these societal divisions and prejudices and predispositions. They already exist. But it deepens them and hardens them.”
On legal ramifications of regulating speech: “We don’t really want to hurt these tech companies or their platforms. We like Facebook and Instagram and YouTube, etc. We don’t want to get rid of them or really curtail them so that they become uninteresting and not fun and boring. There are lots of legal problems with regulating speech. It sounds a little authoritarian to rule out certain kinds of communications. We don’t want to look like Russia or China.”
On solutions to countering the spread of disinformation: “We could undertake more cyber offensive actions against Russia, China, North Korea and Iran, who are spreading disinformation from abroad. We’re already doing that in large respects. We could perhaps do more. We could have an integrated disinformation center within the federal government. There’s no one in the federal government who’s responsible for countering disinformation. The Justice Department, the FBI, the NSA, the State Department, its global engagement center, the Federal Communications Commission, they all have a role in dealing with digital communications, but there’s no one responsible. By contrast, we do have an integrated counterterrorism center in the intelligence community, and maybe we should do that and have some coherent approach to disinformation.”
CHEAT TWEET: NEW THIS WEEK: Former General Council @NSAGov Glenn Gerstell joins @MichaelJMorell to discuss the national security case for fixing social media and addressing disinformation. SUBSCRIBE: https://apple.co/3mp5zq1
Follow Michael Morell on Twitter at @MichaelJMorell and Intelligence Matters at @IntelMattersPod. Discover more CBS News podcasts at CBSAudio.com/podcasts.
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