Summary:
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In my testimony today, I will outline the four interconnected, non-military domains that are at the forefront of this competition and their implications for our nation’s security and democratic values.
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By focusing on Latin America, leveraging modern digital tools, centering authentic local voices, focusing on themes that attract global audiences, and prioritizing platforms, USAGM can enhance its impact and promote democratic values worldwide.
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By centering the voices of local investigative journalists and civil society leaders, USAGM could improve the credibility of its content and increase its relevance to target populations.
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Focusing on Latin America: By prioritizing this region, USAGM can have a significant impact on audiences that are especially vulnerable to disinformation campaigns.
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With a focus on Latin America, the latest digital tools, and the voices of local journalists and civil society leaders, USAGM can help deliver content that is both credible and engaging, and ultimately help advance U.S. interests in the global arena.
Chairman Cardin, Ranking Member Hagerty, and Esteemed Members of the Committee, it is an honor to address you on a matter of critical importance to our nation and the world. The United States is currently facing a persistent and asymmetric competition with authoritarian challengers, which is being waged across multiple domains. In my testimony today, I will outline the four interconnected, non-military domains that are at the forefront of this competition and their implications for our nation’s security and democratic values.
POLITICS: The Threat of Interference and Denigration
One of the primary domains in which the competition is taking place is politics. The rise of authoritarianism and illiberalism has led to a concerted effort to interfere in democratic processes and denigrate democratic governments. This interference takes various forms, including disinformation campaigns, cyberattacks, and influence operations. These activities aim to sow discord, undermine trust in democratic institutions, and manipulate public opinion.
ECONOMICS: Coercive Leverage and Strategic Corruption
The accumulation and application of coercive leverage and the use of strategic corruption is another domain of the competition. Authoritarian regimes use economic means to exert influence and pressure on other nations, often by leveraging their control over critical resources or markets. They also use strategic corruption, which involves offering financial incentives to officials in other nations to secure political favors or access to sensitive information.
TECHNOLOGY: An Intersecting Domain
Technology is a domain that intersects with all other domains of the competition. The rise of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and biotechnology, is transforming the global landscape and creating new opportunities for competition. In this domain, nations compete for technological supremacy and control over critical infrastructure, such as 5G networks and space-based assets.
INFORMATION: The Consequential Terrain
Finally, the domain of information may be the most consequential terrain over which states will compete in the next decades. The rise of social media and other digital platforms has transformed the way information is disseminated and consumed. Authoritarian regimes use these platforms to spread disinformation and propaganda, while also engaging in censorship and other forms of online repression. This domain is critical for shaping public opinion, influencing policy decisions, and even swaying the outcome of elections.
The United States is facing a persistent, asymmetric competition with authoritarian challengers that is taking place across multiple domains. The domains of politics, economics, technology, and information are all interconnected, and the outcomes of this competition will have profound implications for our nation’s security and democratic values. As we move forward, it is imperative that we develop a comprehensive strategy to address these challenges and protect our interests in a rapidly changing world.
Autocrats and their Information Advantages
In this modern age of technology, the information domain has become the new battleground for authoritarian challengers like Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. They use a multitude of tactics to spread false or misleading information, propaganda, conspiracy theories, and anti-American sentiment to tighten their grip on power at home and weaken democratic competitors abroad.
Propaganda Networks and Whataboutism
Putin and Xi operate vast propaganda networks that use multiple modes of communication to disseminate their preferred, often slanted, versions of events. They spread numerous, often conflicting, conspiracy theories designed to deflect blame for their own wrongdoing, dent the prestige of the United States, and cast doubt on the notion of objective truth. Additionally, they frequently engage in “whataboutism” to frame the United States and its way of doing business as hypocritical.
Exploiting Asymmetries
The open information environment that democracies rely on for governance also creates near-term vulnerabilities that autocrats can exploit using low-cost, often deniable tools and tactics. While democracies depend on the idea that the truth is knowable and citizens can discern it, autocrats benefit from widespread public skepticism that objective truth exists at all. By tightly controlling their information environments, they are more insulated from critics than their democratic competitors.
The Slow Response of Democracies
To date, the United States and other liberal democracies have been slow to appreciate the nature of the contest and to develop a proactive strategy to push back on those advances. This is partially driven by the challenge of developing a coherent threat assessment when so much of the relevant activity is taking place on smart phones instead of traditional battlefields.
Leveraging Asymmetric Advantages
Recognizing that competition is ultimately about the pursuit and use of advantages, the United States should develop a strategy to leverage myriad asymmetric advantages of its own to push back on Moscow and Beijing’s information advances. By doing so, they can level the playing field and counter the advantage of autocrats in the information domain.
The information domain has become a key battleground for autocrats seeking to undermine democracies. While they have been successful in exploiting the vulnerabilities of democratic systems, there is still hope. By recognizing the nature of the contest and leveraging their own advantages, democratic societies can effectively push back on the advances made by authoritarian challengers like Putin and Xi.
LEVERAGING TRUTHFUL INFORMATION FOR DEMOCRACY
In the battle for the global information environment, the United States must take the initiative by using truthful information to defend its interests and the integrity of democratic governance. To achieve this, the U.S. should adopt the persistent engagement approach, which has proven effective in cyberspace, and extend it to the information domain. The focus should not be on refuting false information but on affirmatively highlighting the strengths of democratic governance models and exposing the corruption and repression of autocratic challengers. By doing so, the U.S. can exploit the weaknesses of Moscow and Beijing and gain an advantage in the competition for the global information environment.
BUILDING RESILIENCE AGAINST DISINFORMATION
To succeed in the information domain, the U.S. must target at least two audiences: individuals who live in repressive societies and those in societies where democracy is backsliding. By promoting freedom of information globally and supporting high-quality journalism abroad, particularly in places where democracy is under threat, the U.S. can build resilience against disinformation and propaganda. Independent media keeps citizens informed and holds power to account, making it an essential tool in the fight for democracy.
ACTION BEYOND THE INFORMATION DOMAIN
To fully leverage its advantages, the U.S. must take action beyond the information domain. Its advanced cyber capabilities, global financial markets, robust rule of law, and vibrant network of partners provide powerful tools to counter the disinformation campaigns of Moscow and Beijing. By using its cyber capabilities to undermine the ability of its competitors to carry out malign activity online and imposing costs on those who carry out destructive, state-backed information manipulation campaigns, the U.S. can gain a decisive advantage.
LEVERAGING PARTNERSHIPS AND ALLIANCES
To ensure success, the U.S. must work in coordination with other democratic societies, leveraging its strong network of partners and alliances. Sharing information about threats and collaborating on responses that are rooted in democratic values is crucial, as these values are the strengths of democratic societies. Ultimately, the information competition is not just a contest between nations, but a struggle over systems and principles. By standing together, democratic societies can defend their values and maintain the integrity of the global information environment.
USAGM’s Role in Advancing the Information Strategy
As the United States seeks to advance its information strategy and counter the spread of disinformation and propaganda by autocratic regimes, the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) has a crucial role to play. With a focus on Latin America and leveraging modern digital tools, USAGM can enhance its efforts to promote truthful information and democratic values worldwide.
Focusing on Latin America: A Key Priority for USAGM
Latin America is an important region for USAGM’s efforts to counter disinformation and promote democratic values. With numerous countries facing challenges related to democracy, human rights, and corruption, USAGM’s presence in the region can have a significant impact. By investing resources and attention in this region, USAGM can help to strengthen civil society, promote independent media, and expose the failures of autocratic regimes.
Leveraging Modern Digital Tools for Enhanced Reach and Assessment
In today’s digital age, USAGM must take advantage of modern tools to build a sophisticated understanding of its audience and assess the effectiveness of its content. Through data analytics, USAGM can gain insights into what content is resonating with its audience and use this information to refine its messaging. Additionally, by utilizing circumvention tools to bypass censorship, USAGM can increase the reach of its content and ensure that it reaches its intended audience.
Centering Authentic Local Voices to Promote Democratic Values
To effectively counter disinformation and propaganda, USAGM must focus on authentic local voices that can provide insight into the realities on the ground. By highlighting the stories of ordinary citizens and local journalists, USAGM can help to build trust and credibility with its audience. This approach borrows an element of its competitor’s strategy while maintaining USAGM’s commitment to journalistic excellence.
Focusing on Themes that Attract Global Audiences
While USAGM’s primary focus is on promoting democratic values, it must also prioritize themes that attract global audiences. By highlighting issues such as climate change, public health, and economic development, USAGM can help to build a broader audience for its content and increase the impact of its message.
Prioritizing Platforms and Utilizing the State Department’s Content Commons
USAGM must avoid the temptation to be everywhere always and instead prioritize the platforms where people get their news. By focusing on key platforms and utilizing the State Department’s existing Content Commons, USAGM can maximize its impact and reach a wider audience.
USAGM has a critical role to play in advancing the United States’ information strategy and countering disinformation and propaganda. By focusing on Latin America, leveraging modern digital tools, centering authentic local voices, focusing on themes that attract global audiences, and prioritizing platforms, USAGM can enhance its impact and promote democratic values worldwide.
Focusing on Latin America: A Key Strategy for USAGM in the Information Age
Latin America is a critical region for the United States, both in terms of its national security interests and its ability to compete in the global information space. Yet, as of 2023, Russian and Chinese state media outlets have been gaining significant traction in the region, while the USAGM’s presence has been minimal, to say the least. Recognizing this as a resource prioritization problem, the USAGM must focus its attention and resources on Latin America in order to effectively compete in this era of information competition.
Russian and Chinese state media have made significant strides in the region, leveraging social media platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok to build large audiences. RT en Español, in particular, has emerged as a major player, boasting more followers on Facebook than any other Spanish-language international broadcaster. Meanwhile, the USAGM’s Latin America division operates on a budget of only $10 million, less than half of the budget for its Eurasia division and a quarter of the budget for its East Asia and Pacific division. This reflects a broader trend of deprioritizing the Western Hemisphere in US public diplomacy financing.
Recognizing the potential impact of Russia’s information manipulation efforts in the region, and the fact that Spanish is the fourth-most spoken language in the world, the USAGM must prioritize Latin America as a key region for investment. This should include increasing investments in VOA broadcasting in Spanish, potentially opening a regional bureau within Latin America, facilitating exchanges between Spanish-language journalists in the United States and their counterparts in Latin America, and creating public-private partnerships for low-cost distribution and content sharing agreements. Failure to do so could result in ceding the information space in Latin America to geopolitical competitors, which would be detrimental to US national security interests.
Leveraging Twenty-First Century Digital Tools for Success
In today’s digital age, staying relevant in the crowded modern media market is a significant challenge. USAGM must leverage twenty-first century digital tools to create content that resonates with their target audience. Social media analysis tools can provide invaluable insights into the interests and concerns of different regional audiences. USAGM should invest in these tools to develop tailored and compelling editorial propositions that will capture the attention of foreign audiences. Additionally, social media analytics and market research should be used to evaluate the performance of USAGM content continually. By doing so, the organization can prioritize the types of materials that are most impactful, which is essential for success in a highly competitive media landscape.
Combatting Censorship and Disinformation with Cutting-edge Tools
USAGM must continue to support cutting-edge open internet and circumvention tools that enable its journalists to provide independent, comprehensive, and objective news coverage. By doing so, the organization can combat censorship and enable its journalists to report on critical issues that autocrats try to suppress. Furthermore, the news coverage can help promote an engaged citizenry and build resilience against disinformation propaganda in target societies worldwide.
Using AI Systems to Boost Reach
Advancements in AI systems have made it possible to translate high-quality content quickly and at low cost. USAGM should consider using AI systems to translate its content into multiple languages for dissemination. Doing so could significantly boost the reach of USAGM’s most compelling materials and enable foreign audiences to access quality content in their native languages. By leveraging AI systems, USAGM can reach a wider audience and promote its commitment to journalistic excellence globally.
Centering Authentic Local Voices: A New Approach to USAGM Content Creation
To effectively reach and resonate with foreign audiences, USAGM must look beyond traditional methods and consider borrowing a page from the playbooks of Moscow and Beijing. By centering the voices of local investigative journalists and civil society leaders, USAGM could improve the credibility of its content and increase its relevance to target populations.
Borrowing a Mouth to Speak: Moscow and Beijing’s Strategy
Moscow and Beijing have long recognized the power of authentic domestic voices in improving the reach and resonance of their propaganda messaging. By co-locating trolls within target populations, renting social media accounts of local users, and hiring freelance journalists to write political stories, they have been able to lend their content a degree of credibility that would otherwise be lacking.
Beijing, in particular, has long used foreigners in Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda, emphasizing the importance of “borrowing a mouth to speak” and using international friends to carry out foreign propaganda.
Centering Local Voices: A New Approach for USAGM
While USAGM must remain committed to upholding journalistic excellence and reporting facts without bias, centering the voices of local investigative journalists and civil society leaders in its content could help strike a chord with local audiences, especially in places where the United States may not be inherently trusted.
This approach is also in keeping with USAGM’s commitment to engaging and empowering local populations. By amplifying the voices of local journalists and activists, USAGM could not only improve the credibility of its content but also foster greater trust and collaboration with local communities.
By borrowing a page from the playbooks of Moscow and Beijing and centering authentic local voices in its content, USAGM could improve the reach and resonance of its messaging and foster greater engagement and trust with target populations. This approach is in keeping with USAGM’s commitment to journalistic excellence and editorial transparency while recognizing the importance of adapting to a rapidly changing media landscape.
Emphasize Themes that Resonate Globally
In a world where liberal democracies are struggling to develop a cohesive message, the United States must find ways to communicate effectively with global audiences. Instead of relying on narratives that may only appeal to elites or seem hypocritical, USAGM should focus on themes that continue to attract attention and admiration around the world. These themes include America’s capacity for innovation and entrepreneurship, its scientific and technological achievements, and its commitment to freedom of expression.
USAGM should not shy away from presenting a complex and nuanced portrayal of the United States, one that includes critical assessments of its policies. In fact, acknowledging and addressing America’s challenges can demonstrate strength and integrity, especially to societies that are striving to establish or consolidate their own democratic systems.
Programs of USAGM
USAGM networks and programs can highlight authoritarian efforts to undermine democratic societies and institutions, as well as stories of resilience and resistance to repression. When appropriate, they can also call attention to the information manipulation tactics of countries like Russia and China, particularly the use of whataboutism. However, it’s important to be cautious in doing so, avoiding drawing undue attention to their content. Instead, USAGM should focus on telling compelling stories that capture audiences’ attention and inspire them to engage with important issues. By resisting the temptation to engage in endless rebuttals, USAGM can take control of the conversation and shape the narrative in its own terms.
Don’t Spread Yourself Too Thin: Focus on the Right Platforms
In the world of digital media, it’s easy to get lost in the ever-expanding landscape of platforms and apps. USAGM recognizes that it can’t be everywhere all the time, and that’s a good thing. Instead of trying to be on every platform in every target market, USAGM should focus on the places where people actually get their news. In many countries, that means Facebook and YouTube, not Twitter. But the organization should also be open to exploring new channels, such as Whatsapp, which has become a popular source of news in many parts of the world.
To make the most of its content, USAGM should also share its originals within the State Department’s Content Commons. This resource provides public diplomacy professionals with access to a library of on-demand, cleared, license-free content. However, users report that the current options are limited, especially in video format. By sharing its material, USAGM can help to fill that gap and reach new audiences. This approach would not only help to amplify USAGM’s message, but also support the State Department’s broader public diplomacy goals.
By focusing on the right platforms and leveraging existing resources, USAGM can avoid spreading itself too thin and maximize its impact in a crowded media landscape.
Preparing for the Information Battles of the Future
The world is changing, and so are the ways in which countries compete for influence and power. With the rise of digital technologies, autocratic regimes can now use propaganda and disinformation to disrupt democracies from within, with potentially devastating consequences for U.S. interests. It’s clear that the United States needs a new approach to this challenge, one that draws on its strengths and meets the demands of the moment.
A Winning Strategy for the Digital Age
To succeed in this new environment, the U.S. government must be prepared to compete on the information battlefield.
USAGM can play a critical role in this effort by focusing on several key strategies. These include:
- Focusing on Latin America: By prioritizing this region, USAGM can have a significant impact on audiences that are especially vulnerable to disinformation campaigns. By building up its presence in this area, USAGM can help counter the efforts of authoritarian regimes like Russia and China.
- Leveraging Digital Tools: The information environment is constantly evolving, and USAGM must be ready to adapt to new technologies and platforms as they emerge. By leveraging the latest digital tools, USAGM can better engage with audiences and deliver content that is both relevant and credible.
- Cantering Authentic Local Voices: To increase the reach and resonance of its messaging, USAGM should prioritise the voices of local journalists and civil society leaders. Doing so can help lend credibility to its content and better resonate with audiences in places where the United States may not be inherently trusted.
- Focusing on Themes that Attract Global Audiences: To better connect with global audiences, USAGM should focus on themes that continue to attract interest and engagement. This includes the United States’ capacity for innovation and entrepreneurship, its technological and scientific achievements, and its support for freedom of expression.
- Avoiding the Temptation to be Everywhere Always: While it may be tempting to try to adopt every new platform in every target market, USAGM must remain focused and strategic in its approach. By prioritizing the platforms where people get their news, and by sharing its content with relevant public diplomats, USAGM can maximize its impact and reach.
By following these strategies, USAGM can position itself for success in today’s information environment, and help push back against the efforts of authoritarian regimes to disrupt democracies from within. With a focus on Latin America, the latest digital tools, and the voices of local journalists and civil society leaders, USAGM can help deliver content that is both credible and engaging, and ultimately help advance U.S. interests in the global arena.
