Back Manguera de falsedades Spanish رگبار دروغ Persian Firehose of falsehood French זרנוק הכזבים HE Semburan dusta ID Tok laži Slovenian Yalanların yangın hortumu Turkish Потік брехні Ukrainian
The firehose of falsehood, also known as firehosing, is a propaganda technique in which a large number of messages are broadcast rapidly, repetitively, and continuously over multiple channels (like news and social media) without regard for truth or consistency. An outgrowth of Soviet propaganda techniques, the firehose of falsehood is a contemporary model for Russian propaganda under Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Russian government used the technique during its offensive against Georgia in 2008 and Russia's war with Ukraine that started in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea, and it has continued to use it in the 2021 prelude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It continued to use it as part of its interference in the 2016 United States elections,[1][2] largely aided by the repetition of Russian falsehoods[3] by Donald Trump, who has made constant lying a key part of his communication strategy.[a] Politicians, governments, and movements in other countries have since adopted the use of the same tactics.
While difficult to counter, the German Marshall Fund, RAND, and military strategists have described techniques to respond to the firehose of falsehood, generally involving preempting it with good information, strategically reducing or removing misinformation, and teaching digital literacy.
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