ABSTRACT
Military organizations face tremendous challenges in social media warfare. This chapter explores the challenges that militaries face in dealing with social media warfare. Military organizations in unconventional warfare must deal with social media in several ways: Troops on any side of a conflict can use defensive and offensive social media warfare tactics. Social media warfare troops will need cyber skills, military intelligence, civilian intelligence skills, language skills, cultural knowledge, and propaganda skills. Future training for military social media warfare specialists may include work in field laboratories or red team/blue team competitions designed to develop and sharpen skills. Social media use in warfare and non-conflict environments is changing rapidly and military organizations, at least in the United States, are developing social media policies and tactics. Military organizations are particularly vulnerable to social media warfare tactics, and the security of operations may be put at risk in many ways.
