Information aggression—A Battlefield of Smartphones

Information—primarily digital—is an increasingly important commodity in the modern world and the ubiquitous use of smartphones has meant a change in the way people access information and communicate. The virtual information space has become the primary location for threats, aggression and even potentially foreign occupation. The number of electronic services with fluid lines between public and private, professional and amateur; an absence of physical borders; the 24-hour news cycle: this provides new opportunities for virtual attacks. The ancient tool of propaganda takes on a new importance. There is widespread agreement that Russia under Putin has lifted propaganda to new levels—or perhaps back to Soviet levels but with the ubiquity of modern media in addition. Through access to the information space via such a common device as the smartphone, everyone is affected by the new form of information aggression.