Information War and "Sofa Troops" As an Inseparable Parts of Our Everyday Life

• 07.26.2016, 15:15
•  Armenia

In the present digitalized century information propaganda has become inseparable part of our everyday life and today it is a powerful tool in politics.  The conference entitled "New Methods of Information Effects (example of post-Soviet countries)" organized by "Noravank" Foundation on July 25 was devoted to the second and third generation tools in the information war, its positive and negative sides.

The conference was organized with the joint efforts of "Noravank" foundation, NGO "Integration and Development," Eurasian Expert Club, experts’ network "International Relations and Economical Integration in South Caucasus," Russian "Knowledge" organization, "Caucasus Cooperation" non-commercial partnership.

The reporters in the conference were Executive director of  "Noravank" foundation Gagik Harutyunyan, Experts of "Noravank" Information Studies Research Center Diana Galstyan and Mariam Khalatyan as well as Senior Expert of "Noravank" Information Studies Research Center Samvel Martirosyan.

Referring to the new generation information war, Gagik Harutyunyan noted that during such wars the concepts like start and end of a war, winners and losers disappear.

"Such wars neither start nor end, they always continue. Even in case of defeat the losers can have an illusion that they are winners. The example becomes clear if  you follow  the sense of happiness with which the nations who have passed through color revolutions walk, in case when their  Gross Domestic Product (GDP) decreased at least twice and they lost territories. "

Reporters Diana Galstyan and Mariam Khalatyan commented on the law "About Foreign Agends" presenting the experience of different countries such as Russia, USA, China, Israel and referred to  the controversies connected with the  adoption and implementation o that law.

Participant in a conference, Executive Director of Public Radio of the Republic of Armenia, Arman Saghatelyan, referring to the question, how the government and society should do treat those experts and reporters, who in their material consciously and unconsciously use the theses that are against Armenian statehood, noted:

"I think that against those people "soft power" should be used." That is to say respective state bodies should carry necessary work with the representatives of social organizations and media agencies, experts, so that they explain to the public and make for them available thesis coming from our state interests. It will help them to easily differentiate the anti-thesis disseminated and they will be able to make counterarguments for them. I think that in this case the interest of state, government and experts nearly always correspond.

Another reporter Samvel Martirosyan in the context of information war spoke about the so-called "Sofa Troops," who prefer to participate in the developments in the country sitting at home via the Internet:

"The so-called "Sofa Troops" have both their positive and negative effects.  As a negative effect one can state that in reality they create an illusion of action instead of initiating real action.  In this sense it is not by chance that for example many Europeans seriously believed that they participated in the revolution in Egypt. As a positive effect, we can state that by the help of those people and the Internet people quickly get mobilized, which would be impossible otherwise.  In this context we should also note that the Internet and the people carrying out actions in the Internet have had their great contribution in the formation of civil society in Armenia."

Summing up the results of the meeting President of NGO "Integration and Development," expert Aram Safaryan noted:

"To realize changes the state authorities should initiate such steps  which assume scientific and research studies, presentation of consultations by different expert groups. Otherwise such conferences cannot have any impact. I tend to think that 25 years after independence the RA society and its authorities should initiate steps for us to be among those societies who do not consume the information but produce it. In that case we will do a step forward and can get rid of foreign negative influences. In this sense I think that the RA authorities need such kind of consultations."