2022

Humans quickly and effortlessly impose context onto ambiguous stimuli, as demonstrated through psychological projective testing and ambiguous figures. This feature of human cognition may be weaponized as part of an information operation. Such Ambiguous Self-Induced Disinformation (ASID) attacks would employ the following elements: the introduction of a culturally
consistent narrative, the presence of ambiguous stimuli, the motivation for hypervigilance, and a
social network. ASID attacks represent a low-risk, low-investment tactic for adversaries with the
potential for significant reward, making this an attractive option for information operations within
the context of grey-zone conflicts.