ARISTEDES MAHAIRAS : MIKHAIL DVILYANSKI
to numerous locations. The letters advocated a “change of government” in Egypt and criticized President Sadat’s leadership. Finally, in 1979, a forged letter from the U.S. Ambassador to Egypt was published in a Syrian newspaper. The letter was critical of President Sadat and expressed the U.S. position of wanting to “get rid of him without hesitation.” The breadth and duration of this active measures campaign clearly illustrates the importance Soviet leadership placed on undermining US credibility and influence in the region as a key sponsor of the Camp David peace process.[6]
RECENT EVENTS
Nearly 100 years after Russia established its special disinformation office, an analysis of recent events shows that such disinformation campaigns no longer require the sole services of intelligence operatives of old. In fact, with the leveraging of technology and the use of both overt and covert methods, such disinformation campaigns can have an even greater impact to a wider audience in a rather short period of time. It should be noted however that the purpose of such campaigns remains the same. The goal is to create discord and confusion, and amplify existing divisive issues in order to further expand the space separating the targeted audience; thereby, making reconciliation between any two sides of a divisive issue even more difficult to achieve.
2016: LISA CASE
One clear example of this activity, utilizing both overt and covert channels to propel a disinformation campaign, is evidenced in the Lisa case which takes place in Germany. For two weeks in January 2016, the media focused on Lisa, a 13-year old Russian/German girl, who had gone missing for 30 hours and was reported to have been raped by Arab migrants.[7] The German police, as with any allegation
