  Organizations have long used deception as a means to exert influence in
pursuit of their agendas. In particular, information operations such as
propaganda distribution, support of antigovernment protest, and revelation of
politically and socially damaging secrets were abundant during World War II and
the Cold War. A key component of each of these efforts is deceiving the targets
by obscuring intent and identity. Information from a trusted source is more
influential than information from an adversary and therefore more likely to
sway opinions. The ubiquitous adoption of social media, characterized by
user-generated and peer disseminated content, has notably increased the
frequency, scale, and efficacy of influence operations worldwide. In this
article, we explore how methods of deception including audience building, media
hijacking, and community subversion inform the techniques and tradecraft of
today's influence operators. We then discuss how a properly equipped and
informed public can diagnose and counter malign influence operations.
