Tag: Social media

Weaponized Synthetic Intimacy and the Fourth Wave of Digital Disinfromation

Since the advent of digital diplomacy, states and diplomats have struggled to contain malign actors from leveraging technology for nefarious ends. There were three distinct waves of digital disinfromation. The early 2010s were defined by coordinated disinformation campaigns. State-managed accounts and "fake news" sites flooded social feeds with malicious content, warping reality and intensifying political... Continue Reading →

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The Algorithmic Undoing of Diplomacy

It has long since been argued that social media algorithms contribute to political polarization. Common wisdom has it that once algorithms identify a user’s political preferences, they ensure that the user is only exposed to content that is aligned with those preferences. Within this “filter bubble,” formerly known as an “echo chamber,” users enter a... Continue Reading →

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A New Roadmap for the Study of Digital Diplomacy

Throughout the 1980s, historian Eric Hobsbawm delivered a series of lectures examining the work of historians and the state of social history, his chosen discipline. Hobsbawm’s lectures coincided with tectonic shifts in global politics and rapid technological advancements as this decade witnessed the end of the Cold War, the false promise of neo-liberalism championed by... Continue Reading →

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The Case for Domestic Digital Diplomacy

The past four days have seen the onset of a new crisis in the Middle East following a coordinated U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran. The present crisis in the region is emblematic of 21st-century crises in three ways. First, the present crisis has engulfed the region, with Iran firing ballistic missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia,... Continue Reading →

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Tactical Diplomacy: The Next Stage in Diplomacy’s Digitalization

Digital diplomacy is now entering its third decade. Having emerged circa 2008 with the establishment of virtual embassies in virtual worlds, digital diplomacy now includes the use of diverse technologies ranging from social media to messaging applications, blogs, smartphone applications, big data analysis, coding, websites, and even crowdfunding, as recently used by Ukraine. For policymakers,... Continue Reading →

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In the Digital World, MFAs Must Change

The digitalization of diplomacy has led to profound changes in MFAs (ministries of foreign affairs) across the world. This change has structural, normative, and practical dimensions. Structurally, most MFAs now have digital units tasked with authoring digital content and analyzing the social media output of other actors. In many MFAs, social media is used as... Continue Reading →

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The New Digital Language of “PopAI”

On July 17, 2025, a kiss cam at a Coldplay concert captured Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and HR chief Kristin Cabot embracing, prompting viral speculation of an affair. The lead singer’s on-stage comment, "Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy”, as well as the couple’s obvious alarm at being caught on camera,... Continue Reading →

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