Reports recently surfaced of FBI personnel involving themselves with a prominent social media company to control the spread of “misinformation” and the squelching of “disinformation.” Catching and suppressing or eliminating speech spread on social media deemed false or inaccurate is an insurmountable goal, and one fraught with problems, for example, limited resources. But the largerContinue reading “Strengthening Your Ability To Identify Mis- and DisInformation”
Category Archives: Researching
Credible, Unbiased Sources Are The Underpinning Of A Defensible Analysis
An FBI intelligence product intended for internal use only was recently leaked to the public. The piece received criticism from some outlets for its content, but also for its sourcing. The problem with its sourcing came down to two issues: the product used popular magazines as a primary means of support for its premises; andContinue reading “Credible, Unbiased Sources Are The Underpinning Of A Defensible Analysis “
The Importance Of Free Access To Information
A trend over the past few years has been the throttling or blocking of “misinformation” from news and social media sites. The proponents argue that containing misleading or false information is for the public good. Whether it benefits or harms the consumer is a matter for another forum. However, from an analytical perspective, reducing accessContinue reading “The Importance Of Free Access To Information”
The Risk Of Using Unresolved Cases To Support Finished Intelligence Analysis
This post was published on the original Intelligence Shop Web site in 2017. The message is still relevant, hence, its inclusion here on the Shop’s new site. This week, Foreign Policy Magazine got a hold of the DHS-FBI joint intelligence bulletin (JIB) describing the threat of “lethal violence” from white supremacist extremists. The JIB citedContinue reading “The Risk Of Using Unresolved Cases To Support Finished Intelligence Analysis”
OSINT: Losing Credibility
At one time, .gov, .org, .edu, and many .com sites were considered acceptable sources for research and analysis for both finished and raw intelligence. They might not always have been neutral, but their biases were generally discernible and could be filtered from the final product. But the trustworthiness of publicly available data has eroded. TheContinue reading “OSINT: Losing Credibility”
The Subject Matter Expert Versus The Diligent Researcher
As election 2016 came to its surprising conclusion, more than a few subject matter experts (SMEs) found egg on their faces. The results confirmed findings presented by political science writer Philip Tetlock in his book, Expert Political Judgment. At the risk of oversimplification, Dr. Tetlock argued that non-SMEs who apply critical thinking may have anContinue reading “The Subject Matter Expert Versus The Diligent Researcher”
Assessing The Assessment: “Domestic Violent Extremism Poses Heightened Threat In 2021”
Note: This post is based exclusively on the material released to the public and available on the DHS Web site. I have not seen the full assessment, which would include supporting facts. Nevertheless, an executive summary is a condensed version of a full report and should offer readers enough information on which to base aContinue reading “Assessing The Assessment: “Domestic Violent Extremism Poses Heightened Threat In 2021””
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