A Fight Without Uniforms:
Information Warfare
Modern conflicts are no longer fought solely on the battlefield. They are also waged in the minds of populations, through information, disinformation, and the manipulation of perceptions.
For us, former legionnaires, familiar with the classic and asymmetric forms of engagement, this text helps us understand these new battlefields facing our army.
The following text offers a clear and accessible overview of the mechanisms of contemporary information warfare, as analyzed by leading figures in the Ministry of the Armed Forces. It sheds light on adversary strategies, their tools, and possible responses to preserve the cohesion, clarity, and resilience of democratic societies.
Louis Perez y Cid
The New Drivers of Information Warfare (Summary)
By the Directorate: Ministry of the Armed Forces / Published on January 28, 2026
Information manipulation is now a field of confrontation in its own right, on par with land, sea, air, cyber, or space. Unstable and rapidly evolving, this field is characterized by the constant obsolescence of methods and responses.
For Colonel Bertrand, commanding officer of the Joint Center for Environmental Actions (CIAE), the current foundations of information warfare date back to the 2015-2016 period, marked by the rise of social media and the fight against ISIS propaganda.
The French response at that time was structured around three pillars: protecting the public, offensive actions, and counter-narratives. This comprehensive approach, still valid today, reminds us that information relies as much on messages as on actors, relays, and technical systems.
Anaïs Meunier, a cybersecurity specialist, emphasizes the central role of digital infrastructure. Disinformation campaigns are not based on isolated actions, but on organized, sustained, and often shared networks among different actors. Mapping these networks is a key challenge for understanding and countering these operations.
The emergence of generative artificial intelligence marks a major turning point. It allows for the mass production of credible content (texts, images, videos, fake profiles) and the adaptation of messages to the emotions and interests of the target audience. This is no longer just a change in scale, but a change in the nature of the threats.
Information operations can aim for immediate effects, provoking a reaction, creating confusion, or be long-term, through the repetition of simplified narratives designed to sow doubt and undermine trust. In this context, the first few minutes following an information attack are crucial; it is essential to establish a presence without amplifying rumors, by presenting clear and contextualized facts.
Technical tools (reporting, content removal, account closures) remain useful but insufficient without a strategic vision. Deleting a message does not erase the narrative it spreads.
A sustainable response relies on credibility, consistency, and coherence. Information resilience is built over time, through robust and understandable narratives, championed by both institutions and civil society. In an information-saturated world, this resilience has become a major strategic issue for national security and the cohesion of democracies.
White Paper on Information Manipulation:
https://m82-project.org/files/20251113_LBMMI.pdf
Disinformation section of the Ministry of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs:
https://www.defense.gouv.fr/infox-face-desinformation-lengagement-du-ministere-armees
Information manipulation is now a field of confrontation in its own right, on par with land, sea, air, cyber, or space. Unstable and rapidly evolving, this field is characterized by the constant obsolescence of methods and responses.
For Colonel Bertrand, commanding officer of the Joint Center for Environmental Actions (CIAE), the current foundations of information warfare date back to the 2015-2016 period, marked by the rise of social media and the fight against ISIS propaganda.
The French response at that time was structured around three pillars: protecting the public, offensive actions, and counter-narratives. This comprehensive approach, still valid today, reminds us that information relies as much on messages as on actors, relays, and technical systems.
Anaïs Meunier, a cybersecurity specialist, emphasizes the central role of digital infrastructure. Disinformation campaigns are not based on isolated actions, but on organized, sustained, and often shared networks among different actors. Mapping these networks is a key challenge for understanding and countering these operations.
The emergence of generative artificial intelligence marks a major turning point. It allows for the mass production of credible content (texts, images, videos, fake profiles) and the adaptation of messages to the emotions and interests of the target audience. This is no longer just a change in scale, but a change in the nature of the threats.
Information operations can aim for immediate effects, provoking a reaction, creating confusion, or be long-term, through the repetition of simplified narratives designed to sow doubt and undermine trust. In this context, the first few minutes following an information attack are crucial; it is essential to establish a presence without amplifying rumors, by presenting clear and contextualized facts.
Technical tools (reporting, content removal, account closures) remain useful but insufficient without a strategic vision. Deleting a message does not erase the narrative it spreads.
A sustainable response relies on credibility, consistency, and coherence. Information resilience is built over time, through robust and understandable narratives, championed by both institutions and civil society. In an information-saturated world, this resilience has become a major strategic issue for national security and the cohesion of democracies.
White Paper on Information Manipulation:
https://m82-project.org/files/20251113_LBMMI.pdf
Disinformation section of the Ministry of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs:
https://www.defense.gouv.fr/infox-face-desinformation-lengagement-du-ministere-armees