The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association.

During this episode, Paul Buvarp contrasts disinformation as a human demand-side problem with the typical supply-side perspective. Additional discussion threads include thinking about online and real-world environments as differently as forests and tropical environments are different, how young people view TikTok and news consumption, bypassing traditional information filters, and Ashby’s Law of Requisite Variety.

Recording Date: 1 Apr 2025

Resources:

Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
- #212 Libby Lange on Algorithmic Cognitive Warfare
The spread of true and false news online by Soroush Vosoughi, Deb Roy, Sinan Aral
Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman
The Paradox of Democracy: Free Speech, Open Media, and Perilous Persuasion by Zac Gershberg and Sean Illing

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: Bio: Paul M. H. Buvarp, Ph.D., is a senior researcher at the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (ffi.no/en), specialising in disinformation and foreign interference in digital media. His work explores the phenomenon through the lenses of media theory, sociology, and philosophy. He is also part of the research team monitoring and analysing attempts to interfere with Norwegian elections. Paul holds a doctorate degree in International Relations from the University of St Andrews in Scotland. He has published numerous academic articles, reports, and essays, and regularly gives lectures and talks in Norway and internationally.

About: The Information Professionals Association (IPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the role of information activities, such as influence and cognitive security, within the national security sector and helping to bridge the divide between operations and research. Its goal is to increase interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars and practitioners and policymakers with an interest in this domain.

For more information, please contact us at communications@information-professionals.org.

Or, connect directly with The Cognitive Crucible podcast host, John Bicknell, on LinkedIn.

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