NEW MEDIA’S ROLE IN HYBRID WARFARE: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF X (FORMERLY TWITTER) IN PAKISTANI MILIEU

Abstract

With the expansion of digital media, the nature of warfare has transformed momentously. Old-fashioned battlefields have now become virtual battlegrounds, due to the accessibility of countless social media platforms, fighting the battle in a cognitive domain is an attempt to change the minds, perceptions, and opinions of the masses. Therefore, this research article discovers X’s role as a hybrid warfare tool in the Pakistani milieu. Particularly, this study is an effort to identify how X users employ diverse approaches to spread fake news, disinformation & misinformation campaigns, and proliferate propaganda narratives offensively. In today’s digital era, a variety of strategies are utilized on social media platforms to propagate false narratives to shape and influence public perceptions. From the plethora of trending hashtags on the X panel, in this study, only two prominent hashtags “#KashmirFiles” and “#SanctionPakistan” were chosen for analysis, intending to find out how hybrid warfare and its various propaganda strategies are reflected in tweets posted by users. Additionally, Ruth Wodak’s Discourse- Historical Approach (DHA) to Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) approach was applied to examine a sample of randomly selected four hundred (400) tweets. Moreover, in this study, the researcher discovered that the live and engaging communication functionality of X offers an optimal atmosphere aimed at crafting relatively complex terms based on sentiments. However, in the process, it often makes use of emotional nodes to disrupt public opinion and create havoc in social cohesion. The argumentative and discursive tactics of discourse alongside the topos of numbers including humanitarian concern, extremism, justice, killings, and danger/threat are used to stretch and present reductionist perspectives. Furthermore, the ultimate aim of this research project is to provide recommendations for bureaucracy, policy and decision-makers, government institutions, and the general public as a whole to develop an understanding the Pakistan’s security challenges posed by social media in the digital age. Finally, this research study also highlights the emerging threats from the employment of hybrid warfare tactics on X and facilitates the development of counter strategies at a national level.