Abstract: How can a state react to being a target of disinformation activities by another state without losing the moral ground that it seeks to protect? This essay argues that the concept of moral authority offers an original framework for addressing this dilemma. As a power resource, moral authority enables an actor to have its arguments treated with priority by others and to build support for its actions, but only as long as its behavior does not deviate from certain moral expectations. To develop moral authority, an actor engaged in combating digital propaganda must cultivate six normative attributes: truthfulness and prudence for demonstrating the nature of the harmful effects of disinformation; accountability, integrity, and effectiveness for establishing the normative standing of the actor to engage in counter-intervention; and responsibility for confirming the proportionality of the response.
Keywords: digital propaganda, disinformation, ethics, moral authority, hybrid warfare
The full essay is available to subscribers only. Click here for access.
More in this issue
Fall 2018 (32.3) • Essay
Backfire: The Dark Side of Nonviolent Resistance
In this essay, Michael L. Gross examines the ethics of provoking backfire in the context of nonviolent resistance.
![](https://cdn.carnegiecouncil.org/media/eia/_900x525_crop_center-center_none_ns/Shadow-Ballot.jpg?v=1721237632)
Fall 2018 (32.3) • Essay
The Case for Foreign Electoral Subversion
In this essay Cécile Fabre argues that, under certain conditions and subject to certain constraints, foreign electoral subversion may be justified as a means ...
Fall 2018 (32.3) • Essay
Ending Atrocity Crimes: The False Promise of Fatalism
Some commentators suggest that the best way to minimize harm in atrocity situations is to let the state win as quickly as possible. Could this ...