This talk of "information war" is extremely creepy. IW is unfalsifiable and indistinguishable from legitimate popular dissatisfaction, which is a much more like

This talk of "information war" is extremely creepy. IW is unfalsifiable and indistinguishable from legitimate popular dissatisfaction, which is a much more likely explanation for recent political outcomes. No, the existence of a few foreign-sources social media posts is not evidence that recent political results differ from the genuine will of the people. The results of elections and polls do, in contrast, constitute evidence that the people, as a whole, feel a certain way. Macron has an approval rating of 17%. Are foreign agents manipulating 83% of the population? While "information war" is bogus as an explanatory or predictive theory, it's an excellent pretext for censorship, especially since it seems to be brought up whenever a political outcome disfavored by the elites occurs. Followed to its logical conclusion, fighting "information war" yields a regime of public censorship that differs from China's only in flavor.