Surveillance is the tip of the iceberg. Let's say for example country A invades country B. Country C sends aid to country B. Some segment of citizens in Coun

Surveillance is the tip of the iceberg. Let's say for example country A invades country B. Country C sends aid to country B. Some segment of citizens in Country C are upset by this. Country A now creates an indirect funding route to people in Country C who are influential on social media. They amplify their voices through shares, likes, retweets and other aspects of social media algorithms. They employ farms of people around the world to ensure that these voices are liked, shared and amplified, to create the illusion that this is the popular view. Citizens in country C take the approach of "crowd wisdom" and go along with it. This influences elections and influences policy. The funding stops, and the invasion is now successful without the external defense funding. What mechanisms do countries have to deal with this? One could argue that surveillance may help uncover whether a common thread is linked to internal discord in society, and that thread can be pulled on to reveal a foreign adversary. Let's say the reverse happens. Country A and country B have a territorial dispute. Country A occupies parts of Country B. Country C is aligned with Country B. The intelligence agencies in Country C do the same kind of social media influence operations to manufacture consent for their policies. What mechanisms do countries have to deal with the intelligence agencies manufacturing consent in this manner? What if there are counter-intelligence operations run by foreign adversaries who are calling out these manufacturing consent operations on social media. One could see how surveillance will help follow the thread and identify these adversaries, if they exist in this part of the tapestry. In the 2016 election there was evidence that this type of activity is now routine and commonplace between countries. We also already know that the US government has conducted operations like Mockingbird, Cointelpro and others through the news media in the past. It is not a stretch to presume they engage in this as well, except now through social media. There is ample evidence to assume that all the conversations taking place online, and the downstream effects thereof, are simply the manifestations of some other prime movers. How does the citizenry become educated about these phenomenon in a way that somehow at least partially inoculates them against becoming pawns in this bigger chess game?