Dear Friends, Some of you may recall back in October last year I published an article revealing <https://emma-briant.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e7f9f1379bf0f0311ebba75d7&id=d6a24013c1&e=ba76ce6920> a company called Emic, spun off from the Cambridge Analytica parent SCL, had been hired by several western militaries in the last few years to train their information operations and public affairs officers - despite the ongoing investigations into the linked firms. This made big news particularly in Canada, where the military was already in the middle of a breaking scandal for targeting its own citizens during the pandemic with methods normally reserved for foreign psychological operations. I am delighted to be able to bring you an update... the Canadian parliament and military took it very seriously and launched no less than four investigations into what we revealed which have just concluded. Here is reporting of the outcome of the investigations from David Pugliese 'Military violated rules by collecting information on Canadians, conducting propaganda during pandemic: report <https://emma-briant.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e7f9f1379bf0f0311ebba75d7&id=bffa268ee9&e=ba76ce6920>' in the Ottawa Citizen. The reports concluded not only were rules not followed, but senior leaders also had no authority to conduct such initiatives. As reported, a June 9 document signed by acting Chief of the Defence Staff Lt.-Gen. Wayne Eyre and Deputy Minister Jody Thomas stated that “Errors conducted during domestic operations and training, and sometimes insular mindsets at various echelons, have eroded public confidence in the institution”. This is especially important to see because I was attacked and there was a lot of pushback from those seeking to protect people involved. Brig Gen. Jay Janzen who was reported to have overseen these developments in propaganda called them "on the leading edge." It is vital that abandonment of democratic values and restraint not become recast as innovation. I wrote here <https://emma-briant.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e7f9f1379bf0f0311ebba75d7&id=6f92ef585d&e=ba76ce6920>about the importance of the need for other NATO governments learning from this example and indeed I hope whoever becomes future Director of the Communications Division at SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe) will take the outcome here on board following Mark Laity's departure from his important NATO role. Militaries must learn on their feet to respond to disinformation and the most important lesson here is in a democracy they must give citizens reason to trust in their good conduct. Best wishes to you all - do feel free to share this if you feel your students or colleagues may find it of interest. Emma -- Dr Emma L Briant Independent Researcher/Author/Analyst Associate Researcher at Human Rights Program Bard College, Annandale on Hudson New York Website: www.emma-briant.co.uk Author of: *Propaganda and Counter-Terrorism: Strategies for Global Change *from Manchester University Press Co-Author of: *Bad News for Refugees* with Prof. Greg Philo and Dr. Pauline Donald from Pluto Press. Follow me on Twitter @emmalbriant