Representatives Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) Introduce Legislation to Help Servicemembers Avoid Hostile Mis/Disinformation
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, US Representatives Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) introduced the Strategic Homeland Information Education and Learning Defense (SHIELD) Act to address the growing problem of our adversaries targeting our servicemembers with mis/disinformation to undermine our democracy and promote extremism.
“Our servicemembers are targets not only when deployed in service of our nation, but also online,” said Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI). “In a time of increased international tension, our adversaries are taking advantage of our open public discourse to try and recruit and sway members of the military, often on social media or in games. This legislation would help the Department of Defense make sure that our men and women in uniform have the resources they need to engage thoughtfully online, avoid extremism, and not fall prey to our adversaries’ tactics. I’m proud to join with my colleague from Michigan, Rep. Slotkin, to advance this legislation critical to the fight against online extremism and mis/disinformation.”
“The future of warfare isn’t just about tanks and bombs, but also information and data and who controls it,” said Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI). “That’s why it’s important that our service members are trained to spot hostile misinformation and disinformation from our adversaries. The SHIELD Act would set up a pilot program that would train service members to identify instances of hostile influence operations and distinguish them from reliable fact-based and opinion-based journalism. It would also help service members protect personal and sensitive information from online threats. As our adversaries work day and night to target Americans – including service members – to undermine our nation and our democratic values, it’s critical that we take measures to protect ourselves.”
“As ADL’s annual Online Hate and Harassment report released this week highlighted, a significant share of Americans are exposed to hate and disinformation online," said Jonathan Greenblatt, Anti-Defamation League CEO. "Thank you Representatives Haley Stevens and Elissa Slotkin for introducing this bill, which is a critical step to ensuring our national security. Our service members must be trained with the skills to navigate the digital space safely and responsibly, including the ability to identify threats of extremist conspiracy theories and disinformation.”
"We have seen how our nation's adversaries actively target American military members through disinformation campaigns,” said Carla O, a Marine Corps veteran with Military Veterans in Journalism. “This information war reaches directly into the phones of our service members, putting our national security at risk. Just as in any other battle, we must protect our service members from these attacks by equipping them with information and media literacy skills. This bill addresses the urgent need to safeguard our nation and protect our service members from the onslaught of disinformation. The SHIELD Act addresses the urgent need to develop targeted training programs within our military forces."
Specifically, this legislation would direct the Secretary of Defense to establish a pilot training program for members of the Armed Forces to ensure they have the tools to best deal with this threat, including:
- Best practices to distinguish between mis/disinformation, fact-based journalism, and opinion-based journalism.
- Techniques to protect personal information, recognize and avoid information-based threats, and assess the credibility of digital news.
- Ways to identify and mitigate antisemitic, white supremacist, and other extremist conspiracy theories.
- Strategies for members of the Armed Forces to locate, evaluate, and effectively use information online to reduce insider threat vulnerabilities related to such conspiracy theories.
The pilot program will involve a geographically and demographically diverse sample of members of the Armed Forces to collect meaningful feedback about the training program and will utilize in-person, virtual, and hybrid training delivery methods in equal amounts.
The authority of the Secretary to carry out the pilot program will terminate one year after its commencement, and a report summarizing the results of the pilot program will be submitted to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives within 180 days of the pilot program's termination.
The report will include a comparison of training delivery methods, a determination of the most effective method, a recommendation for the frequency of attending a permanent training program, and a suggestion for how often the curriculum of any permanent training program should be updated.
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