Massignan, VirginiaWinkler, Carol K.Lokmanoglu, Ayse D.Patel, Sonny2025-09-222025-09-17Massignan, V., Winkler, C. K., Lokmanoglu, A. D., & Patel, S. S. (2025). Digital influence strategies in information warfare: A multimodal, cross-platform comparative analysis of Russia Today and China Global Television Network. In Advancing the SOF warrior mind: Essays from the JSOU academic year 2025 call for special operations papers (JSOU Report 25-20, pp. 199-217). JSOU Press. https://www.jsou.edu/Press/PublicationDashboard/290978-1-941715-78-9https://dash.harvard.edu/handle/1/42719965Near-peer competitors like Russia and China have recognized the potential of social media as an asymmetric tool of influence in information warfare and a critical component of modern irregular warfare. Russia’s state-a liated global media outlets housed within RT (formerly Russia Today), which claim more than 10 billion YouTube views and 150 million monthly news network views, use coordinated account networks to amplify messaging and sow discord in target countries. China, which claims more than 150 million followers on CGTN (China Global Television Network) alone, strives to use Chinese state media to shape perceptions of China globally. Recent multi-platform influence operations underscore the need for an urgent response. The Wagner Group, a Russian private military company, recently engaged in sophisticated disinformation campaigns across platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Telegram. Leveraging paid influencers and bloggers, such efforts have been particularly active in shaping narratives, sowing discord, and advancing foreign geopolitical interests in Africa. Similarly, past reports highlight China’s coordinated dissemination of propaganda and disinformation through state-controlled media outlets and networks of inauthentic accounts. The complex challenges that multi-platform influence operations pose warrant a nuanced understanding of how they are designed, executed, and countered. A multi-level analysis of the digital strategies of RT and CGTN across multiple social media platforms helps provide understanding and counter near-peer competitors in the information domain. Examining five years of content across various platforms, languages, modalities, targeted audiences, and audience interactions reveals how these states leverage asymmetric options in digital influence campaigns. Understanding applications of emerging technologies is crucial for the contribution of the U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) to win by exploring information warfare of near-peer competitors and developing effective counter-strategies against their strategic influence in the digital information space.EnglishCommunicaionStrategic CommunicationInformation WarfareDigital InfluenceSocial MediaPropagandaDisinformationComputational MethodsCross-Platform AnalysisMultimodal CommunicationMedia StrategyBook chapter