fivecast to uncover information warfare with university of adelaide
Adelaide, Australia – Fivecast are excited to announce that we have signed a new research project agreement with the University of Adelaide through the Technology Development & Acceleration (TDA) program. This collaboration aims to track the spread of influence within online social networks.
The project will focus on the grey zone of online influence, particularly how technological advances in AI accelerate this influence. It will examine scenarios where inflammatory content could escalate from a low-risk, fringe interest to a more dangerous narrative as it reaches a broader, more vulnerable audience.
Under the theme of information warfare, this initiative will provide Defence with a content analysis tool for situational awareness and intelligence for operations planning. Information Warfare is a critical component of Australia’s National Defence Strategy (NDS), which emphasizes strengthening national resilience, deterrence, and shaping the strategic environment.
Countering online intelligence threats is also closely tied to the AUKUS Pillar 2 Advanced Cyber capabilities, which are essential for defending against cyber threats and bolstering democratic resilience.
“We anticipate that these outcomes will help Defence to efficiently identify risks,” said Chief Data Scientist Dr Jason Signolet from Fivecast. “For example, in the context of overseas deployment of ADF personnel, we would aim to determine whether fringe anti-Australian online narratives were likely to stay on the fringe or move into the mainstream.”
The project will model the evolution of networks to differentiate the processes driving narratives, such as state-sponsored bots or trolls versus paid influencers, and those spreading misinformation unknowingly versus those who do so for personal gain.
