Human DDoS Attacks: Disrupting Influence Campaigns

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Feb 23, 2023

diagram of cyber ddos attack bot server target

Understanding Human DDoS Attacks and Virally Loaded Hashtags in Influence Campaigns

The modern digital landscape has transformed how influence campaigns operate. These campaigns weaponize information. They overwhelm cognitive capacities on a massive scale. In this context, I’ve coined two terms. They are Human DDoS Attacks and Virally Loaded Hashtags. These describe how these campaigns create confusion, manipulate emotions, and distort public perception using digital tools and strategies. These terms build on theoretical frameworks established by John Boyd, Robert Lifton, and Dan Siegel. You can observe these in real-world examples of influence operations carried out by state and non-state actors.

Human DDoS Attacks: Flooding the Cognitive Network

The concept of a Human DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) attack is based on a traditional cyber tactic. In this tactic, a server is flooded with an overwhelming number of requests until it crashes. Similarly, in influence campaigns, a Human DDoS attack floods the target’s cognitive and emotional capacity with disinformation. It includes conflicting narratives and emotionally charged content. This aims to destabilize decision-making. It causes cognitive paralysis.

How It Works:

Volume and Velocity: Digital influence campaigns use AI and bots to rapidly generate a high volume of content. This rapid generation makes it difficult for individuals to process information critically.
Cognitive Overload: These campaigns introduce conflicting and rapidly changing narratives. They mirror the overload effect of a traditional DDoS attack. This causes individuals to disengage or succumb to misinformation.
Emotional Manipulation: The aim is not just to exhaust the cognitive bandwidth. It is also to trigger strong emotional responses. These responses undermine rational thinking and induce decision paralysis. This is similar to what John Boyd calls disorientation, where confusion and uncertainty render the opponent incapable of effective action.

Real-World Example: During the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, Russian operatives used thousands of automated social media accounts. They flooded platforms like Twitter and Facebook with conflicting narratives. This action created a “Human DDoS” on public discourse. The overwhelming volume of misleading content led to confusion, mistrust, and polarization among voters, contributing to a breakdown in the public’s ability to discern credible information(

ar5iv).

Virally Loaded Hashtags: Emotional Triggers in Digital Warfare

“Virally Loaded Hashtags” are emotionally charged keywords. They are designed to spread rapidly across social media platforms. This drives engagement through manipulation of collective emotions. This concept draws on Robert Lifton’s framework of thought reform. In this framework, language is deliberately loaded with emotional meaning. This strategy is used to shape belief systems and suppress dissent.

How It Works:

Emotionally Charged Language: Hashtags such as #DeathToAmerica or #JusticeForSoleimani are not neutral. They are crafted to invoke anger, fear, or outrage. This makes them highly shareable and effective at spreading specific narratives.
Creating Viral Spirals: Once these hashtags gain traction, they create a feedback loop. Emotionally evocative content draws in more users. This amplifies sentiment and drowns out moderate voices. This tactic entrenches polarized viewpoints. It mirrors Lifton’s theory of milieu control. Here, the flow of information is tightly managed to manipulate perception.
Targeted Echo Chambers: Bots and AI tools are often used to ensure these hashtags reach specific demographics. They create echo chambers that reinforce existing biases. This technique is used to undermine critical thinking and promote groupthink.

Real-World Example: Iranian influence campaigns have leveraged hashtags like #DeathToIsrael and #MartyrSoleimani to galvanize support and spread anti-Israel sentiment. By using automated bots to flood these hashtags across Twitter, the campaign created the illusion of widespread support, effectively manipulating public perception and polarizing online discourse(

The Consilience Project)(

NeuroLaunch.com).

Neurobiological Impact: Insights from Dan Siegel

Dan Siegel’s work on interpersonal neurobiology provides additional insights into how repeated exposure to emotionally charged content affects the brain. Siegel explains that sustained emotional stress can activate the brain’s amygdala. This activation triggers the fight-or-flight response. It leads to what he calls “downstairs brain” thinking. In this state, emotional reactivity overpowers logical decision-making.

This neurobiological impact is exacerbated in the context of influence campaigns that deploy emotionally charged hashtags and Human DDoS attacks. Intense emotions are repeatedly bombarded, which not only confuses but also fatigues the cognitive system. This makes people more susceptible to manipulation. This aligns with Siegel’s theory that overstimulation of the emotional brain leads to a collapse in the ability to process information rationally, further illustrating why these tactics are so effective in influencing public perception(

Psychology Today).

Conclusion

Human DDoS attacks and Virally Loaded Hashtags are new forms of digital warfare. The target is not a computer network but the human mind. These strategies are rooted in theories of cognitive disruption and emotional manipulation. They seek to overload the individual’s capacity for critical thought. This leads to confusion, polarization, and cognitive fatigue. Understanding these tactics through the frameworks of Boyd, Lifton, and Siegel is essential for developing resilience against modern influence operations.