#information-warfare

By Cliff Potts, CSO, and Editor-in-Chief of WPS NewsMarch 23, 2026 A Convenient Scapegoat in a Chaotic Moment As artificial intelligence becomes more visible in everyday life, it has increasingly been blamed for the spread of misinformation, political instability, and declining public trust in institutions. This framing is understandable—but incomplete. AI did not invent misinformation. It did…

By Cliff Potts, CSO, and Editor-in-Chief of WPS News Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines — March 9, 2026 Philippine authorities confirmed this week that an espionage case tied to information about West Philippine Sea resupply operations has moved into the spotlight of national security concerns. Investigators say the case involves the alleged transfer of sensitive operational details related to…

By Cliff Potts, CSO, and Editor-in-Chief of WPS News Scope and Timeframe This report covers open-source intelligence and publicly available reporting concerning the West Philippine Sea from 10:40 p.m. Philippine Standard Time (PST), January 1, 2026, to 10:40 p.m. PST, January 2, 2026. Only events and statements falling within that window are assessed. No Major Maritime Confrontation…

Inside a 24-Hour Information Clash in the West Philippine Sea By Cliff Potts, Editor-in-Chief, WPS News A Narrow Window, a Loud Signal Between 7:10 p.m. on December 28 and 7:10 p.m. on December 29, 2025, the West Philippine Sea (WPS) did not see a new collision, ramming, or water-cannon incident. What it did see—very clearly—was an information battle. At the center of that battle was a…

By Cliff Potts, WPS News This Is Not Crisis Reporting Reporting on the West Philippine Sea is not about waiting for the next collision, water cannon blast, or viral video. Most of the time, nothing dramatic happens—and that is precisely when the work matters. Quiet days are not empty days. They are how pressure normalizes. At WPS News, the task is to monitor activity continuously, verify…

Once there was a fox that wanted to eat a turtle, but whenever he tried to, it withdrew into its shell. He bit it and he shook it, but he wasn’t getting anywhere. One day he had an idea: he made the turtle an offer to buy its shell. But the turtle was clever and knew it would be eaten without this protection, so it refused. Time passed, until one day there appeared a television hanging in a tree, displaying images of flocks of happy, naked turtles – flying! The turtle was amazed. Oh! They can fly! But wouldn’t it be dangerous to give up your shell? Hark, the voice on television was announcing that the fox had become a vegetarian. “If I could only take off my shell, my life would be so much easier,” thought the turtle. “If the turtle would only give up its shell, it would be so much easier to eat,” thought the fox – and paid for more broadcasts advertising flying turtles. One morning, when the sky seemed bigger and brighter than usual, the turtle removed its shell. What it fatally failed to understand was that the aim of information warfare is to induce an adversary to let down its guard. (In 1998, Sergei P Rastorguev, a Russian military analyst, published Philosophy of Information Warfare, which included a lengthy version of this anecdote)