Military and intelligence operations designed to influence perceptions, attitudes, and behavior
A psychological operation (psyop) is a planned operation to convey selected information and indicators to target audiences to influence their emotions, motives, reasoning, and behavior. Psyops are conducted by military, intelligence, and government entities to achieve strategic, operational, or tactical objectives without the use of direct force.
The U.S. military's psyop capabilities are housed in the Military Information Support Operations (MISO) command, rebranded from "Psychological Operations" in 2010 — itself an example of narrative management. The CIA's Office of Strategic Services (OSS) predecessor conducted "black propaganda" operations during World War II, and psychological operations have been a component of every major U.S. military engagement since.
Domestic psyops are prohibited by law, but the boundaries have been repeatedly tested. The Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 originally prohibited the domestic dissemination of government propaganda. The Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012 amended this prohibition, allowing the State Department and Broadcasting Board of Governors to disseminate content domestically. The intersection of military psyops with social media — where geographic boundaries are meaningless — raises questions about whether domestic populations are being targeted by campaigns designed for foreign audiences.
