British Army to launch new 77th Brigade dedicated to social media warfare in April

Defence & Security News - United Kingdom
 
 
British Army to launch new 77th Brigade dedicated to social media warfare in April
The British army is raising a brigade of “social media warriors” who will have social media savvy and will be trained in psychological operations to engage in non-lethal warfare. The new brigade will be based in Hermitage, near Newbury, Berkshire and the 77th Brigade will be 1,500-strong.
     
British Army to launch new 77th Brigade dedicated to social media warfare in Apri 640 001 The 77th Brigade will be 1,500-strong and dedicated to social media surveillance
     
The British army will recruit soldiers from various units of the army, regulars and reservists alike, and preference will be given to soldiers that are familiar with social media and have journalism skills.

A spokesman for the British army told The Guardian that the “77th Brigade is being created to draw together a host of existing and developing capabilities essential to meet the challenges of modern conflict and warfare.

In this day and age many people turn towards social networks like Twitter and Facebook to catch up on daily news apart from endless news cycles on conventional media. The brigade will also be tasked with controlling the narrative if and when the need arises.

The army will conduct recruitment later this year to bring in more personnel that could help with this effort. British army’s 77th Brigade formally comes into being this April.