Page 37 - JDPA Volume 02, Issue 02

Journal of Defence & Policy Analysis Volume 02, Issue 02, December 2023

MISINFORMATION AND DISINFORMATION ON A
GLOBAL SCALE

Mr. Dileep Mudadeniya
(Senior Vice President Global Alliances and Partnerships John Keels)

Introduction

During the crisis period, particularly amidst the civil war in Sri Lanka in 2009,
the tourism sector consistently endeavoured to assert a defensive stance, advo-
cating for the influx of visitors to the country. The primary contention revolved
around the assertion that the conflict was confined to the North and East regions.
Additionally, a secondary argument posited that individuals associated with the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) or any affiliated groups never specifi-
cally targeted tourists. This defence strategy was consistently articulated. How-
ever, upon retrospective examination, it becomes evident that while we aspired
to deem our efforts successful, the objective assessment reveals that our endeav-
ours did not attain the desired outcome.

Perception and Nation Branding: The power of preconceived notions

Examining approaches in various countries reveals divergent strategies. The in-
quiry into Sri Lanka’s lack of success suggests that amidst a global population of
7.2 billion, individuals contend with approximately 200 daily messages. Despite
the axiom to refrain from judging a book by its cover, time constraints lead many
to succumb to such judgments. The pervasive challenge lies in the limited capac-
ity for people to comprehend the intricacies and risks associated with events in
foreign nations. This phenomenon, often termed perception, regrettably usurps
the status of reality in public discourse. For the last 15 years, our research has
looked into this. We identify perception as the delayed reality. When people stick
to their first impressions, they find it hard to change their minds over time and
will continue with the same perception.

The divergent responses to a bomb blast occurring in the United States as op-
posed to Colombo can be attributed to a fundamental aspect of human percep-
tion. Despite both incidents involving a similar catastrophic event, the reactions
manifest differently due to inherent perceptions. In the aftermath of an incident
in the United States, there is a discernible resilience, where the desire to conduct

Faculty of Defence and Strategic Studies, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Sri Lanka
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