Caabu book launch with Vyvyan Kinross: Information Warriors - how the hidden information war has helped define the Middle East

Caabu will host an event on 6 February 2020 at 1pm at the Arab British Centre with Caabu board member Vyvyan Kinross to mark the launch of his book, Information Warriors - the battle for hearts and minds in the Middle East. 

Information Warriors charts the often hidden information war, from the propaganda coup of the entry of British forces into Jerusalem in 1917 through to the campaign of perception management that sold the case for regime change in Saddam's Iraq in 2003, and up to present day media conflicts that rage across the region.

You can purchase the book here or at the event itself.

When:Thursday 6 February 2020, 13:00

Where: Boardroom, The Arab British Centre, 1 Gough Square, London EC4A 3DE. Click here for directions.

RSVP is essential. Please confirm your attendance with Joseph Willits (willitsj@caabu.org). 

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About the book
 

A century on from the Paris Peace Conference that redrew the map of the Middle East, and the region has endured constant conflict. Alongside the military and economic wars, the West and Arab states have fought to control public opinion by managing the narratives that explain and validate their actions.

This story charts the often hidden information war, from the propaganda coup of the entry of British forces into Jerusalem in 1917 to the campaign of perception management that sold the case for regime change in Saddam's Iraq in 2003.

As the West has embraced the abstractions of public diplomacy and soft power, the propagandists of Islamic State have developed global reach and impact using a simple message and cutting edge digital and social media to generate publicity and harvest recruits. In the Trump era of fake news, media manipulation and cyber warfare, the battle to control public opinion in the post Arab Spring Middle East has raised the stakes for winners and losers. 

About the speaker

Vyvyan Kinross is a PR and communications specialist, advising governments on how to set up and manage their information and communications capacity. He has most recently worked in Abu Dhabi, UAE and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. In 2013, he was contracted as Senior Advisor in Public Administration & Organisational Capacity Development at the United Nations Office for Project Services, Copenhagen as an expert in PR & corporate communications systems in fragile and post-conflict states.

Vyvyan is a member of the executive of the Council for Arab British Understanding and is a graduate in Modern Arabic Studies from the University of Durham. 

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