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Your town is holding a mayoral election and the stakes have never been higher: the outcome will decide the fate of a local movement to rely on 100% renewable energy.
你所在的城市要举行市长选举，这场选举的赌注达到了历史性的高点：这一结果将决定当地一项100%依赖可再生能源运动的命运。
One mayoral nominee, Joanna B. Greene, is a champion of this movement, while the other, Stannis Quo, staunchly opposes it.
一位市长候选人，乔安娜·格林，是这项运动的拥护者，而另一位候选人，史坦尼斯·阔，则坚决反对这项运动。
He's announced he'll use whatever tactics are necessary to win the election. As the municipal cybersecurity expert, you're on high alert.
他已经宣布了，为了在选举中获胜，他将采取一切必要的手段。作为市网络安全专家，你正处于高度戒备状态。
Election day is near and you suspect that Quo will begin pushing false information to swing the election in his favor.
选举临近，而你怀疑阔会开始通过传播假情报来为自己选举增加筹码。
Your job is to inoculate the townspeople against false information before the election.
你的任务是避免市民在选举前受到假情报的影响。
One of the most effective ways to tackle disinformation is to encourage people to think about the strategies used by those who create and spread it.
引导人们去思考那些制造和传播假信息的人使用什么样的手段是对付虚假信息最有效的方法之一。
This might seem counter-intuitive -- and potentially dangerous -- but as long as you don't create a "how-to manual," active inoculation is an effective option.
这看起来可能违反直觉，而且有潜在的危险，但是只要你不写出一本“操作手册”，主动免疫就是一种有效的方法。
A study conducted in 2019 used an online game to train people to think like a disinformation producer.
2019年进行的一项研究，使用了网络游戏来训练人们像制造虚假信息的人一样去思考。
When the participants were next shown the disinformation, their perception of its reliability dropped significantly.
之后再给参与者提供这些假消息时，他们对其可靠性的看法明显地下降了。
But before you can teach your own townspeople, you need to figure it out for yourself. What strategies would you employ if you were Stannis Quo?
但是在教你的市民这类技巧之前，你首先需要自己弄明白这个问题。如果你是史坦尼斯·阔，你会采取什么手段？
In order to launch a successful disinformation campaign, you must use evocative, and convincing content that will spread quickly and create confusion.
为了发动一场成功的假情报运动，你必须使用具有煽动性和令人信服的内容，并且这些信息必须能够迅速传播而造成混乱。
It'll also help to take advantage of confirmation bias. People are intuitively more inclined to believe information that supports a worldview they already have.
这也会让确认偏误发挥作用。人们直觉上更倾向于相信那些支持他们已有世界观的信息。
Many young voters in your town are in favor of transitioning to renewable energy and sympathize with Greene.
你所在城市的许多年轻选民都因赞成向可再生能源过渡而支持格林。
Rather than trying to change their minds, Quo will likely focus on suppressing the youth vote. If you were him, how would you start?
比起一味地改变他们的想法，阔会集中精力压制年轻人的投票。如果你是他，你会怎么开始呢？
You might create fake user accounts to spread disinformation on popular social media platforms. You could even make one that impersonates a trusted figure.
你可能会创建虚假的用户账户，在主流社交媒体平台上传播虚假信息。你甚至可以创建一个账户来模仿一个值得信赖的人物。
From these accounts, you can deliver highly shareable, engaging visual content, like memes relating to the imminent election.
通过这些账号，你可以发布高度可共享的、引人入胜的视觉内容，比如与即将来临的选举有关的迷因。
That's how you would like to go about spreading disinformation, but what kind of disinformation would be effective in manipulating young Greene supporters?
这就是你散播假消息的方式，但是，什么样的虚假信息才能有效操纵格林的年轻支持者呢？
First, you could direct people to vote via text, a webpage, or an app, none of which are viable voting platforms in your town.
首先，你可以通过文本、网页或应用程序引导人们投票，这些在你所在的城市都不是可行的投票平台。
The claim isn't too far-fetched. An encrypted digital platform could actually seem safer to young people than the traditional ballot system.
这种方式并不牵强。对年轻人来说，一个加密的数字平台似乎比传统的投票系统更安全。
Perhaps you could also tell them that the voting day is one day after it actually is.
另外你也可以告诉他们投票日是在实际日期之后的一天。
You could then pair this approach with a more emotion-driven one. How about vilifying Greene and appealing to the young voters' values?
然后，你可以将这种方法与更情绪驱动的方法结合起来。比如诋毁格林并迎合年轻选民的价值观，听上去如何？
You want to share information that taps into people's sense of civic duty and makes them feel that the election depends on their sharing it as widely as possible.
你想要分享那些能触及人们公民责任感的信息，让他们觉得选举的结果取决于他们是否能快速分享这些信息。
Your fake accounts could circulate false accusations that Greene takes money from local, somehow corrupt renewable energy facilities; treats her staff poorly; or abuses stray kittens for fun.
你的虚假账户可以散播谣言，说格林从当地腐败的可再生能源企业拿钱；苛责员工；或者通过虐待流浪小猫来取乐。
These inflammatory claims could lead people to question Greene's integrity as a leader and even initiate further conspiracy theories.
这些煽动性的主张可能会导致人们质疑格林作为领导的诚信，甚至引发进一步的阴谋论。
After you've introduced these disinformation campaigns, your fake users should keep repeating them so they stick in people's minds.
在你推出假情报运动之后，你的虚假用户应该不断重复这些信息，这样它们就会铭刻在人们的心中。
Finally, media coverage would further spread your claims and give them perceived legitimacy.
最后，媒体报道会进一步传播你的主张，并赋予它们公认合法性。
You could message a few local journalists asking whether these rumors are true and express your concerns.
你可以联系一些当地记者，询问这些传闻是否属实，并表达你的关切。
By the time an article comes out debunking the rumors, people's experiences of the truth will have become so warped that convincing them otherwise will be difficult.
等到一篇文章出来揭穿谣言的时候，人们对真相的看法可能已经错得根深蒂固，真相将很难再说服他们。
A disinformation campaign like this would pit citizens against one another and exploit their values and fears.
像这样的假情报运动将挑起公民间的对立情绪，挑战他们的价值观，激发他们的恐惧心理。
You can't personally protect each individual from disinformation, but you can equip them with the insights you have -- and encourage them to pass these tools further along.
你不能亲自保护每个人不受虚假信息的影响，但是你可以用你的洞察力武装他们，并且鼓励他们进一步传递这些工具。
After all, community organizing is what elections often call for.
毕竟，社区的组织往往是选举的重要因素。
