# Social Media and Conflict **Entity class:** Information-environment field ## Definition **Social media and conflict** studies how platforms shape mobilization, propaganda, perception, recruitment, command signaling, disinformation, documentation, targeting, and public legitimacy during political violence and war. Platforms are simultaneously social environments, intelligence surfaces, and contested infrastructure. ## Relevance to this collection It connects [[wiki/LikeWar|LikeWar]], [[wiki/Social Media and Terrorism|Social Media and Terrorism]], [[wiki/Information Warfare|Information Warfare]], [[wiki/OSINT|OSINT]], and [[wiki/SOCMINT|SOCMINT]]. ## Relationships - **master collection:** [[collections/Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and the Intelligence Environment|Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and the Intelligence Environment]]. - **intellectual neighborhood:** [[wiki/Intellectual Neighborhood of the Counterterrorism Collection|Intellectual Neighborhood of the Counterterrorism Collection]]. ## Sources / Provenance - [NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence, *Social Media as a Tool of Hybrid Warfare*, 2016](https://stratcomcoe.org/cuploads/pfiles/public_report_social_media_hybrid_warfare_22-07-2016.pdf). **As of:** 2026-09-23