The first time it happens, it feels understandable. A military attack, an unusual satellite image, a diplomatic statement that is just “so worded” that it invites speculation. Social media begins assembling meaning in minutes, before facts can come out. Maps circulate. Threads multiply. Financial markets react. Observers predict escalation before governments have adequately responded. By the end of the day, millions of people around the world are emotionally invested in a ve

When China deploys warships to the Taiwan Strait or when it funds a port in Hambantota or finances a railway through the Sahel, the world notices. But when Beijing rewires how populations think, what they fear, and who they trust, the world largely looks away. This is Cognitive Warfare, the world's most consequential battlefield of the 21st century, the one that's least understood. Illustration by The Geostrata China calls it ‘public opinion warfare,’ which is one of the thre

The culture we consume is the culture we create. Childhood, the very formative stage of an individual’s life, is often symbolised by the moulding of a pot. Too much water, or too much heat, and the vessel breaks. Childhood, too, works on a very similar balance of nurturing and protection. However, as we transition into the age of digitalisation, with the hands that once held playbooks now being replaced with mobiles, a haunting reality of the generation in the making stares

In the digital age, under the constant gaze of prying eyes, surveilling every move and gnawing at every step, the smartphone screen, once meant for communication, has turned into a blackhole with algorithms not just reflecting who people are, but rather actively shaping them. Illustration by The Geostrata Psychologist Erik Erikson, in his theory on psychosocial development, expanded on the concept of identity and role confusion, with 12-18 years of age as the formative stage

Social media has been catalytically taking centre stage in political movements within the contemporary information society. Considering...