Disinformation in Pacific Island States: Responding to Diverse People, Places, and Spaces

Description

Online influence operations orchestrated by malign state actors have been connected to acts of mass civil unrest and violent extremism in several Pacific Island states. These include the riots in Solomon Islands in November 2021, in Papua New Guinea in January 2024, and in New Caledonia in May 2024. Despite claims of a connection between on-the-ground violent unrest and online influence campaigns, there has been little open-source empirical research conducted into the nature of this likely connection, or the influence strategies employed. Questions exist about how misinformation and disinformation may have been broadcast to diverse Pacific Island demographics, and whether comparative insights might be drawn between the likely sources of these information operations and their targets. This paper presents the findings of a multi-university research project mapping influence operations in three Pacific Island states: Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea. The method consisted of the qualitative coding and analysis of likely information operations over a 24-month period across several popular online media forums to identify malign accounts and narratives. Findings suggest that differing themes have been employed depending on the likely source of the operation. Differing influence strategies tailored to small media environments were also noted, including a focus on either broadcasting and amplifying malign posts or responding to and policing comments. Overall, the diversity of likely online influence strategies employed in the Pacific reveals a series of small yet complex media landscapes consisting of differing actors, desired outcomes, targeted populations, and local opportunities

Period	19 Nov 2025
Event title	Grey Zones Unveiled: Comparing Russia’s and China’s Hybrid Strategies in Europe and the Indo-Pacific
Event type	Workshop
Location	Hamburg, Germany, HamburgShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International