What Teaching Cognitive Warfare Taught Me About Cognitive Warfare

Joint Special Operations University Press's publication of "Cognitive Warfare to Dominate and Redefine Adversary Realities: Implications for U.S. Special Operations Forces" in late 2025 highlights the growing importance of cognitive warfare in modern military strategies. The article's discussion on redefining adversary realities through cognitive warfare marks a significant shift in understanding the complexities of information warfare. For website owners, this means being aware of the potential for cognitive warfare to influence online discourse and shape public opinion. As cognitive warfare tactics can involve spreading disinformation and manipulating online content, website owners must be vigilant in monitoring their site's traffic and content to prevent being unwittingly used as a platform for such activities. This is particularly relevant in light of the increasing use of AI bots to disseminate information and sway online discussions. To protect their websites from being exploited in cognitive warfare, owners can take several steps: firstly, implement robust AI bot tracking to identify and filter out suspicious traffic; secondly, regularly review and update their llms.txt files to ensure they are aligned with the latest developments in AI content policies; and thirdly, establish clear guidelines for user-generated content to prevent the spread of disinformation and propaganda on their platforms.