Nearly every day presents a fresh round of overwhelming and troubling news, whether wildfires or hurricane winds wipe out entire neighborhoods or dehumanizing talk and actions threaten communities of people. Any time we open social media, the sights, sounds, and worries of disaster come alive.

Misinformation, rumors, and intentionally confusing or overwhelming information drain energy and motivation for individuals, affected communities, and those who want to help. What’s worse, there is a tactic in the world called resilience targeting, which is an intentional use of chaos to overwhelm people.

Resilience targeting is an attack on individual and community resilience during disasters through misinformation, confusion, and efforts to overwhelm, in order to prevent communities from recovering and keep them vulnerable.

The term originally appeared in an article written by Dr. Chad Briggs of the University of Alaska Anchorage, on hybrid warfare strategies.1 Briggs explains that misinformation, combined with the destruction of infrastructure, the economy, and social........

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