Officials reportedly spoke behind closed doors about the “evolving security situation in Europe and beyond” and sought ways to improve public support for defence policies.
Some filmmakers told the newspaper they felt they were being steered toward making propaganda. The UK writers’ union WGGB said the talks have already contributed to three unnamed “projects.”
Think tanks close to NATO have long urged closer cooperation with artists to help explain why increased defence spending and rearmament are needed. They argue that persuasive storytelling can reduce public unrest that might follow cuts to social services used to fund military preparations. There is an ongoing discussion among NATO and allied experts whether a cognitive or human domain could be a sixth domain of warfare after land, sea, air, cyber, space.
“Cognitive warfare is not the means by which we fight; it is the fight itself. The brain is both the target and the weapon in the fight for cognitive superiority,” NATO currently states on its website.
