Read the asymmetry
Explain why one-to-one debunking loses and where an analyst-hour earns the most belief.
Cognitive Warfare Series · CW-NARR-201
Narrative Defense Under Brandolini's Law
A false claim takes seconds to make. A sound correction takes hours. Stop fighting one claim at a time. Learn to operate above the claim, where defensive effort earns a return.
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The energy needed to refute disinformation runs an order of magnitude above the energy needed to produce it. An analyst who answers every claim loses on exchange rate and surrenders the tempo. The course teaches the way out.
What You Walk Out Knowing
Seven measurable outcomes, scored against a capstone tabletop on the final hour.
Claim vs narrative
Build a ranked narrative inventory from a body of hostile content.
Map the ecosystem
Locate seeds, amplifiers, host communities, and the emotional trigger that carries reach.
Name the technique
Spot the seven manipulation moves and the tell that exposes each one.
Prebunk at scale
Build audience resistance before exposure with technique-based inoculation.
Counter-narrative
Construct a truthful story that meets the threat on values and identity.
Choose the response
Triage on reach, falsifiability, and decision-relevance. Know when silence wins.
Course Modules
Each module follows the Pherson section order and closes with a hands-on exercise on a sanitized intelligence feed.
1
The Asymmetry Problem
Brandolini's Law, the economics of disinformation, and why debunking loses on exchange rate.
45 min · Exercise 1.12
Claims Versus Narratives
The diagnostic distinction, the six recurring parent narratives, and the narrative inventory.
55 min · Exercise 2.13
The Manipulation Toolkit
The seven techniques, the tell for each, and the link to reflexive control.
65 min · Exercise 3.14
Information Ecosystem Analysis
Node-and-edge mapping, super-spreaders, and measuring travel over volume.
55 min · Exercise 4.15
Prebunking and Inoculation
Inoculation theory, technique-based prebunking that scales, the 90-second prebunk.
55 min · Exercise 5.16
Building Counter-Narratives
Simple, value-anchored, truthful. The ethics and legal boundary built in.
55 min · Exercise 6.17
The Response-Selection Framework
Debunk, prebunk, engage, or stay silent. The reach × falsifiability × relevance triage.
45 min · Exercise 7.1★
Capstone Tabletop
A 72-hour coordinated narrative push against a fictional target. Six deliverables, scored on a weighted rubric.
75 min · Team exerciseWho It Serves
Practitioners who confront organized influence activity and answer for the response.
- Intelligence and counterintelligence analysts
- Strategic communication and public-affairs staff
- Trust-and-safety and brand-protection teams
- OSINT and threat-intelligence practitioners
- Policy advisors and crisis-response leads
- Election-integrity and information-resilience teams
Frequently Asked
The questions practitioners ask before enrolling.
Intelligence and counterintelligence analysts, strategic communication and public-affairs staff, trust-and-safety and brand-protection teams, OSINT and threat-intelligence practitioners, and policy and crisis-response leads who confront organized influence activity.
A working foundation in structured analytic techniques. The course builds on SATs rather than teaching them from the start.
One day, seven and a half instructional hours, delivered in person or live online, plus a self-paced video edition. Seven modules, six hands-on exercises, and a closing tabletop capstone.
No. The course judges manipulation by its mechanics, never by the politics of the source. The toolkit applies to foreign-state operations, non-state networks, and domestic movements across the spectrum.
Build a ranked narrative inventory, map an influence ecosystem to its highest-pressure node, name the seven manipulation techniques on sight, design a technique-based prebunk, write a value-anchored counter-narrative, and run a reach-falsifiability-relevance triage to choose a response, including silence.
Reserve Your Seat
The Discipline Is the Moat
$499
Per seat. Includes the participant workbook, sanitized exercise feeds, the capstone packet, and a certificate of completion.
Enroll in CW-NARR-201Treadstone 71 · Cognitive Warfare Series · Heuer is foundational. The Treadstone 71 Advanced SATs are operational.
Curriculum
Introduction to Brandolini's Law
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The Dynamics of False Claims
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Operating Above the Claim
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Managing Tempo and Exchange Rate in Narrative Defense
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Developing a Narrative Defense Strategy
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Applying Narrative Defense in Practice
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Conclusion and Next Steps
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