I follow military interest in memetics and recently
came across Memetic warfare: the future of war - which is an interesting article on the topic.The article describes what I would usually call memetic hitchhiking in terms of a Trojan horse.
The Trojan Horse technique is an insidious trick that involves proffering a very attractive meme such as sex, and having a less attractive meme such as beer sales ride on its coat tails.
I can imagine how military minds might have Trojan horses in mind - but I don't think something is a Trojan unless the payload is hidden.
The article concludes:
It is vital to the interests of the U.S. and its people that memetic theory is fully explored, if for no other reason than to develop defenses against foreign memetic attack. Memetic operations do not require a presence in the target country. For a fraction of the cost of deploying troops on the ground, the enemies of the U.S. could conduct devastating memetic based information warfare against America. It is time for the IC to turn this threat into an opportunity. Memetics after all is only a tool, and tools when properly employed can be used to build peace, hope, prosperity, and a better way of life.
The article says it is "COPYRIGHT 2010 U.S. Army Intelligence Center and School."
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Memetics has the potential to classify and characterize propaganda, disinformation, brain washing, proselytization, subliminal messages, salesmanship, teaching and other forms of information dissemination for the purpose of changing how people think. Memetics studies the process of implanting new ideas that may change the behavior of an intelligent being.
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