Objective: One of the most complex and effective forms of warfare that is evolving and expanding in the current era is cognitive warfare, in which attempts are made to confront society with intellectual and epistemological crises and security challenges by publishing different narratives of a phenomenon and distorting facts. The purpose of this research is to explore the dimensions of cognitive warfare.
Methodology: This essay is based on a phenomenological approach, seeking to explicitly describe and analyze war studies as a phenomenon, so that its meaning and manifestation can be revealed in terms of why, what, and how. For this purpose, data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed qualitatively using the content analysis method.
Findings: Based on the findings, the goal of cognitive warfare, as a war of narratives, is to create mental errors in the audience and manipulate their perception and cognition in the context of cyberspace and communication and media technologies.
Originality: The results show that the nature and internal logic of cognitive warfare is an attempt to change the insight element of individuals, which is a complex, time-consuming, and specialized process. Explanation and enlightenment are considered as a fundamental strategy to counter cognitive warfare.