ANALYZING KEY COMMUNICATORS

As history has shown, members of social groups trust select individuals who can access information and provide persuasive perspectives. Known by the Department of Defense as key communicators, these personalities maintain a great deal of influence deriving their authority from various official, cultural, religious, and social statuses within their respective communities. Although psychological operations and other national security personnel understand their value, current government training and processes do not adequately address the need for effective analysis of key communicators. The purpose of this research is to develop a foundational PSYOP analytical process to improve how practitioners select key communicators to support military objectives. Drawing from academic theories, scientific processes, and the experience of military service members, how can PSYOP personnel analyze key communicators to leverage their social networks? The research reviewed relevant theories, systems, processes, techniques, and procedures to develop the key communicator analytical process (KCAP). This process and its associated tool were designed to guide practitioners as they identify, categorize, organize, visualize, and evaluate relevant qualitative and quantitative communicator and audience variables to yield an appropriate index score with which to compare against others. Finally, this tool was applied to a historical case study to validate its functionality in future operational settings.Major, United States ArmyMajor, United States ArmyMajor, United States ArmyApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited