Russia unveiled a new initiative to spread Moscow’s message by radio and Internet in 30 different languages, the latest effort in the Kremlin’s intensifying information war with the West.

The campaign asks that people take a picture of themselves, waving the South Sudanese flag; post it on facebook with the hashtag #waveSouthSudan; add reasons why they are proud of South Sudan;  and encourage a friend to do the same.

The digital revolution has had a massive impact on the practice of foreign policy, revealing challenges and opportunities for modern diplomacy. But where is the line drawn between confidentiality and transparency?

One of Britain’s highest-ranking intelligence officials on Tuesday castigated the giant American companies that dominate the Internet for providing the “command-and-control networks of choice for terrorists and criminals” and challenged the companies to find a better balance between privacy and security.

The Internet has become so integral to economic and national life that government, business, and individual users are targets for ever-more frequent and threatening attacks.

A day after President Dilma Rousseff squeaked out a close electoral victory, Brazilian voters vented their frustrations one way they know best: on social media.  Online debates between supporters of the president and her unsuccessful rival Aécio Neves were hostile, in a country with one of the world’s deepest penetration of social-media use.