PAULA SLIER
WAR CORRESPONDENT | SPEAKER | AUTHOR
INFORMATION WARFARE | DISINFORMATION | NARRATIVE STRATEGY | PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
PAUlA
SLIER
RECENT EVENT
ROM BOOTS TO BOTS: WHAT WARZONES TAUGHT ME ABOUT SPEAKER CREDIBILITY IN AN AGE OF NOISE AND INFORMATION WARFARE
UPCOMING SPEAKING EVENTS
17 September
TEDxUniversityofJohannesbur
22 September at 9pm
talking at annual mini and junior city council, Johannesburg
17 NOVEMBER EVENING
MC at the 90th anniversary dinner of
ORT-JET, JOHANNESBURG
26 +
FRONTLINES REPORTED FROM
30+
Years of international journalism
6 000 +
LIVE INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTS
30+
Years of International Journalism
1 mission
Changing How the World Understands Modern Conflict
It took me into the home of an Algerian family grieving a daughter they had just lost in an earthquake, yet who still insisted I join them at their table. It sat me beside a 17-year-old Kurdish Peshmerga fighter who had traded her schoolbooks for a rifle and a childhood for a war.
Those moments taught me that conflict is never just about territory, ideology or military
Those experiences continue to inform my work at the intersection of information warfare, disinformation, narrative strategy and public diplomacy.
"THE FRONTLINES HAVE CHANGED. THE BATTLE FOR TRUTH HAS NOT."
- paula slier
By the time conflict reaches the battlefield, the fight for hearts, minds and attention has often been raging for years.
Reporting from the world’s frontlines taught me that people rarely make decisions based on facts alone. They make them based on the stories they believe, the narratives they inherit and the people they trust.
Today, those same forces shape far more than war. They shape politics, business, leadership and public life. Leaders, governments and organisations are operating in a world where information moves faster than ever before, yet consensus on what is true is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve.
The challenge is no longer access to information. It is knowing what - and who - to trust. The ability to distinguish truth from manipulation is no longer a specialist skill. It is a leadership skill.
Governments, organisations, movements and brands are all competing to shape how we think, how we feel and, ultimately, the decisions we make. The question is no longer whether we are being influenced. The question is whether we recognise it.
I help people understand how narratives shape the way we think, influence the decisions we make and determine who we trust.
I help people understand how narratives shape the way we think, influence the decisions we make and determine who we trust.
The most important battles aren't always fought on the battlefield. They're fought over what people choose to believe.
The frontlines have changed. The battle for truth has not.