The US Army is preparing to embed thousands of ‘troll soldiers’ within regular infantry units who will be tasked with conducting cyber warfare online. 

Military officials say the new cyber-warfare unit will deliberately spread misinformation and counter ‘foreign propaganda’ as a means to protect American interests.

Rt.com reports: Under the new protocol, the army’s cyber soldiers will serve six-month rotations while integrated in infantry units. But unlike their rifle-toting comrades, the keyboard warriors will seek control over the battlefield by “non-kinetic” means.

“Not everything is attack and destroy. How can I influence by non-kinetic means? How can I reach up and create confusion and gain control?” Colonel Robert Ryan, who commands a Hawaii-based combat team, said on Wednesday.

The cyber warriors will tailor operations according to their commanders’ needs, but a standard operation would likely involve dragnet information gathering and intercepting enemy transmissions, according to Colonel William Hartman of the army’s Cyber Command.