If WW3 is psychological warfare and information warfare, then I'd wager we've been in it for a few years now.

Then there's that famous quote from William Casey, the Director of the CIA who said in 1981, "You will know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false."

With nukes and more globalism, traditional warfare doesn't make as much sense, especially in developed countries. Thus the rise of this more subtle mass information & emotional warfare. In this way, the enemy nation can be destroyed and disabled without firing a single gun, which then sets it up potentially for real takeover.

They realized this a long time ago, and the public is just starting to become wise to it.