disclaimer: I am not a native english speaker so please forgive me for the bad grammar
Introduction
I. Why would the government organize any propaganda on the www
II. the hard proofs of government propaganda on the Internet
III. the corporate construction of the providers of Persona Management software & the direct link to CIA
IV. the disinfo tactics
V. the response to give to the dis-informative crowd by the truth seekers
conclusion
links & references
The debate on the possibility of orchestrated governmental disinformation is a constant on the user generated web.
Unfortunately it's usually a shallow one with always the same argument being used to ridicule the subject and anyone who would advocate the hypothesis
:
"why would the government spend money to pay disinformation agents ?"
"stop calling everyone that disagree with you a disinformation agent"
Very annoying because when you confront those deniers with hard proofs that there is indeed orchestrated governmental propaganda on www, they don't
address it; they ignore & goes on forever with the emotional rhetoric.
Why is that ?
Would they be professional disinformation people themselves to take such a definitive stance not leaving any space for doubt, at least for the sake &
spirit of truth seeking ?
I don't know and I can't answer that because there are in fact "volunteering" disinformation people, lost in denial of the basic truth that their
media & government are lying to them, too scared & programmed to question their convictions and with nothing better to do in their life than troll
genuine truth seekers investigations.
The purpose of this thread is to address this issue in the most complete way (I could think of), by first answering the rather senseless question of
the deniers (why would the government organize any propaganda on the internet?), secondly by presenting the hard evidence proving that disinformation
is not a theory but a fact, thirdly by revealing the structure of the private corporations that partners with the government agencies to do the job,
fourthly to dress a list of the most commonly used disinfos techniques and finally by attempting to propose a tactic to avoid the traps set by the
disinfo crew and defeat them - the real short but tough & creative part of the thread : the one we absolutely need to collaborate together to progress
in that info war & get somewhere collectively.
I. Why would the government organize any propaganda on www ?
Ever heard about Goebbels ? He theorized propaganda & made a science of it, sure it has been much more developed since his time using discipline such
as neuro-linguistic programming (
an approach to psychotherapy and organizational change
based on "a model of interpersonal communication chiefly concerned with the relationship between successful patterns of behaviour and the subjective
experiences (esp. patterns of thought) underlying them" ) but he really set the basis of the massive propaganda we have to undergo from all
media all the time.
"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the
State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to
use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the
State.”"
"The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly - it must confine itself
to a few points and repeat them over and over"
"Think of the press as a great keyboard on which the government can play."
Why the governments would not adapt the same techniques to www ?
Need different angle ?
Majority Influence... is a form of social influence, whereby people adopt the behavior, attitudes and values of the majority members of a
reference group.
www.psychexchange.co.uk...
The term conformity is often used to indicate an agreement to the majority position, brought about either by a desire to ‘fit in’ or be liked
(normative) or because of a desire to be correct (informational), or simply to conform to a social role (identification).
www.simplypsychology.org...
Participants don't account for all the visits on a forum, especially a big one like ats. Most of the traffic is generated by lurkers and first time
comers with many of them waiting to make an opinion on the subjects being investigated.
It seems obvious that on truth seeking website, a wide majority of the participants should have different convictions than those the government want
us to have. So how could the gov re-creates the majority opinion on particular subjects that will convince (unconsciously thanks to the majority
influence & group pressure) the opinion-less visitor ?
hmm ?
Don't get confused by the deniers about this : the dis-informational posts are made to the intention of the mass, the silent visitor. They know very
well that they won't convince those members spending so much time looking for truth : because those are anti-conformist, they are not influenced by
the majority.
What follows is indeed the goal of disinformational posts :
Informational Conformity
This usually occurs when a person lacks knowledge and looks to the group for guidance.
Or when a person is in an ambiguous (i.e. unclear) situation and socially compares their behaviour with the group. E.g. Sherif Study.
This type of conformity usually involves internalisation – where a person accepts the views of the groups and adopts them as an
individual.
www.simplypsychology.org...
II. the hard proofs of government propaganda on the Internet
Here are two, clear enough, factual enough and undeniable (since we find them on government websites) proofs.
News
American Forces Press Service
CENTCOM Team Engages 'Bloggers'
By Capt. Steve Alvarez, USA
American Forces Press Service
...
Blogs sometimes include information -- accurate and otherwise -- about the U.S. military's global war on terror. U.S. Central Command officials here
took notice and created a team to engage these writers and their electronic information forums.
...
"Now (online readers) have the opportunity to read positive stories. At least the public can go there and see the whole story. The public wants to
hear these good stories," he said, adding that the news stories the military generates are "very factual."
From his desk at CENTCOM headquarters here, Army Reserve Spc. Claude Flowers of the 304th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment from Kent, Wash., fights
in the global war on terrorism daily in his own way. It is an effort, officials here said, that is making a big difference in the communications arena
in the online world.
The team's motto is "Engage," and Flowers and others work with more than 250 bloggers to try to disseminate news about the good work being
done by U.S. forces in the global war on terror. The effort, officials here said, has reached more than 17 million online readers.
"We were given the mission to do electronic media engagement," Flowers said. "The idea was put forth that so many people are getting their news from
online sources that we would be remiss if we neglected that audience."
www.defense.gov...
The emphasize was mine... That would be enough to have a good laugh at the arguments of the government disinfo agents deniers but wait...
Revealed: US spy operation that manipulates social media
Military's 'sock puppet' software creates fake online identities to spread pro-American propaganda
The US military is developing software that will let it secretly manipulate social media sites by using fake online personas to influence internet
conversations and spread pro-American propaganda.
www.guardian.co.uk...
www.usaspending.gov...
Yes the air force is spending millions of your public money to buy those persona management software. imo, it is only the tip of the iceberg. If
airforce is doing it all the departments and agencies of all armies & intel services in the west are doing it as well on black/secret budget
(estimations are $200 millions for USA only but that's speculation)
To illustrate briefly what are persona management online services :
This is an excerpt from one of the Word Documents, which was sent as an attachment by Aaron Barr, CEO of HBGary's Federal subsidiary, to several
of his colleagues to present to clients:
To build this capability we will create a set of personas on twitter, blogs, forums, buzz, and myspace under created
names that fit the profile (satellitejockey, hack3rman, etc). These accounts are maintained and updated automatically
through RSS feeds, retweets, and linking together social media commenting between platforms. With a pool of these accounts to
choose from, once you have a real name persona you create a Facebook and LinkedIn account using the given name, lock those accounts down
and link these accounts to a selected # of previously created social media accounts, automatically pre-aging the real
accounts.
UPDATED: The HB Gary Email That Should
Concern Us All
If you want to do more in-depth research:
* "operation earnest voice"
* the metalgear software (add "-solid" or you'll get 5 billions of results for the video game...)
* the HB Gary leaked emails
Before moving on to the next part, the bonus proof [problem being quotes are not referenced with links (or I have missed them) on the article because
they shall be in Hebrew or from offline media & not published on the web]
Twitterers paid to spread Israeli propaganda Internet warfare team unveiled
Written by Jonathan Cook
Monday, 03 August 2009 06:04
...
In an interview this month with the Calcalist, an Israeli business newspaper, Mr Shturman, the deputy director of the ministry’s hasbara department,
admitted his team would be working undercover.
“Our people will not say: ‘Hello, I am from the hasbara department of the Israeli foreign ministry and I want to tell you the following.’
Nor will they necessarily identify themselves as Israelis,” he said. “They will speak as net-surfers and as citizens, and will write responses
that will look personal but will be based on a prepared list of messages that the foreign ministry developed.”
Rona Kuperboim, a columnist for Ynet, Israel’s most popular news website, denounced the initiative, saying it indicated that Israel had become a
“thought-police state”.
She added that “good PR cannot make the reality in the occupied territories prettier. Children are being killed, homes are being bombed, and
families are starved.”
Her column was greeted by several talkbackers asking how they could apply for a job with the foreign ministry’s team.
The project is a formalisation of public relations practices the ministry developed specifically for Israel’s assault on Gaza in December and
January.
“During Operation Cast Lead we appealed to Jewish communities abroad and with their help we recruited a few thousand volunteers, who were joined by
Israeli volunteers,” Mr Shturman said.
“We gave them background material and hasbara material, and we sent them to represent the Israeli point of view on news websites and in polls on
the internet.”
The Israeli army also had one of the most popular sites on the video-sharing site YouTube and regularly uploaded clips, although it was criticized by
human rights groups for misleading viewers about what was shown in its footage.
...
Jonathan Cook is a writer and journalist based in Nazareth, Israel. His latest books are “Israel and the Clash of Civilisations: Iraq, Iran and the
Plan to Remake the Middle East” (Pluto Press) and “Disappearing Palestine: Israel's Experiments in Human Despair” (Zed Books). His website is
www.jkcook.net.
I advise you go on and read the full article, it's mind blowing :
twitterers paid to
spread israeli propaganda
III. the corporate construction of the providers of Persona Management software & the direct link to CIA
From the usaspending.gov website we were informed that the contract was offered to a company called "anonymizer".
Proprietary Technologies—Customizable Solutions
Our proprietary technologies allow us to provide solutions that address the needs of home users, businesses, and other customers. In addition, our
state-of-the-art solution sets can be uniquely adapted and customized to meet the needs of any client.
www.anonymizer.com...
"and other customers" lol very transparent.
No mention either to whom they belong to.
Abraxas acquired Anomymizer in May of 2008, naming Lance Cottrell, founder and CTO of Anonymizer, as Chief Scientist for the firm. The financial
details of the acquisition were not disclosed. Allied Capital invested $52mil in Anonymizer shortly thereafter.
What is Abraxas ?
First, a parenthesis for the very interesting etymology
Opinions abound on Abraxas, who in recent centuries has been claimed to be both an Egyptian god and a demon.[3] The Swiss Psychologist Carl Jung
wrote a short Gnostic treatise in 1916 called The Seven Sermons to the Dead, which called Abraxas a God higher than the Christian God and Devil, that
combines all opposites into one Being.
en.wikipedia.org...
Abraxas has one focus - Risk Mitigation technology for the National Security community
Abraxas develops special technology and implements trusted unique technical solutions to address the global challenges faced by the national
security community today and those that it will face in the future.
www.abraxascorp.com...
They don't talk about their founder on their website which is a shame because :
The firm was founded after 9/11 by longtime CIA operative Richard Helms.
wiki.echelon2.org:8090...
Nor to whom they belong now
In 2010, Abraxas was purchased by another intelligence contractor, Cubic Corporation for the tidy sum of $124 million in cash. Some of the top
talent at Anonymizer, who later went to Abraxas, left the Cubic umbrella to start another intelligence firm. They are now listed as organizational
leaders for Ntrepid, the ultimate winner of the $2.7 million dollar government contract.
www.thetechherald.com...
there seems to be some confusion between Ntrepid & anonymizer unless...
Of particular note is Ntrepid's CTO/Chief Scientist Lance Cottrell, who is simultaneously CTO of Anonymiser and an adviser at Taia Global, Inc.
(20.6.2011) He was previously CTO/Chief Scientist at Abraxas Corporation after founding the privacy firm Anonymizer, Inc. in 1995.
Yah it's a hell of a complexe corporate construction;
this image is a diagram of Cubic executives & activities :
i.imgur.com...
microchip, tracking, transportation, cyber solution... a wide horizontal player indeed working mostly for dod...
if you want more precisions about the buying/merging of Abraxas/anonymizer,Ntrepid you will find them there :
yahoo.brand.edgar-online.com...?SectionID=7690853-67284-375768&SessionID=QuZFHe-yRP0T6P7
and to learn a lot more about that Cubic Corporation at the top of the construction :
wiki.echelon2.org:8090...
IV. the disinfo tactics
For this part, having been through a few articles (there are hundreds !) one was chosen to be quoted because considered to be the best written & most
complete. But additional links will be provided as well for further reading.
the source :
Disinformation Tactics: The Methods
Used To Keep You In The Dark
First let's review the common tactic of the MSM because after all it is MSM representations that are being sold by volunteers disinfo agents & sock
puppets alike.
* Lie Big, Retract Quietly
...Once the lie is finally exposed, it is already too late, and a large portion of the population will not notice or care when the truth comes out.
...
*Unconfirmed Or Controlled Sources As Fact
Cable news venues often cite information from “unnamed” sources, government sources that have an obvious bias or agenda, or “expert” sources
without providing an alternative “expert” view.
...
*Calculated Omission
...When the fact is omitted, the lie can appear entirely rational. This tactic is also used extensively when disinformation agents and crooked
journalists engage in open debate.
*Distraction, and the Manufacture of Relevance
...Ironically, the media can take an unimportant story, and by reporting on it ad nauseum, cause many Americans to assume that because the media
won’t shut-up about it, it must be important!
...
*Dishonest Debate Tactics
...
TV pundits are often trained in what are commonly called “Alinsky Tactics.”
...
1) Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have....
2) Never go outside the experience of your people, and whenever possible, go outside of the experience of the enemy...
3) Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules...
4) Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon...
5) A good tactic is one that your people enjoy...
6) A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag...
7) Keep the pressure on with different tactics and actions, and utilize all events of the period for your purpose...
8) The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself...
9) The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition...
10) If you push a negative hard and deep enough, it will break through into its counterside...
11) The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative...
12) Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it...
Each point & each Alinsky tactic are well illustrated in the article so it is better to reading it entirely if you were not aware of those things and
want to deeply understand them.
There are all elaborate & deeply tested techniques, train your mind to recognize them when you watch sensationalist tv or propaganda news and you will
never just "absorbed" from MSM ever again.
let's bring out what's interest us most, the trolls tactics :
1) Make outrageous comments designed to distract or frustrate: An Alinsky tactic used to make people emotional, although less effective because of
the impersonal nature of the web.
2) Pose as a supporter of the truth, then make comments that discredit the movement: We have seen this even on our own forums — trolls pose as
supporters of the Liberty Movement, then post long, incoherent diatribes so as to appear either racist or insane. Here is a live example of this
tactic in use on Yahoo! Answers.
The key to this tactic is to make references to common Liberty Movement arguments while at the same time babbling nonsense, so as to make those
otherwise valid arguments seem ludicrous by association.
In extreme cases, these “Trojan Horse Trolls” have been known to make posts which incite violence — a technique obviously intended to
solidify the false assertions of the notorious MIAC report and other ADL/SPLC publications which purport that constitutionalists should be feared as
potential domestic terrorists.
3) Dominate Discussions: Trolls often interject themselves into productive web discussions in order to throw them off course and frustrate the
people involved.
4) Prewritten Responses: Many trolls are supplied with a list or database with pre-planned talking points designed as generalized and deceptive
responses to honest arguments. 9/11 “debunker” trolls are notorious for this.
5) False Association: This works hand in hand with item #2, by invoking the stereotypes established by the “Trojan Horse Troll.”
For example: calling those against the Federal Reserve “conspiracy theorists” or “lunatics”. Deliberately associating anti-globalist
movements with big foot or alien enthusiasts, because of the inherent negative connotations. Using false associations to provoke biases and dissuade
people from examining the evidence objectively.
6) False Moderation: Pretending to be the “voice of reason” in an argument with obvious and defined sides in an attempt to move people away
from what is clearly true into a “grey area” where the truth becomes “relative.”
7) Straw Man Arguments: A very common technique. The troll will accuse his opposition of subscribing to a certain point of view, even if he does
not, and then attacks that point of view. Or, the troll will put words in the mouth of his opposition, and then rebut those specific words. For
example: “9/11 truthers say that no planes hit the WTC towers, and that it was all just computer animation. What are they, crazy?”
Sometimes, these strategies are used by average people with serious personality issues. However, if you see someone using these tactics often, or
using many of them at the same time, you may be dealing with a paid internet troll.
I would add to the list
8) the extreme promptness in appearing in a thread to ridicule a theory & discredit the poster (or using the previously mentioned tactic without of
course bothering to provide anything else that their opinion - cf majority influence)
9) the tendency to ignore the strong facts of a theory & attack the weakest and less important one
DISCLAIMER: more than often, on board like ats, hoaxes are posted so some kind of debunking shall be done, absolutely. But facts are always enough;
ridicule & discredit are never required for that, nor any other of those other vicious tactics.
Last but not least :
Government Disinformation Methods
...
1) Control The Experts ...
2) Control The Data...
3) Skew The Statistics...
3) Guilt By False Association...
4) Manufacture Good News...
5) Controlled Opposition...
During the 1960’s and 70’s, the FBI began a secretive program called COINTELPRO.
6) False Paradigms...One merely needs to observe a heated debate between a Democrat and a Republican to see how deeply this belief has been
ingrained on both sides, and how destructive it is to true intellectual discourse.
Additional links on disinfos tactics :
Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression
Eight Traits of the Disinformationalist
Twenty-Five Ways To Suppress Truth: The Rules of Disinformation
V. the response to give to the disinformative crowd by the truth seekers
I'm going to keep this part very short because I can see only one tactic :
"don't listen to what they say, just watch what they do".
In other worlds, don't fall in their emotional, frustrating traps, recognize the tactic they are using and expose them with why not some reference to
an article such as the one proposed above and the fact that disinfo is a reality on www.
But it's not so easy...
If you have creative ideas, please share, they work together. So shall we.
Conclusion
After all this no one can possibly deny the reality of disinformation on the web nor ignoring the reasons for this disinformation.
I'm welcoming any factual input that would disprove any of this in a constructive way. But just don't come with the tactics exposed above. Thank
you.
My aim in doing this work was only helping me & other genuine truth seekers to defeat disinformation on internet boards for the future so I' d rather
see you bookmarking it or bookmark some of the references (flags are short-lived, and next week or even tomorrow they will be back denying the reality
of gov sock puppets at the first opportunity).
I hope we will get better to exposing them for what and how they post rather than falling in their traps.
Let's stop calling them disinfo agent at face value but let's just expose their tactic to the visitors & other members every time they are applying
them; using the opportunity to expose as well the fact that US (& Israeli at least) government spend a lot of money in internet sock puppeting.
For the love of truth, let us not let them derail any more threads to their advantage.
"the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State"
Peace & thanks for reading
related ATS threads :
HB Gary and Sockpuppetry
US government wages sock puppet war against its own citizens
Senior EPA Analyst: "Government [Agencies] Have Been Sock Puppets
The Sock Puppet & The Straw Man.......
Among the Truthers:A Journey Through America's Growing ...
Additional Links :
UPDATED: The HB Gary Email That Should
Concern Us All
More HBGary Federal Fallout:
The Government Wants To Buy Software To Fake Online Grassroots Social Media Campaigns
Operation Earnest Voice
Cubic Corporation
Disinformation Tactics: The Methods Used To Keep
You In The Dark
Raw obtains CENTCOM email to bloggers
the “Alinsky Method” variation of the Delphi Technique
IS ISRAEL CONTROLLING PHONY TERROR NEWS?
Persona Management Software Helps Hide Statistics That Would Raise
Suspicion by Website Statistics Analyzers
Personal Management Software destroys internet authenticity
Spying on Internet Users
Why Is the US Military Creating an Army of Fake People on the
Internet?
Virtual Flash Mobbing & Strategically Poisoned
Consensus
Spokesman tells panel on internet 'as strategic weapon' army wants 120 'new media
fighters'
Infiltration, personas and puppets
Centcom deploys virtual 'personas' onto Internet
countering propaganda
Sock Puppet Planet: The Secret
State’s Quest for ‘Persona Management Software’
Anonymous: Government
contractor has weaponized social media
Majority Influence
Conformity
Asch Experiment
Digital Forensics: 5 Ways to Spot a Fake Photo
PS: if you have good links to add to the list, please post and i will edit the post for as as long as i can
edit on 3-7-2011 by
theHairInTheSoup because: (no reason given)