Pentagon paid PR firm $540mn to make fake terrorist videos

The Pentagon paid a UK PR firm half a billion dollars to create fake terrorist videos in Iraq in a secret propaganda campaign

PR firm Bell Pottinger, known for its array of controversial clients including the Saudi government and Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet’s foundation, worked with the US military to create the propaganda in a secretive operation.

The firm reported to the CIA, the National Security Council and the Pentagon on the project

The Bell Pottinger operation started soon after the US invasion of Iraq... ...before moving on to more lucrative psychological and information operations.

Former employee Martin Wells told the Bureau how he found himself working in Iraq after being hired as a video editor by Bell Pottinger. Within 48 hours, he was landing in Baghdad to edit content for secret “psychological operations”

The firm created... ...content to look as though it had come from “Arabic TV”.

The firm also created fake Al-Qaeda propaganda videos, which were then planted by the military in homes they raided.

US law prohibits the government from using propaganda on its population, hence the use of an outside firm to create the content.

Source

Remember when all those terrorist beheading videos were surfacing, and a bunch of people were saying they're probably fake? Remember when people claimed the idea of the government or the military making fake terrorist videos was crazy tinfoil-hat-wearing nonsense?
Well, now it's out there for the public to see. Not specifically the aforementioned ISIS beheading videos, but the fact that the government and military were creating fake terrorism videos as part of various psychological operations.
***They did it***

a reply to: trollz

I do recall some terrorist videos being scrutinized by some. One in particular where the terrorists were standing with their heads covered behind the victim. It was said that the terrorists were standing and acting in a "western" fashion and that people from that locale would not be doing that.

If I remember correctly, the video didn't show an actual killing, but cut to the victim being dead. No pun intended.

With the media creating their own fake scenes, it is entirely in the realm that some terrorist videos are not genuine.

What was said not too long ago? The media is controlled by the cia?

Not 100% sure how reliable the source is, but that would be of no surprise. And come on, those ISIS beheading videos were way over the top and heavily edited. People thought I was being "insensitive."

originally posted by: gator2001
a reply to: trollz

I do recall some terrorist videos being scrutinized by some. One in particular where the terrorists were standing with their heads covered behind the victim. It was said that the terrorists were standing and acting in a "western" fashion and that people from that locale would not be doing that.

If I remember correctly, the video didn't show an actual killing, but cut to the victim being dead. No pun intended.

With the media creating their own fake scenes, it is entirely in the realm that some terrorist videos are not genuine.

What was said not too long ago? The media is controlled by the cia?

Though the terrorists in some films were supposed to be expats from European countries. So "acting in a western fashion" is meaningless. Is it possible?Perhaps, though the OP's source is RT and Syria is a proxy war between the US and Russia. Also, RT is state sponsored, which means it has zero credibility and sounds more of a propaganda hit piece to go against the UN grievances regarding Aleppo.

a reply to: trollz

www.thetimes.co.uk...

All. Source here.

Not sure on credibility of sources that gave info, but worth digging in to.

this no-bid overseas outsourcing of jobs is outrageous , especially considering there is plenty of talented propagandists available for hire domestically ......

Pentagon Paid for Fake ‘Al Qaeda’ Videos

‘Al Qaeda’ hmmmm.... "Al CIA duhhh?" hmmmmm.

"ISIS" (ice-us) .....hmmmm "Is-us" ....(it "is the U.S.?")

Like this is just too weird. All they are are proxy fighters. Countries have used proxy soliders and fought proxy wars for hundreds of years.

But ya both those are code word telling us that it's the US. Not some crazy faction.

a reply to: bigpatato

I mean why else would oh same ah bin lay din's body be dumped in the ocean? Because it was all wrapped up and it wasn't him. It was a corpse or dummy dropped overboard. Then Why were all the navy seals that "Supposedly did the raid" then killed in a freak helicopter crash? Why cuz they would have exposed the truth that it wasn't all true like we were told. So they even offed their own soliders to keep a secret. David did that to hid Bathsheba. He killed her husband in sneakily to keep it from being exposed. Same here with all this.

It's just like JFK. Oswalled had to be killed or he might have exposed to truth. So he was then killed immediately after getting arrested. To hide the truth from the country.



this is interesting

a reply to: trollz

Isn't RT a "Russian" News Network? I wouldn't be surprised if it was a bogus hit piece (like other posters have mentioned).

I would also be wary of other U.S. news sources due to legalized propaganda.

a reply to: trollz

Your OP does not match up with what the article says.

You've made a leap in logic here, where's the evidence that they made the beheading videos? There's no mention of ISIS, yet you've made his leap. Why?

$540 million and all they could come up with was:

This is going viral quick all across the world. No "credible" news source here in the US however is touching it. Not yet anyway.

It's something we have spoken about on ATS in times past. The video's never looked real/credible and so it's no surprise if this is true.

Only thing I could find that makes this story more credible imo is this below...

Public relation firms in the Middle East say they have seen an uptick in business over the past two years, landing major government contracts and existing multinational brand clients pushing for better results in effort to stay in the public eye. “When things look good, we do well. When things don’t look good, people need us even more,” Sunil John,the chief executive of WPP majority-owned Middle East PR firm Asda’a Burson-Marseller, told Gulf News in an recent interview. Asda’a has won and maintained a number of major regional government contracts over the past two years, including winning a contract related to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, John said.

gulfnews.com...

i guess you paid no attention to these in the article.

The firm reported to the CIA, the National Security Council and the Pentagon on the project with a mandateThe firm reported to the CIA, the National Security Council and the Pentagon on the project with a mandate to portray Al-Qaeda in a negative light and track suspected sympathizers..

The firm created television ads showing Al-Qaeda in a negative light as well as creating content to look as though it had come from “Arabic TV”.

They would craft scripts for Arabic soap operas where characters would reject terrorism with happy consequences. The firm also created fake Al-Qaeda propaganda videos, which were then planted by the military in homes they raided.

"If one, 48 hours or a week later shows up in another part of the world, then that’s the more interesting one,” Wells explained. “And that’s what they’re looking for more, because that gives you a trail.”

so it's wrong to make fake videos that show people refusing to join jihadi's, or to track would be ones using the content from their videos?

a reply to: trollz

In the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq, didn't the Bush administration have an "impeachable" witness. I think the name was called "hardball".

He told of many things which we could not question, which turned out to be wrong.

I am not saying this source should not be believed. I just don't thing the ones backing this "war on terror" have a lot of room to be very critical.

originally posted by: hounddoghowlie
i guess you paid no attention to these in the article.

The firm reported to the CIA, the National Security Council and the Pentagon on the project with a mandateThe firm reported to the CIA, the National Security Council and the Pentagon on the project with a mandate to portray Al-Qaeda in a negative light and track suspected sympathizers..

The firm created television ads showing Al-Qaeda in a negative light as well as creating content to look as though it had come from “Arabic TV”.

They would craft scripts for Arabic soap operas where characters would reject terrorism with happy consequences. The firm also created fake Al-Qaeda propaganda videos, which were then planted by the military in homes they raided.

"If one, 48 hours or a week later shows up in another part of the world, then that’s the more interesting one,” Wells explained. “And that’s what they’re looking for more, because that gives you a trail.”

so it's wrong to make fake videos that show people refusing to join jihadi's, or to track would be ones using the content from their videos?

All this just tells me that, like most other PR companies, these people will make a campaign for whatever reason anyone hires them to do.

originally posted by: DarkestConspiracyMoon
Not 100% sure how reliable the source is, but that would be of no surprise. And come on, those ISIS beheading videos were way over the top and heavily edited. People thought I was being "insensitive."

I said something similar during the beheading video craze of a year ago or whatever.

Watch even ONE real beheading and you will not be fooled by the fakes.

Obvious propaganda is obvious.

a reply to: tinymind

That's what 'Public Relations' is.

Basically thought control to whatever end is chosen by the client.

a reply to: trollz

Well all I can say is watch this movie lol.

Probably a lot like the present state of affairs.

Cheers - Dave

This would certainly explain why "Jihadi John" had a British accent.

I've never watched any of the ISIS videos, but it's my understanding that no, they never show anyone actually being beheaded. There is always a cut to them standing over the body.

I would also draw your attention to an obviously staged video recently featured on ATS. It was supposedly a scene from a hospital in Syria. You can easily see a guy on the right side of the scene is smiling & laughing, and then when he realizes the camera is rolling he suddenly switches to holding his head like he's in pain.

Interesting that RT, a well known instrument for spreading Russian propaganda, would publish this at the same time as the State Dept. cut off billateral communications with Russia.

Or is it? This needs some substantiation from multiple main stream sources IMO.