Army, CIA, corporations, propaganda & Internet sock puppets : facts, tactics & fight back

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...


[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/05a268919fb4.jpg[/atsimg]

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

reply to post by theHairInTheSoup


Knowing what i know now i would have never have gotten a computer and I would never be on the internet. Its a tool for control plain and simple. Look how much information you give out. It to late for me but i will teach my children different. The walls in here have ears and eyes also anything said in here can be held against you replayed and used to distort your true meaning.

A very well-constructed thread you've made here. Your English is quite good too. It's hard to argue with what you lay out, it's all true and a bit scary to some people.
Simply the knowledge that governments have inserted agents on the web has a chilling effect on what many might otherwise say. While claiming to have freedom of speech people are actually intimidated in to saying things that might be less controversial and more in line with the "perceived public opinion" (= FOX news).
The saddest thing about it all is that governments should not be required to establish and maintain lies to remain in power. Were they truly working in the best interests of the public this would be unnecessary. It would also be much simpler for them.
Lies can become difficult things to keep track of, that's why they have to send out booklets to lay out their talking points.
Some giveaways of disinformation specialists is that they will often only argue on one or two subjects, check their profiles to see what topics they reply to if you question their motives. This does not make them disinformationists by default, but is one indicator.
Another thing common to them is their name: often a simple one-word name that is generic and unremarkable and thus not easily remembered. They often have no avatar since they work multiple personas and once again, an avatar would make them less anonymous.

Bottom line here is that the State is playing the role of an abusive parent who provides constant contradictions in an attempt to split the personality of the child, who knowing the truth is made to attack themselves by being fed a constant diet of lies. This immobilizes the personality who can no longer establish the truth within their own mind.

Sadly, our governments have reached a point where anything they or their MSM mouthpieces say can be counted on to be false. Take whatever they say and it will be either irrelevant or the exact opposite of the truth. People should know better than to take money for working to sabotage the critical thinking capacities of others. They might as well cut off their victims legs because they are making them handicapped and destroying that persons capacity for growth by feeding them propaganda.

S&F

A most excellent and worthy OP.

One must assume as much--and more--these days. It really is like the Matrix in ways. Check out ats member Burntheships for some excellent research along these same lines.

Ol' Abraxas Corp looks like a classic example of what we might call Spook Capitalism. Good detective work well-presented and for the benefit of all of us.

Great thread Needs more attention. S&F

Bumpity bump

A lot of work went into your thread, and it's a very good important one, very informative.

I don't have an avatar cuz I don't know how to. I suppose I could do some research right here in this website, I'm certain theres a feature that explains it. But I haven't been interested enough to yet.

reply to post by simone50m


I wasn't trying to single any one person out for not having an avatar.
I was a member for months before I decided it was worth the trouble to create one for myself.
I hope you will find ATS worth your time and eventually you'll want an avatar for yourself.

Here's the rules for creating an avatar - www.abovetopsecret.com...

As for "how to", upload the picture you want to your media (pictures) page.
Open the photo and there's a Scroll down bar and you'll see it says something like "use this picture as avatar".
Just click it and your there.

reply to post by theHairInTheSoup

"stop calling everyone that disagree with you a disinformation agent"

There are some ways to detect Diss-information agents. Read my signature.

1. Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. Regardless of what you know, don’t discuss it — especially if you are a public figure, news anchor, etc. If it’s not reported, it didn’t happen, and you never have to deal with the issues.
2. Become incredulous and indignant. Avoid discussing key issues and instead focus on side issues which can be used show the topic as being critical of some otherwise sacrosanct group or theme. This is also known as the “How dare you!” gambit.
3. Create rumor mongers. Avoid discussing issues by describing all charges, regardless of venue or evidence, as mere rumors and wild accusations. Other derogatory terms mutually exclusive of truth may work as well. This method works especially well with a silent press, because the only way the public can learn of the facts are through such “arguable rumors”. If you can associate the material with the Internet, use this fact to certify it a “wild rumor” which can have no basis in fact.
4. Use a straw man. Find or create a seeming element of your opponent’s argument which you can easily knock down to make yourself look good and the opponent to look bad. Either make up an issue you may safely imply exists based on your interpretation of the opponent/opponent arguments/situation, or select the weakest aspect of the weakest charges. Amplify their significance and destroy them in a way which appears to debunk all the charges, real and fabricated alike, while actually avoiding discussion of the real issues.
5. Sidetrack opponents with name calling and ridicule. This is also known as the primary attack the messenger ploy, though other methods qualify as variants of that approach. Associate opponents with unpopular titles such as “kooks”, “right-wing”, “liberal”, “left-wing”, “terrorists”, “conspiracy buffs”, “radicals”, “militia”, “racists”, “religious fanatics”, “sexual deviates”, and so forth. This makes others shrink from support out of fear of gaining the same label, and you avoid dealing with issues.
6. Hit and Run. In any public forum, make a brief attack of your opponent or the opponent position and then scamper off before an answer can be fielded, or simply ignore any answer. This works extremely well in Internet and letters-to-the-editor environments where a steady stream of new identities can be called upon without having to explain criticism reasoning — simply make an accusation or other attack, never discussing issues, and never answering any subsequent response, for that would dignify the opponent’s viewpoint.
7. Question motives. Twist or amplify any fact which could so taken to imply that the opponent operates out of a hidden personal agenda or other bias. This avoids discussing issues and forces the accuser on the defensive.
8. Invoke authority. Claim for yourself or associate yourself with authority and present your argument with enough “jargon” and “minutiae” to illustrate you are “one who knows”, and simply say it isn’t so without discussing issues or demonstrating concretely why or citing sources.
9. Play Dumb. No matter what evidence or logical argument is offered, avoid discussing issues with denial they have any credibility, make any sense, provide any proof, contain or make a point, have logic, or support a conclusion. Mix well for maximum effect.
10. Associate opponent charges with old news. A derivative of the straw man usually, in any large-scale matter of high visibility, someone will make charges early on which can be or were already easily dealt with. Where it can be foreseen, have your own side raise a straw man issue and have it dealt with early on as part of the initial contingency plans. Subsequent charges, regardless of validity or new ground uncovered, can usually them be associated with the original charge and dismissed as simply being a rehash without need to address current issues — so much the better where the opponent is or was involved with the original source.
11. Establish and rely upon fall-back positions. Using a minor matter or element of the facts, take the “high road” and “confess” with candor that some innocent mistake, in hindsight, was made — but that opponents have seized on the opportunity to blow it all out of proportion and imply greater criminalities which, “just isn’t so.” Others can reinforce this on your behalf, later. Done properly, this can garner sympathy and respect for “coming clean” and “owning up” to your mistakes without addressing more serious issues.
12. Enigmas have no solution. Drawing upon the overall umbrella of events surrounding the crime and the multitude of players and events, paint the entire affair as too complex to solve. This causes those otherwise following the matter to begin to loose interest more quickly without having to address the actual issues.
13. Alice in Wonderland Logic. Avoid discussion of the issues by reasoning backwards with an apparent deductive logic in a way that forbears any actual material fact.
14. Demand complete solutions. Avoid the issues by requiring opponents to solve the crime at hand completely, a ploy which works best for items qualifying for rule 10.
15. Fit the facts to alternate conclusions. This requires creative thinking unless the crime was planned with contingency conclusions in place.
16. Vanishing evidence and witnesses. If it does not exist, it is not fact, and you won’t have to address the issue.
17. Change the subject. Usually in connection with one of the other ploys listed here, find a way to side-track the discussion with abrasive or controversial comments in hopes of turning attention to a new, more manageable topic. This works especially well with companions who can “argue” with you over the new topic and polarize the discussion arena in order to avoid discussing more key issues.
18. Emotionalize, Antagonize, and Goad Opponents. If you can’t do anything else, chide and taunt your opponents and draw them into emotional responses which will tend to make them look foolish and overly motivated, and generally render their material somewhat less coherent. Not only will you avoid discussing the issues in the first instance, but even if their emotional response addresses the issue, you can further avoid the issues by then focusing on how “sensitive they are to criticism”.
19. Ignore proof presented, demand impossible proofs. This is perhaps a variant of the “play dumb” rule. Regardless of what material may be presented by an opponent in public forums, claim the material irrelevant and demand proof that is impossible for the opponent to come by (it may exist, but not be at his disposal, or it may be something which is known to be safely destroyed or withheld, such as a murder weapon). In order to completely avoid discussing issues may require you to categorically deny and be critical of media or books as valid sources, deny that witnesses are acceptable, or even deny that statements made by government or other authorities have any meaning or relevance.
20. False evidence. Whenever possible, introduce new facts or clues designed and manufactured to conflict with opponent presentations as useful tools to neutralize sensitive issues or impede resolution. This works best when the crime was designed with contingencies for the purpose, and the facts cannot be easily separated from the fabrications.
21. Call a Grand Jury, Special Prosecutor, or other empowered investigative body. Subvert the (process) to your benefit and effectively neutralize all sensitive issues without open discussion. Once convened, the evidence and testimony are required to be secret when properly handled. For instance, if you own the prosecuting attorney, it can insure a Grand Jury hears no useful evidence and that the evidence is sealed an unavailable to subsequent investigators. Once a favorable verdict (usually, this technique is applied to find the guilty innocent, but it can also be used to obtain charges when seeking to frame a victim) is achieved, the matter can be considered officially closed.
22. Manufacture a new truth. Create your own expert(s), group(s), author(s), leader(s) or influence existing ones willing to forge new ground via scientific, investigative, or social research or testimony which concludes favorably. In this way, if you must actually address issues, you can do so authoritatively.
23. Create bigger distractions. If the above does not seem to be working to distract from sensitive issues, or to prevent unwanted media coverage of unstoppable events such as trials, create bigger news stories (or treat them as such) to distract the multitudes.
24. Silence critics. If the above methods do not prevail, consider removing opponents from circulation by some definitive solution so that the need to address issues is removed entirely. This can be by their death, arrest and detention, blackmail or destruction of their character by release of blackmail information, or merely by proper intimidation with blackmail or other threats.
25. Vanish. If you are a key holder of secrets or otherwise overly illuminated and you think the heat is getting too hot, to avoid the issues, vacate the kitchen.

Working on an indepth response right now...

Great post, tons of reliable information. S&F !

Great well written and well sourced thread! Remember, the original COINTELPRO was not exposed because some courageous whistleblower pulled the rug under this operation. It was also not stopped because high ranking officials started to develop an conscience. It was stopped because activists broke into a FBI building, stole files and send those files to publishers. Even then, most newspapers refused to publish these files. I believe, we who suspect insidious tactics must expose them, wherever possible.

If you can avoid the emotional traps, I believe an effective, but time consuming counter is to use the potential disinfo characters posts against him. Websites like ATS allow an analysis of a users history. So it is possible to expose disinfo agents who have continuously used the same dirty tactics. It can be eye-opening to other users, if you can show how a specific potential disinfo agent has used the same disruptive disinformation tactics in previous threads. The downside, after you have invested lots of effort into exposure, a burned disinfo agent can simply open a new account.

Very nice thread and awesome collection of resources.

There is some material on this recent thread I started which is relevant to what is being discussed here. I have posted a link to this thread on that one too.

COINTELPRO: Mind control and Conspiracy Forums like ATS

Originally posted by theHairInTheSoup
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".
(snip)
If you have creative ideas, please share, they work together. So shall we.

No problem.

Stop kidding yourselves that this isn't happening and educate yourselves. Here are a few tips.



www.dailymotion.com...
www.disclose.tv...
www.youtube.com...
www.youtube.com...

Thanks for joining the truth campaign.

F plus three more
very important reading

What is the importance or the use of argueing with shills?
Are the regular posters the only ones who notice those that consistantly keep up with same proven false statements as opposed to those of us who are always examining our position(s) to see if they stand up via resources (links)?
We who WISH we ourselves were wrong?
and we who are AHGAST that we might be right?

Like when we examine the devaluation of shill pensions
the quality of shill water
or the tossing away of shills like saddam when their day is done?
or the shill sickness rates and suicide rates

we are saying:
"Say it aint so!"
as opposed to
"We say it IS!"

i guess it depends on what your definition of is is.

reply to post by theHairInTheSoup


What's the first thing you can do? Watch absolutely ZERO cable news. It is news entertainment. I don't care if you agree with what they are saying. ALL CABLE NEWS must be ignored. All the talk shows, the specials, the standard headline reporting. TURN IT OFF.

thanks for the nice comments on the work

reply to post by hmdphantom


oops thanks for the link but I 'm too late to edit OP sorry

reply to post by Pimander


idem & sorry I didn't come across that thread before, I would have used your content otherwise

reply to post by Drunkenshrew

exactly, they would disappear and come back under new persona.

Gandhi was saying something like "condemn the act, not the hand"...I think he was using other words, but you get the idea ? what and how rather than who... self-education of us to spot the use of a tactic at first glance (and expose the tactic rather than the author to inform/educate the readers about it)

reply to post by theHairInTheSoup
I have posted threads and comments on this exact subject but ultimately the problem will not be shoved until something along the lines of the French Revolution happens. Stalin, Mao and others throughout history had their solution and that is what terrifies those who would for example be behind Homeland Security, TSA etc. What they do is not to protect the American people, it is to protect themselves from the American People when everyone wakes up to what they have done, are doing and are planning on doing. Suzanna Gratia-Hupp said it very well

Firstly let me start off by saying I don't believe everything the government says. However, (and I will be accused of being a disinfo agent for saying this), 'truthseekers' are at least as guilty as some of this. Look in this thread for example, it has been said that anything the MSM, and the government says, are always a lie or irrelevant, immediately dismissing it out of hand. 'truthseekers' claim that they want to be wrong, but in reality, they have a certain world view, and anything against the government or TBTB fits in with this, so they are more likely to believe it. Disinfo agents probably exist too, but too often I see everyone who believes anything different to the 'accepted' conspiracy point of view immediately labelled, as either a disinfo agent, a sheep, or a shill. Can you not see that this is the same as the government labelling people as crazy conspiracy theorists for believing other than the norm? Can you see it just dismisses a point of view immediately, valid or not, just because it is mainstream to an extent. I'm not saying there are no conspiracy theorists and that the government isn't as bad and worse, but to an extent this is done on this exact forum by the truthseekers too.

A straw man is a component of an argument and is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position. To "attack a straw man" is to create the illusion of having refuted a proposition by replacing it with a superficially similar yet unequivalent proposition (the "straw man"), and refuting it, without ever having actually refuted the original position.

Originally posted by bonnieprince
Disinfo agents probably exist too, but too often I see everyone who believes anything different to the 'accepted' conspiracy point of view immediately labelled, as either a disinfo agent, a sheep, or a shill. Can you not see that this is the same as the government labelling people as crazy conspiracy theorists for believing other than the norm?

This old straw man again!

Your argument is BS. All conspiracy theorists do not, "immediately label (who believes anything different), as either a disinfo agent, a sheep, or a shill!" That may happen sometimes. I would argue it's usually pointless to do it. However, that isn't what the OP is saying so is a straw man anyway!

Are you going to engage with the subject matter being discussed or just knock down a straw man and pretend that what we are discussing is not important?

I suggest I can speak for the intelligent conspiracy theorists on this site and say - we are not saying anyone in particular is a disinformation agent. Let's discuss what the OP is presenting and take it from there. Thanks for that contribution but it is not especially relevant and has been repeated on here hundreds of times.

reply to post by bonnieprince


Alynski was an activist and his tactics were proposed for activism before being recuperated by msm. If you follow the link proposed you will also read that, from the writer (of the article about tactic) opinion it's not acceptable to use them as a truth seeker.

You will not read in the OP that I encourage whoever to use those tactics.

I am encouraging to expose them & to expose those denying the reality of disinformation on the web.

I consider your reply largely off-topic as diverting the thread to other ground of discussions (yep one of those tactic lol). Maybe you should reread the OP ?

edit: nice one Pimander, you beat me on it (in time & perspicacity)

reply to post by theHairInTheSoup

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 ?

Because they are Naive and short-sighted.

They only want to spout emotional and repetitive rhetoric and pretend they are living in a world where that isn't a reality and/or possible.