The manipulation tactics described in this book have evolved tremendously. Things are now done on a much larger scale. With social media and digital platforms, the disinformation just spreads worldwide instantly. These tactics now include:
Digital infiltration and narrative control, astroturfing (creating artificial movements online to simulate mass emotional response), publishing false stories and deepfakes/AI to discredit protesters, creating false evidence of violence, escalating or inciting violence to justify crackdowns, smear campaigns through the media (labelling truth seekers as terrorists or criminals to justify a harsh response), and distractions (governments creating unrelated major news events or chaos as smoke screens to divert our attention from significant movements that threaten their agenda).
In the 60s they had actual physical placards and covert agents in the crowd. Today we’ve got bots, deepfakes, algorithm manipulation, cyber surveillance, data harvesting, targeted harassment, legal repression, and exploitation.
I come from the first generation of humans that grew up with a computer at home. In my lifetime I’ve seen tech evolve into a global manipulation machine. If this is the “public” technological revolution in just 37 years, I’d love to know what capabilities have been developed over twice or three times that period in NON-public domains… We are only ever shown the consumer-grade version of said technology.
What they actually have available is so far beyond our current perception it’s terrifying. It would be like me trying to infiltrate Pine Gap with my son’s walkie talkie. And it’s designed to be terrifying. A terrified focus is exactly what it feeds on. The real frontier isn’t their next tool – it’s humanity’s unmanipulated perception.
Seeing the scale of the machine is the first step in realising you don’t have to live inside its logic. It’s difficult to swallow, but once you see the walls, you can stop banging your head against them.
Book: CIA PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS IN GUERRILLA WARFARE – DECLASSIFIED
