How to Subvert a Democracy in Six Steps
September 4, 2020 8:51 PM Subscribe
In 1954 in Guatemala, the CIA hired a cocky American actor and two radio DJs to launch a revolution and oust a president. Their playbook is being used against the U.S. right now. Intro: The Original Fake News Network (Narratively Deep Dive)
Part 1: Propaganda and Puppets
Part 2: Condition the Masses
Part 3: Create Your Own News
Part 4: Divide and Conquer
Part 5: Showdown
Part 6: Cover Your Tracks
•
Disinformed to Death: review of three new books on the subject (NY Review of Books)
•
Get thee behind me, tech: putting humans before social media (CBC)
Part 1: Propaganda and Puppets
Part 2: Condition the Masses
Part 3: Create Your Own News
Part 4: Divide and Conquer
Part 5: Showdown
Part 6: Cover Your Tracks
•
Disinformed to Death: review of three new books on the subject (NY Review of Books)
•
Get thee behind me, tech: putting humans before social media (CBC)
I just wish everybody who graduated grade five understood the difference between misinformation and disinformation.
Misinformation -- that's easy to counter, disprove.
Disinformation -- by definition, it's not entirely wrong, thus complicated.
We're stuck in a complicated situation. And have been our entire lives.
posted by philip-random at 11:03 PM on September 4, 2020 [5 favorites]
Misinformation -- that's easy to counter, disprove.
Disinformation -- by definition, it's not entirely wrong, thus complicated.
We're stuck in a complicated situation. And have been our entire lives.
posted by philip-random at 11:03 PM on September 4, 2020 [5 favorites]
I just wish everybody who graduated grade five understood the difference between misinformation and disinformation.
I wish there were more members here who could make a point without snide insults.
posted by thelonius at 11:11 PM on September 4, 2020 [28 favorites]
I wish there were more members here who could make a point without snide insults.
posted by thelonius at 11:11 PM on September 4, 2020 [28 favorites]
I'm just tickled to observe yet another instance of an attempt to correct that isn't correct.
The distinguishing feature of disinformation is intent, not quality. Look it up.
posted by flabdablet at 12:04 AM on September 5, 2020 [18 favorites]
The distinguishing feature of disinformation is intent, not quality. Look it up.
posted by flabdablet at 12:04 AM on September 5, 2020 [18 favorites]
I wish there were more members here who could make a point without snide insults.
none intended. Sorry it landed that way.
posted by philip-random at 12:18 AM on September 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
none intended. Sorry it landed that way.
posted by philip-random at 12:18 AM on September 5, 2020 [4 favorites]
The particular definition/use of the term disinformation in this piece is along the lines of sophisticated large-scale coordinated state-sponsored psy-ops/propaganda/news manipulation, aimed at influencing public opinion in a particular general direction in a background/deniable/traceless way.
Then it was the CIA in Guatemala; now it is the Russian Internet Research Agency (IRA) in the US. Many other countries have done/do this too, for instance the Brits in their colonies in the 1950s, and then in Northern Ireland in the 70s and 80s (and beyond? - a whole 'nother story there).
posted by carter at 5:28 AM on September 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
Then it was the CIA in Guatemala; now it is the Russian Internet Research Agency (IRA) in the US. Many other countries have done/do this too, for instance the Brits in their colonies in the 1950s, and then in Northern Ireland in the 70s and 80s (and beyond? - a whole 'nother story there).
posted by carter at 5:28 AM on September 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
In today's parlance, "fake news" is most commonly used to mean
That does not make it the actual meaning, do not let the enemy take over, redefining language in an Orwellian fashion!
As with the twisting of Antifa to imply physical violence https://conservapedia.com/Antifa
BLM protestors as violent radicals
Fascistic murderers as "patriotic citizens keeping the peace"
Animal rights and water protectors as terrorists
Actual fake news is real, back to Colbert's excellent rants on "truthiness", a fixture of our post-factual world and needs to be taken as the serious threat that it is
posted by goinWhereTheClimateSuitsMyClothes at 7:25 AM on September 5, 2020 [6 favorites]
That does not make it the actual meaning, do not let the enemy take over, redefining language in an Orwellian fashion!
As with the twisting of Antifa to imply physical violence https://conservapedia.com/Antifa
BLM protestors as violent radicals
Fascistic murderers as "patriotic citizens keeping the peace"
Animal rights and water protectors as terrorists
Actual fake news is real, back to Colbert's excellent rants on "truthiness", a fixture of our post-factual world and needs to be taken as the serious threat that it is
posted by goinWhereTheClimateSuitsMyClothes at 7:25 AM on September 5, 2020 [6 favorites]
The research behind this is excellent. CIA documents, tapes from the radio broadcasts, memoirs from the players. I knew the outline of the story before, but to have it this well documented is really amazing.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 8:07 AM on September 5, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 8:07 AM on September 5, 2020 [6 favorites]
Actual fake news is real.
that's something.
posted by clavdivs at 8:36 AM on September 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
that's something.
posted by clavdivs at 8:36 AM on September 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Actual fake news is real.
that's something.
but THEY now seem to own it, correctly comprehended or not. It's THEIR phrase. Colbert's joke has proven a genuine killer (actually, I think John Stewart was the first one I heard say "fake news"). Funny how that's worked out. I can imagine a future cultural historian* using this single nuance as a way into explaining just how batshit insane things got back in the waning days of the Trump era ...
"There was a popular late night comedian who pretended to be a news reporter but he was in fact telling jokes about current events. He used the term FAKE NEWS to describe what he was doing and everybody had a good laugh. Well, not everybody. Not the people who were the brunt of the jokes. They didn't think it was funny at all. And then one day, one of them (we're still not sure if he even understood what he was doing exactly) started using the term to reject any actual REAL NEWS that got in his way. Which would have been only a minor annoyance if he hadn't gone on to be elected President of the United States, the single most powerful man on the planet."
* he said, revealing a dubious optimism that A. Trump will lose in November, B. America as we know it won't go down with him, and C. meaning-rationality-reason will actually still be a thing in the future
posted by philip-random at 9:10 AM on September 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
that's something.
but THEY now seem to own it, correctly comprehended or not. It's THEIR phrase. Colbert's joke has proven a genuine killer (actually, I think John Stewart was the first one I heard say "fake news"). Funny how that's worked out. I can imagine a future cultural historian* using this single nuance as a way into explaining just how batshit insane things got back in the waning days of the Trump era ...
"There was a popular late night comedian who pretended to be a news reporter but he was in fact telling jokes about current events. He used the term FAKE NEWS to describe what he was doing and everybody had a good laugh. Well, not everybody. Not the people who were the brunt of the jokes. They didn't think it was funny at all. And then one day, one of them (we're still not sure if he even understood what he was doing exactly) started using the term to reject any actual REAL NEWS that got in his way. Which would have been only a minor annoyance if he hadn't gone on to be elected President of the United States, the single most powerful man on the planet."
* he said, revealing a dubious optimism that A. Trump will lose in November, B. America as we know it won't go down with him, and C. meaning-rationality-reason will actually still be a thing in the future
posted by philip-random at 9:10 AM on September 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
The US Govt pioneered this stuff, maybe they are already doing something to counter this, and we can't know it?
posted by otherchaz at 10:59 AM on September 5, 2020
posted by otherchaz at 10:59 AM on September 5, 2020
Who says your hypothetical future cultural historian has to be American?
posted by eviemath at 11:02 AM on September 5, 2020
posted by eviemath at 11:02 AM on September 5, 2020
Wow
posted by otherchaz at 11:04 AM on September 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by otherchaz at 11:04 AM on September 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Amazing research, amazing (in the worst and best ways) story.
The pro-police response to BLM has got me thinking about the tools of bullying, especially those used by popular kids who are friendly with the administration. This story spells it out step-by-step. The rumors about how the victims are liars, spread to people with high social status who are likely to be believed (American newspapers, with their hard-won reputation for being more than just propaganda outlets, being a primary target). The rumors about how the victims are mean, nasty, greedy people (Communists who will send all of your children to re-education camps while they themselves are wining and dining and hiring prostitutes). The intimidation and neutralization of people with high status who've seen through what's going on (getting journalists who were figuring out what was happening reassigned).
I wonder where Dulles learned to bully so well, and why he developed such a taste for it.
posted by clawsoon at 11:26 AM on September 5, 2020 [6 favorites]
The pro-police response to BLM has got me thinking about the tools of bullying, especially those used by popular kids who are friendly with the administration. This story spells it out step-by-step. The rumors about how the victims are liars, spread to people with high social status who are likely to be believed (American newspapers, with their hard-won reputation for being more than just propaganda outlets, being a primary target). The rumors about how the victims are mean, nasty, greedy people (Communists who will send all of your children to re-education camps while they themselves are wining and dining and hiring prostitutes). The intimidation and neutralization of people with high status who've seen through what's going on (getting journalists who were figuring out what was happening reassigned).
I wonder where Dulles learned to bully so well, and why he developed such a taste for it.
posted by clawsoon at 11:26 AM on September 5, 2020 [6 favorites]
Actual fake news is real.
Lisa: is it a true story?
Homer: well, it's true that it's a story.
[Perhaps, quoting from memory ...]
posted by sapagan at 2:07 PM on September 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Lisa: is it a true story?
Homer: well, it's true that it's a story.
[Perhaps, quoting from memory ...]
posted by sapagan at 2:07 PM on September 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
The US Govt pioneered this stuff
I'm sorry, that's not entirely wrong. The operation syllabi is good but unless Orson Welles is included, or find a prior example, which is likely, no. Though the Guatamala thing was peace time, the framework is the same. Alot of early black -op era knowledge was taught by the Brits and they are good. Take Sefton Delmer
maybe they are already doing something to counter this, and we can't know it?
Not sure about that but the operation made BAD IKE with nixon as rodeo clown hiring Howard Hunt with his binoculars and duct tape covert entry procedures going forward.
posted by clavdivs at 4:02 PM on September 5, 2020
I'm sorry, that's not entirely wrong. The operation syllabi is good but unless Orson Welles is included, or find a prior example, which is likely, no. Though the Guatamala thing was peace time, the framework is the same. Alot of early black -op era knowledge was taught by the Brits and they are good. Take Sefton Delmer
maybe they are already doing something to counter this, and we can't know it?
Not sure about that but the operation made BAD IKE with nixon as rodeo clown hiring Howard Hunt with his binoculars and duct tape covert entry procedures going forward.
posted by clavdivs at 4:02 PM on September 5, 2020
I wonder where Dulles learned to bully so well, and why he developed such a taste for it.
After Instanbul?...helping "expose the Protocols of the Elders of Zion as a forgery. Dulles unsuccessfully attempted to persuade the US State Department to publicly denounce the forgery."...I'd say Bern.
posted by clavdivs at 4:20 PM on September 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
After Instanbul?...helping "expose the Protocols of the Elders of Zion as a forgery. Dulles unsuccessfully attempted to persuade the US State Department to publicly denounce the forgery."...I'd say Bern.
posted by clavdivs at 4:20 PM on September 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
an early model.
John R. Rathom.
"The man who called himself John Revelstoke Rathom was probably born John Solomon in Melbourne, Australia, on July 4, 1868. The story he told of his early years is at many points unverifiable, at others questionable, and at others demonstrably false...Rathom became a naturalized American citizen on March 25, 1906, in Chicago. He later claimed that he cherished the congratulatory telegrams he received on that occasion from William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. McKinley had died more than four and a half years earlier...Rathom campaigned for the U.S. to enter World War I in support of the British. Under his management, the Providence Journal produced a series of exposés of German espionage and propaganda in the U.S. In 2004, that same newspaper reported that much of Rathom's coverage was a fraud: "In truth, the Providence Journal had acquired numerous inside scoops on German activities, mostly from British intelligence sources who used Rathom to plant anti-German stories in the American media."
and then the "Reporting on the Newport sex scandal".
posted by clavdivs at 4:51 PM on September 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
John R. Rathom.
"The man who called himself John Revelstoke Rathom was probably born John Solomon in Melbourne, Australia, on July 4, 1868. The story he told of his early years is at many points unverifiable, at others questionable, and at others demonstrably false...Rathom became a naturalized American citizen on March 25, 1906, in Chicago. He later claimed that he cherished the congratulatory telegrams he received on that occasion from William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. McKinley had died more than four and a half years earlier...Rathom campaigned for the U.S. to enter World War I in support of the British. Under his management, the Providence Journal produced a series of exposés of German espionage and propaganda in the U.S. In 2004, that same newspaper reported that much of Rathom's coverage was a fraud: "In truth, the Providence Journal had acquired numerous inside scoops on German activities, mostly from British intelligence sources who used Rathom to plant anti-German stories in the American media."
and then the "Reporting on the Newport sex scandal".
posted by clavdivs at 4:51 PM on September 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Sam Adams and the Journal of Occurrences
wait, not quite an American.
posted by clavdivs at 5:07 PM on September 5, 2020
wait, not quite an American.
posted by clavdivs at 5:07 PM on September 5, 2020
I wonder where Dulles learned to bully so well, and why he developed such a taste for it.
I've long surmised that assholes from school days either self-destructed, became criminals, or went pro. A sliver overcame it. Stephen Miller is the contemporary example of this, though I don't know how he compares with Dulles.
posted by rhizome at 7:31 PM on September 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
I've long surmised that assholes from school days either self-destructed, became criminals, or went pro. A sliver overcame it. Stephen Miller is the contemporary example of this, though I don't know how he compares with Dulles.
posted by rhizome at 7:31 PM on September 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
not good, look at Dulles' bio... yeah...The
American Whig–Cliosophic Society
posted by clavdivs at 9:02 PM on September 5, 2020
American Whig–Cliosophic Society
posted by clavdivs at 9:02 PM on September 5, 2020
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In today's parlance, "fake news" is most commonly used to mean either actual reporting that is unfavorable to Trump, or the genuine news organizations that potentially will develop such reporting. For about one week, it denoted the actual disinformation campaigns (Hillary has cancer!) run in the 2016 election. I wish people wouldn't
use the term as some kind of hook for stories like this; it only legitimizes the notion of the "lamestream media", and catapults the propaganda.
posted by thelonius at 10:28 PM on September 4, 2020 [15 favorites]