-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On 01/12/2016 08:45 AM, Michael Best wrote: (quoting somebody's ad copy:)
Indeed, within these pages, Pacepa, along with his co-author, historian and law professor Ronald Rychlak, expose some of the most consequential yet largely unknown disinformation campaigns of our lifetime.
I was very disappointed that the book in question has all the earmarks of partisan disinformation in and of itself. The networked communication revolution has greatly reduced the usefulness of censorship and secrecy, and disinformation campaigns have grown dramatically to compensate for this development. We do need a better understanding and wider public recognition of the theory, applications and history of black propaganda and disinformation, if we want to avoid and counter this form of deception. In social media venues where populist and/or radical political interests are prominently represented, black propaganda in support of State and corporate interests is rampant. Ideological converts who promote, defend and embellish disinformation narratives supplied by front groups dominate many discussions. These campaigns do more than poison wells where factual information suppressed in broadcast media is available. They also damage the image and dilute the message of populist and activist groups in real life, by seeding their organizational meetings and public events with ideological converts who vocally advocate for delusional beliefs and self defeating methods. Using black propaganda and front groups to co-opt, discredit and neutralize populist and radical movements is an old and well established feature of political warfare. Adapting this strategy to the Internet environment requires new tactics, and presents new opportunities. Activist groups targeted for marginalization, division and termination by well funded adversaries need to adapt their own techniques to counter new threats and exploit new opportunities presented by their opponents in the network environment. Disinformation has inherent advantages over real information: It can be designed from the ground up for simplicity, emotional appeal and behavioral impact. Against this, truth has the advantages of internal consistency, relevance, and appeal to a more intelligent audience - so, when truth is attacked by disinformation operators, it needs all the help it can get to stand even a slight chance of propagating and affecting human behavior in the real world. :o/ -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1 iQIcBAEBAgAGBQJWlsgKAAoJEDZ0Gg87KR0L1tEP/jEgvJoXIFPaGhMSNlnb9/Bd gnQ0HHPEvaZn7KXeWGJaNrO5TNp9flfFDyq0cS/wt1NkSAm7LBn/qMq67OY4VpMj rV++JbBrvO17hc/E7S7itfShmqy/8CAMvXttwxt4mbc6j/jz0gkWdNIO5lUxjcES l+ATFejYX/+AuaiIWbkDLhBkRLeAA1ldrTRf1KyaRL3j1YegO806stRPY8iEdgWg /13MgLX91BqyAeMgZwA4UbcLY2Gk0VdTq6tDQ7Rrz3bBhQJa5oPGLtLRO0sQZQim AtNyVN3aqKCQNCTo0/v72tgUuKVdL0w2YxUe8luDl4trKFWv9gXHDqHm+FqBMqKK BRU6QpVXORtFomx+V+9zyzLxV+VAOuTDOefv3iWHZFLVZZ6gGCIsE+l9dul/UQOI FKicc9a8KYBcLD1xLaf7d1LYvBzYM3dvK5ZPAfwfSIbH2KlgTfMvAYEYBlH9mkIv 6+xPxOmMugXnvww+wEwCIaQq4U0DOX9GwkBFmEb0CS0KsEEd3mZXxycXRkZA+s3H Q6fv8/fay60lX+1q8ZNZ9e15xtDcqJFCLLmAFz0Pw8oAFnzfLzTZuI7Xfhi36M3P XRbQBcD02envraR/kwCwObZpSHdu0fgfnOEr7u14QvkSCvLYgUOOj4WmaybsD7V1 T7nq6fqCFsl/akXeRf3J =5IJF -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----