Cutting the Puppet Strings

To say the last election was contentious is a bit of an understatement. It underscored social unrest we haven’t seen since the 60s. In the midst of all the chaos and rhetoric, have you ever wondered who is pulling the emotional strings?

The answer might surprise you.

It is called dezinformatsiya. Russian, meaning disinformation. Not to be confused with misinformation. Misinformation is not always intentional. According to Lt. General Ion Mihai Pacepa, the highest-ranking Soviet defector to America, “Dezinformatsiya is a secret intelligence tool.” It is the black art of war, uniquely mastered by the Soviet Union. Although it has been around since 1923, it was launched against the US at the onset of the Vietnam War.

I’m willing to bet, you have been affected by it.

Whether you’re old enough to remember or served in the Vietnam War, or just have an opinion about America’s role, the very name carries a halo of turmoil.

Baby killers. Atrocities. American greed.

America has never been the same.

In his book Disinformation, the Lt. General explains,

The general perception in the United States is that America’s antiwar movement has been a homegrown product. In reality, it was the result of a still very secret dezinformatsiya operation ignited by the KGB during the Vietnam war for the dual purpose of counteracting American efforts to protect the world against communist expansion, and of creating doubt around the world about American power, judgment and credibility. Unfortunately, it has fulfilled both aims.

…countless vitriolic dezinformatsiya articles and photographs supposedly depicting the debaucheries committed by the Genghis Khan-style style American military against Vietnamese civilians. All these materials were produced by the KGB disinformation department and contained basically fabricated descriptions of American atrocities committed against civilians in Vietnam, as well as counterfeited pictures supporting the allegations.

The stories of our soldiers coming home to be spat upon, maligned, and hated was a very real result of America believing the disinformation. According to the Lt. General this attack’s codename was, “Ares.”

Ares was more successful than its puppeteers dreamed it would be, as Pacepa recounted his conversation with Yuri Andropov, of the KGB as he boasted,

…it turned America against her own government’ Andropov started off in his soft voice, ‘it damaged Americans’ foreign policy consensus, poisoned her domestic debate, and built a credibility gap between America and European public opinion that was wide and deep. It also transformed the world’s leftists into deadly enemies of American “imperialism.” Now all we had to do was to continue planting the seeds of Aries and water them day after day. Eventually, American leftists would seize upon our Aries and would start pursuing it of their own accord. In the end, our original involvement would be forgotten and Aries will take on a life of its own.”

Practically prophetic.

“American leftists would seize upon our Aries and would start pursuing it of their own accord.” John Kerry seized it and launched his political career. Kerry testified to congress that he was told of American soldiers committing horrific atrocities. His testimony was almost word for word the disinformation as it was seeded. To this day he has never revealed his sources.

Before you file this in the “ancient history” file of no consequence for today. Beside the fact that suicide among Vietnam vets is disproportionately high among veterans, understand this, disinformation campaigns are still happening–at warp speed. Enter the internet and social media.

A study conducted by MIT in 2019, revealed Russian troll farms ran the largest Facebook pages reaching 140 million US users collectively on a monthly basis. You don’t have to follow these pages in order to see the content. Facebook’s algorithums do the dirty work for them. They targeted Christians, Black Americans, and Native Americans.

You might be thinking, yeah I get it about the Vietnam thing, that’s tragic. But I’m really careful on social media and where I get my news.

What would you say if I told you that this study found 19 of the top 20 Christian Facebook pages were run by Russian troll farms? The waves of dezinformatsiya are still washing over our culture.

“[Dezinformatsiya is] like cocaine. If you sniff once or twice, it may not change your life. If you use it every day though, it will make you an addict–a different man.” Yuri Andropov – KGB

America has proven Andropov was correct.

We have changed. And American leftists are puppets, expanding the disinformation beyond Andropov’s dreams.

The only way we will be able to fight back is with discerning minds and demanding truth. Look for the strings of information manipulating us, and call them what they are- disinformation.

One of the rules of disinformation is that it must have a kernal of truth to it. When you hear, or see, a story that turns you against your government, military, or religion, look at that fraction of truth. Then take a hard look at the information incasing it and how it makes you feel. Does it invoke anger? Does it play into a fear? Does it divide Americans against one another–them versus us.

So many of those types of stories have made their way into the mainstream, just like it did then.

As we go into a new (election) year, it’s important to understand that dezinformatsiya is not a conspiracy theory, and you can bet your bottom dollar, you’ll find its fingerprints on many of the outrageous stories you care enough to examine closely.

Consider this: If dezinformatsiya manipulated Americans enough to induce a nation to spit on our own soldiers and changed the culture in a generation, how much more damage do you think they are doing today?

Is there a story you have read or heard, that perhaps now looks a little different?