Saturday, February 10, 2018

The Origins of ‘Disinformation’

It happened in the 1980s that a Russian word gave birth to an English neologism, according to Clifford D. May. The English word is “disinformation,” which means attempting to deceive public opinion for strategic purposes, says he.

Be that as it may, disinformation as he defines it is actually a pursuit that started long before the 1980s. In fact, we can go back to antiquity and find examples of armies that were deceived by false information, and led into traps that doomed them. This kind of tricks as well as palace intrigues based on lies; and political games based on deception, have played a major role in shaping the history of our species.

As it happens, there is also evidence that trickery, the way that May defines disinformation, is practiced by other species to surprise and attack unwary preys. As well, female monkeys were observed to devise elaborate schemes to avoid having sex with the aging alpha male in favor of eloping with a younger suitor.

However, disinformation using wireless communication had a resolute beginnings only at the start of the Second World War when the combatants sent false information about the movement of their forces into the aether. It was meant to be captured by the enemy and acted upon. When the enemy did just that, he found himself trapped and annihilated by a camouflaged opponent that was waiting for him.

This technology developed further and gave impetus to the decision of the radio networks to broadcast information that aided the war effort. The BBC, for example, is reputed to have been a major player during the Second World War. Shortly after that, a new phenomenon appeared on the international scene. It was the work of the Judeo-Israelis who set-up “pirate radio stations” dedicated to badmouthing Egypt. I used to listen to them in the 1950s when I lived in Egypt. All I can say is that they were laughable.

As far as I can determine, this was the first time such a model was tried. The stations would not reveal their location but would identify themselves by pseudonyms like “The Truth about Egypt” and other deceptive names. I also know that America's so-called “Radio Free Europe” came into being around that time. I never tuned to it, and so I do not know how closely it imitated the Jewish model. I also tuned to the Voice of America in the early 1960s when I was still in Egypt. All I can say is that the programming was as unimaginative as it could be.

Now more than half a century later, America's attempt at interacting with the people of the region, is done via a television station called al-Horrah, which means “free” in Arabic. I watched it a few times and could not help but visualize American individuals speak with the voice of their Jewish masters. The message was not that of freedom; it was Jewish propaganda blurted out by American subordinates. I can assure you that no Arab who looks at that thing will believe America deserves his respect.

Today, according to Clifford May, “using social media, sophisticated tech platforms and cyber weapons, the Russian government is running a [massive disinformation] offensive.” He explains how Russia does that, and then asks the question: “Why is Mr. Putin doing this?” And he answers: “His mission is to restore the power Russia lost when the Soviet Union collapsed”.

Clifford May's problem is that he knows the readers are sophisticated enough to scoff at what he says because the truth is out and known to everyone. It is to the effect that everybody is doing it to everybody––including friends to friends––and that America is also doing it to its own citizens. But Clifford May wants to close his argument with these words: “The United States has no interest in ruling the world. It has a vital interest in preventing authoritarians from ruling the world.” So how does he get from here to there?

May could find only one way to convince the readers that it is okay for America to do these things but not okay for the Russians to do them. It was to badmouth the Russians and their President Vladimir Putin. And so he devoted a few paragraphs doing just that before closing his argument. Here is what he said:

“Putin is authoritarian; he regards democratic governments as weak, decadent and bound to fail or be defeated. Undermining democratic institutions increases Mr. Putin's legitimacy. He declared last year that whoever becomes the leader in the area of [disinformation and artificial intelligence] will rule the world.”

And Clifford May seems to be saying: “Better us ruling the world than the Russians”.

Well, that's how things were after the Second World War. But then the Jews infiltrated America and tried to use its power and prestige to turn the world into their fiefdom. They lost the battle, and in the process, stripped America of both its power and its prestige.

So why don't they just get the hell out of the way and let the Americans restore their country to its former glory?