{"id":55736,"date":"2021-03-10T18:56:05","date_gmt":"2021-03-10T22:56:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=55736"},"modified":"2021-03-10T18:56:05","modified_gmt":"2021-03-10T22:56:05","slug":"the-entire-mainstream-media-has-been-taken-over-by-cias-operation-mockingbird","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=55736","title":{"rendered":"The Entire Mainstream Media Has Been Taken Over by CIA&#8217;s Operation Mockingbird"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Reuters and BBC Caught Taking Money for Propaganda Campaign<\/h1>\n<p><!--more-->Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Operation Mockingbird: CIA Control of Mainstream Media - The Full Story\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0KZjxjlI4x8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div id=\"bcr_UpdPnlStory\">\n<div id=\"bcr_pnlStoryAtAGlance\" class=\"story-glance\">\n<div class=\"story-highlights\">\n<h3 id=\"expanderHead\" data-jsid=\"expanderHead\">Story at-a-glance<\/h3>\n<div id=\"expanderContent\" data-jsid=\"expanderContent\">\n<ul>\n<li><span id=\"bcr_rptStory_cslStory_0\">Leaked documents reveal Reuters and BBC News have been involved in a covert program by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office to weaken Russia\u2019s influence through a multipronged propaganda campaign<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span id=\"bcr_rptStory_cslStory_1\">Operation Mockingbird was a clandestine CIA media infiltration campaign launched in 1948 under the Office of Special Projects. The CIA spent about one-third of its budget on bribes to hundreds of journalists who published fake stories at the CIA\u2019s request<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span id=\"bcr_rptStory_cslStory_2\">However, infiltration and manipulation of the media has been a routine occurrence since 1915, when J.P. Morgan interests, including the steel and shipbuilding industries, purchased editorial control of 25 of the most influential newspapers, thereby allowing them to control news about military preparedness, financial policies and other news that were crucial to their private and corporate interests<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span id=\"bcr_rptStory_cslStory_3\">Operation Mockingbird was the CIA\u2019s effort to consolidate and expand this secret hold over the media some three decades later<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span id=\"bcr_rptStory_cslStory_4\">While the propaganda messages change with the times, the basic modus operandi remains the same to this day. If anything, the system has only gotten more efficient and effective, as the number of major media outlets have shrunk and a vast majority of journalists simply parrot what\u2019s reported by the three global news agencies<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"bodytext\" class=\"bodytextdiv\">\n<p>Operation Mockingbird,<sup><span id=\"edn1\" data-hash=\"#ednref1\">1<\/span>,<\/sup><sup><span id=\"edn2\" data-hash=\"#ednref2\">2<\/span><\/sup> publicly revealed during a 1975 Congressional hearing, was a clandestine CIA media infiltration campaign launched in 1948 under the Office of Special Projects.<sup><span id=\"edn3\" data-hash=\"#ednref3\">3<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>The CIA reportedly spent $1 billion a year (about one-third of its entire budget<sup><span id=\"edn4\" data-hash=\"#ednref4\">4<\/span><\/sup>) on under-the-table bribes to hundreds of American journalists who in return published fake stories at the CIA\u2019s request. CIA-recruited journalists worked in most major news organizations, including CBS News, Time, Life, Newsweek and The New York Times, just to name a few.<sup><span id=\"edn5\" data-hash=\"#ednref5\">5<\/span><\/sup> Later on, the campaign expanded to include foreign media as well.<sup><span id=\"edn6\" data-hash=\"#ednref6\">6<\/span><\/sup> As reported by the Free Press:<sup><span id=\"edn7\" data-hash=\"#ednref7\">7<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u201cIn 1976, Senator Frank Church\u2019s investigation into the CIA exposed their corruption of the media. The Church Committee reported: \u2018The CIA currently maintains a network of several hundred foreign individuals around the world who provide intelligence for the CIA and at times attempt to influence opinion through the use of covert propaganda.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><em>These individuals provide the CIA with direct access to a large number of newspapers and periodicals, scores of press services and news agencies, radio and television stations, commercial book publishers, and other foreign media outlets\u2019 \u2026<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><em>The tactic was straightforward. False news reports or propaganda would be provided by CIA writers to knowing and unknowing reporters who would simply repeat the falsehoods over and over again.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>Reuters and BBC News Were Paid for Propaganda Campaign<\/h2>\n<p>While Operation Mockingbird may sound like ancient history, there\u2019s plenty of evidence to suggest it\u2019s still in full swing. During the Cold War, CIA propaganda disparaged communist ideologies. Today, it promotes radical socialist ideas that support a <a href=\"https:\/\/articles.mercola.com\/sites\/articles\/archive\/2020\/08\/30\/patrick-wood-technocracy.aspx\">technocratic economic system<\/a> instead.<\/p>\n<p>While the propaganda messages change with the times, the basic modus operandi of their dissemination remains the same. If anything, the system has only gotten more efficient and effective, as the number of major media outlets has shrunk over these past decades, and a vast majority of journalists and news anchors simply parrot what\u2019s reported by the three global news agencies.<\/p>\n<p>The CIA also isn\u2019t the only intelligence agency using the media for its own propaganda purposes. Leaked documents<sup><span id=\"edn8\" data-hash=\"#ednref8\">8<\/span><\/sup> reveal Reuters and BBC News have been involved in a covert program by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to weaken Russia\u2019s influence on its neighbors. In his extensive February 20, 2021, GrayZone article, Max Blumenthal writes:<sup><span id=\"edn9\" data-hash=\"#ednref9\">9<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u201cWorking through a shadowy department within the UK FCO known as the Counter Disinformation &amp; Media Development (CDMD), the media organizations operated alongside a collection of intelligence contractors in a secret entity known simply as \u2018the Consortium.\u2019<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><em>Through training programs of Russian journalists overseen by Reuters, the British Foreign Office sought to produce an \u2018attitudinal change in the participants,\u2019 promoting a \u2018positive impact\u2019 on their \u2018perception of the UK\u2019 \u2026<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><em>In effect, the British government was seeking to infiltrate Russian media and propagate its own narrative through an influence network of Russian journalists trained in the UK \u2026<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u2018These revelations show that when MPs were railing about Russia, British agents were using the BBC and Reuters to deploy precisely the same tactics that politicians and media commentators were accusing Russia of using,\u2019 Chris Williamson, a former UK Labour MP who attempted to apply public scrutiny to the CDMD\u2019s covert activities and was stonewalled on national security grounds, told The Grayzone.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u2018The BBC and Reuters portray themselves as an unimpeachable, impartial, and authoritative source of world news,\u2019 Williamson continued, \u2018but both are now hugely compromised by these disclosures. Double standards like this just bring establishment politicians and corporate media hacks into further disrepute.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"productad\">\n<div class=\"label\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Reuters, BBC Hired to Promote Pro-NATO Narratives<\/h2>\n<p>The leaked documents show both Reuters and the BBC received \u201cmultimillion-dollar contracts to advance the British state\u2019s interventionist aims.\u201d The FCO funded:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The cultivation of Russian journalists<\/li>\n<li>The establishment of \u201cinfluence networks\u201d in and around Russia<\/li>\n<li>The promotion of pro-NATO narratives in Russian-speaking regions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In its proposals, Reuters stated it has 15,000 journalists and staff within its global network, including 400 journalists within Russia. Reuters and BBC carried out their covert influencing mission in partnership with other high-profile media companies, including Bellingcat, Meduza and Mediazona.<\/p>\n<p>Overseeing the operation was the Zinc Network, an intelligence contractor, which was also responsible for the establishment of a network of Russian and Central Asian YouTubers who were not registered as external sources. The Zinc Network also claimed to have the ability to \u201cactivate a range of content; to support anti-government protests inside Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This isn\u2019t the first time Reuters and the BBC have been implicated in a Mockingbird-type media influencing operation. Documents declassified in January 2020 showed the British government funded Reuters \u201cthroughout the 1960s and 1970s to assist an anti-Soviet propaganda organization run by the MI6 intelligence agency,\u201d Blumenthal writes.<sup><span id=\"edn10\" data-hash=\"#ednref10\">10<\/span><\/sup> The BBC, meanwhile, was used as \u201ca pass-through to conceal payments\u201d to Reuters.<\/p>\n<h2>180-Degrees From the Truth<\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s no small irony that most of the organizations claiming to promote truth and counter disinformation are in fact doing the exact opposite. The Counter Disinformation &amp; Media Development (CDMD) group sounds very much like the <a href=\"https:\/\/articles.mercola.com\/sites\/articles\/archive\/2021\/02\/04\/forbes-attacks-mercola.aspx\">Centre for Countering Digital Hate<\/a> (CCDH).<\/p>\n<p>The CCDH is an opaquely funded group run by Imran Ahmed, who is also a member of the Steering Committee on Countering Extremism Pilot Task Force under the British government\u2019s Commission for Countering Extremism.<\/p>\n<p>Ahmed has gone on record saying he considers anti-vaxxers \u201can extremist group that pose a national security risk,\u201d<sup><span id=\"edn11\" data-hash=\"#ednref11\">11<\/span><\/sup> and admits tracking and spying on 425 vaccine-related Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter accounts.<sup><span id=\"edn12\" data-hash=\"#ednref12\">12<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>In addition to stating that medical and scientific professionals must \u201cconvince the public that COVID is dangerous and give them confidence that a vaccine is safe and effective,\u201d<sup><span id=\"edn13\" data-hash=\"#ednref13\">13<\/span><\/sup> the CCDH is also calling for deplatforming anyone who questions vaccines,<sup><span id=\"edn14\" data-hash=\"#ednref14\">14<\/span><\/sup> and to \u201chold platforms accountable\u201d through fines, criminal sanctions and other measures that can impact the platform\u2019s bottom line.<\/p>\n<p>So, just as the CDMD is actually not countering disinformation but, rather, creating it, the CCDH is not in the business of countering digital hate; it\u2019s actively creating and <a href=\"https:\/\/articles.mercola.com\/sites\/articles\/archive\/2021\/01\/08\/ccdh-dr-mercola-censorship.aspx\">promoting online hate<\/a> by baselessly labeling millions of law-abiding parents \u2014 whose only crime is to be concerned about their children\u2019s health \u2014 as extremist threats and enemies of the state.<\/p>\n<h2>Media Have Become Integral Part of Intelligence Spy Network<\/h2>\n<p>Other media reports<sup><span id=\"edn15\" data-hash=\"#ednref15\">15<\/span>,<\/sup><sup><span id=\"edn16\" data-hash=\"#ednref16\">16<\/span>,<\/sup><sup><span id=\"edn17\" data-hash=\"#ednref17\">17<\/span><\/sup> have also highlighted the <a href=\"https:\/\/articles.mercola.com\/sites\/articles\/archive\/2020\/12\/01\/anti-vaccine-propaganda-censorship.aspx\">role of intelligence agencies in the global effort to eliminate \u201canti-vaccine propaganda\u201d<\/a> from public discussion, and the fact that they\u2019re using sophisticated cyberwarfare tools to do so. For example, independent <a href=\"https:\/\/articles.mercola.com\/sites\/articles\/archive\/2020\/11\/15\/operation-warp-speed.aspx\">investigative journalist Whitney Webb<\/a> writes:<sup><span id=\"edn18\" data-hash=\"#ednref18\">18<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u201cBritish and American state intelligence agencies are \u2018weaponizing truth\u2019 to quash vaccine hesitancy as both nations prepare for mass inoculations, in a recently announced \u2018cyber war\u2019 to be commanded by AI-powered arbiters of truth against information sources that challenge official narratives \u2026<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><em>The UK\u2019s GCHQ [Government Communications Headquarters<sup><span id=\"edn19\" data-hash=\"#ednref19\">19<\/span><\/sup>] \u2018has begun an offensive cyber-operation to disrupt anti-vaccine propaganda being spread by hostile states\u2019 and \u2018is using a toolkit developed to tackle disinformation and recruitment material peddled by Islamic State\u2019 to do so.<\/em><sup><span id=\"edn20\" data-hash=\"#ednref20\">20<\/span><\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><em>In addition, the UK government has ordered the British military\u2019s 77th Brigade, which specializes in \u2018information warfare,\u2019 to launch an online campaign to counter \u2018deceptive narratives\u2019 about COVID-19 vaccine candidates.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><em>The newly announced GCHQ \u2018cyber war\u2019 will not only take down \u2018anti-vaccine propaganda\u2019 but will also seek to \u2018disrupt the operations of the cyberactors responsible for it, including encrypting their data so they cannot access it and blocking their communications with each other.\u2019<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><em>The effort will also involve GCHQ reaching out to other countries in the \u2018Five Eyes\u2019 alliance (U.S., Australia, New Zealand and Canada) to alert their partner agencies in those countries to target such \u2018propaganda\u2019 sites hosted within their borders.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>Intelligence-Led Information Warfare Against the Public<\/h2>\n<p>Clues that U.S. intelligence agencies \u2014 not just the CIA but also the FBI \u2014 support this cyberwar against the public can also be found in a white paper<sup><span id=\"edn21\" data-hash=\"#ednref21\">21<\/span><\/sup> published in the InfraGard Journal in June 2019. InfraGard, a nonprofit national security group, collaborates with the FBI<sup><span id=\"edn22\" data-hash=\"#ednref22\">22<\/span><\/sup> on educational and information-sharing initiatives \u201cthat help mitigate threats\u201d to national security.<sup><span id=\"edn23\" data-hash=\"#ednref23\">23<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>The InfraGard paper<sup><span id=\"edn24\" data-hash=\"#ednref24\">24<\/span><\/sup> claims the American anti-vaccine movement is being orchestrated by Russian government-aligned organizations seeking to \u201csow discontent and distrust in topics and initiatives that serve U.S. interests,\u201d<sup><span id=\"edn25\" data-hash=\"#ednref25\">25<\/span><\/sup> and that \u201cThe biggest threat in controlling an outbreak comes from those who categorically reject vaccination.\u201d<sup><span id=\"edn26\" data-hash=\"#ednref26\">26<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n<aside class=\"takeaway tamiddle\">Primer\u2019s ultimate goal is to use their AI to entirely automate the shaping of public perceptions and become the arbiter of \u2018truth,\u2019 as defined by the state. ~ Whitney Webb<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Other evidence includes the fact that the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Special Operations Command have awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to the U.S.-based \u201cmachine intelligence\u201d company Primer, to develop \u201cthe first-ever machine learning platform to automatically identify and assess suspected disinformation.\u201d<sup><span id=\"edn27\" data-hash=\"#ednref27\">27<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>According to Webb, \u201cPrimer\u2019s ultimate goal is to use their AI to entirely automate the shaping of public perceptions and become the arbiter of \u2018truth,\u2019 as defined by the state.\u201d<sup><span id=\"edn28\" data-hash=\"#ednref28\">28<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>The self-appointed arbiter of truth NewsGuard \u2014 which rates websites on criteria of \u201ccredibility\u201d and \u201ctransparency\u201d \u2014 is also partnered with both the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Department of Defense,<sup><span id=\"edn29\" data-hash=\"#ednref29\">29<\/span><\/sup> which strongly suggests government support (if not direct involvement) of censorship.<\/p>\n<p>NewsGuard is also funded by the PR firm Publicis, which also appears to have an important role in this information war. You can learn more about this part of the propaganda arm in \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/articles.mercola.com\/sites\/articles\/archive\/2021\/02\/16\/publicis-groupe.aspx\">The Web of Players Trying to Silence Truth<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Most Mainstream Media Are Now Propagandists<\/h2>\n<p>Were it not for the mainstream media pumping out misleading if not flat-out false information on a daily basis for months on end, the COVID-19 pandemic would have been a mere blip on the public\u2019s radar. None of the draconian, freedom-robbing measures would have been remotely possible.<\/p>\n<p>Considering the consistency of the narratives across the world this past year, it\u2019s inconceivable that there isn\u2019t some central \u201cagency\u201d of sorts directing it all. And, if so, there clearly must be a reason behind it. One does not fear-monger for no reason whatsoever. It has a purpose.<\/p>\n<p>Historically, fear has been used by every would-be authoritarian and totalitarian regime you can think of, so there\u2019s every reason to suspect the same applies now. The main difference is that today\u2019s totalitarian ruler is more or less wholly unknown.<\/p>\n<p>Who is it that wants to rule the world\u2019s population through fear? Who is trying to take control over the whole globe? Who is guiding and instructing virtually all government leaders? Intelligence agencies and their media partners undoubtedly play key roles, but they\u2019re unlikely to be the true core of the power structure behind it all.<\/p>\n<p>No, the real power and leadership resides with the technocratic elite, the members of which have quietly and diligently worked to forward the agenda of a New World Order (NWO) for decades. What was once known as the NWO is now referred to as the Great Reset and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, with a public focus on a \u201cgreen\u201d carbon-based economy.<\/p>\n<p>The not so public focus is technological surveillance and control over every facet of everyone\u2019s life, from health and civic involvement to labor, education and economy. Unfortunately, members of the technocracy no longer carry member cards or pay membership dues, which obscures their affiliation, but certain organizations are so intimately involved in furthering the Great Reset agenda that you can safely assume a majority of their members play some role in this scheme.<\/p>\n<h2>The Council on Foreign Relations<\/h2>\n<p>Aside from intelligence agencies, another key player behind the Great Reset is the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). As explained by Swiss Policy Research, \u201cExecutives and top journalists of almost all major U.S. media outlets have long been members of the influential Council on Foreign Relations.\u201d<sup><span id=\"edn30\" data-hash=\"#ednref30\">30<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>Not to be confused with the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations or the European Council on Foreign Relations, CFR is a nonprofit think tank, the 5,000-plus members of which also include past and present presidents, politicians, secretaries of state, CIA directors, bankers, lawyers, academic professors and corporate leaders, just to name a few.<sup><span id=\"edn31\" data-hash=\"#ednref31\">31<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>CFR also operates the David Rockefeller Studies Program, which in turn advises the White House on foreign policy matters. Overall, the CFR wields incredible power and influence over the U.S. White House and its policies. As reported by Swiss Policy Research:<sup><span id=\"edn32\" data-hash=\"#ednref32\">32<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u201cIn his famous article about \u2018The American Establishment,\u2019 political columnist Richard H. Rovere noted: \u2018The directors of the CFR make up a sort of Presidium for that part of the Establishment that guides our destiny as a nation \u2026<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><em>[I]t rarely fails to get one of its members, or at least one of its allies, into the White House. In fact, it generally is able to see to it that both nominees are men acceptable to it.\u2019 It was not until the 2016 election that the Council couldn\u2019t, apparently, prevail.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>The Synchronization of Fake News<\/h2>\n<p>CFR has two international affiliates: the Bilderberg Group and the Trilateral Commission, both of which were established by CFR leaders \u201cto foster elite cooperation at the global level.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Well-known names in the Trilateral group\u2019s U.S. branch include David Rockefeller, Henry Kissinger, Michael Bloomberg and Google heavyweights Eric Schmidt and Susan Molinari, vice president for public policy at Google. Many of its board members are also members of the Aspen Institute, which grooms and mentors executives from around the world about the subtleties of globalization.<\/p>\n<p>As you can see in the graphic below, major media are well represented in all three groups. As mentioned, CFR members also include current and former CIA directors. In his book, \u201cAmerican War Machine,\u201d<sup><span id=\"edn33\" data-hash=\"#ednref33\">33<\/span>,<\/sup><sup><span id=\"edn34\" data-hash=\"#ednref34\">34<\/span><\/sup> Peter Dale Scott also documents the ties between CFR, the CIA, the national security apparatus and the banking industry. Taken together, these ties explain how a false narrative (whatever it might be) can be so widely coordinated and synchronized.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"center-img\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" mlazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/media.mercola.com\/ImageServer\/Public\/2021\/March\/media-network.jpg\" alt=\"CFR media network\" data-mlazyload-src=\"https:\/\/media.mercola.com\/ImageServer\/Public\/2021\/March\/media-network.jpg\" \/><\/figure>\n<h2>Richard Stengel \u2014 Technocracy Poster Boy<\/h2>\n<p>Knowing what you now know about the CFR, comments by Richard Stengel, the top state media appointee for President Biden\u2019s transition team, will probably make a lot more sense.<\/p>\n<p>During a 2018 CFR forum on fake news, Stengel \u2014 a CFR member and Atlantic Council fellow, former State Department official for the Obama administration, former managing editor for Time magazine, strategic adviser to Snap Inc., which runs Snapchat and Bitmoji and a political analyst on MSNBC \u2014 insisted governments must use propaganda on their citizens.<sup><span id=\"edn35\" data-hash=\"#ednref35\">35<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>He repeated this sentiment in November 2020, after being appointed to President Biden\u2019s transition team, saying he\u2019s \u201cnot against propaganda. Every country does it, and they have to do it to their own population. And I don\u2019t necessarily think it\u2019s that awful.\u201d<sup><span id=\"edn36\" data-hash=\"#ednref36\">36<\/span><\/sup> As reported by The GrayZone:<sup><span id=\"edn37\" data-hash=\"#ednref37\">37<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u201cA committed crusader in what he openly describes as a global \u2018information war,\u2019 Stengel has proudly proclaimed his dedication to the careful management of the public\u2019s access to information.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Stengel has even proposed abolishing \u2014 \u201crethinking\u201d \u2014 the First Amendment, which guarantees the freedom of speech and press, \u201cfor practical reasons in society.\u201d<sup><span id=\"edn38\" data-hash=\"#ednref38\">38<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>Stengel\u2019s presence in the Biden administration may be an augury of things to come, considering he created a nonclassified government entity during his Obama years, specifically to combat Russian disinformation.<sup><span id=\"edn39\" data-hash=\"#ednref39\">39<\/span><\/sup> This entity, the Global Engagement Center, now facilitates the U.S. government\u2019s efforts to spread its own propaganda around the world.<\/p>\n<p>Stengel, with his close ties to several key centers of technocratic power \u2014 the U.S. government, the CFR, the Atlantic Council, mainstream media and Big Tech \u2014 is a veritable poster boy for modern technocracy, which makes his shameless promotion of censorship and propaganda more than a little understandable.<\/p>\n<div class=\"mbox-name-midpost\"><\/div>\n<h2>Pre-Mockingbird Media Manipulation<\/h2>\n<p>While Operation Mockingbird has earned a place in history as a point at which the free press was compromised, in reality, the infiltration of the press occurred long before the 1950s.<\/p>\n<p>In his February 9, 1917, Congressional remarks, Congressman Oscar Callaway explained the origin and execution of the plan to control and manipulate public opinion and mindset through media, which had taken shape just two years earlier:<sup><span id=\"edn40\" data-hash=\"#ednref40\">40<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u201cIn March, 1915, the J.P. Morgan interests, the steel, shipbuilding, and powder interest, and their subsidiary organizations, got together 12 men high up in the newspaper world and employed them to select the most influential newspapers in the United States and sufficient number of them to control generally the policy of the daily press.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><em>They found it was only necessary to purchase the control of 25 of the greatest papers. An agreement was reached; the policy of the papers was bought, to be paid for by the month; an editor was furnished for each paper to properly supervise and edit information regarding the questions of preparedness, militarism, financial policies, and other things of national and international nature considered vital to the interests of the purchasers.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Operation Mockingbird was essentially the CIA\u2019s effort to consolidate, while simultaneously expanding, this secret hold over the media some three decades later. It\u2019s a sobering thought to realize that virtually no one alive today has ever been informed by a truly free and independent press.<\/p>\n<p>While the situation has surely deteriorated in more recent years, the covert use of mainstream media to manipulate and misdirect the public to protect the interests of the elite few has been par for the course for over 100 years.<\/p>\n<h2>The Propaganda Multipliers<\/h2>\n<p>When it comes to the actual dissemination of fake news and propaganda, news agencies play a central role, and there\u2019s only three of them: The Associated Press (AP), Reuters and Agence France-Presse (AFP). As explained in the Swiss Policy Research post, \u201cThe Propaganda Multiplier\u201d:<sup><span id=\"edn41\" data-hash=\"#ednref41\">41<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u201cThe key role played by these agencies means Western media often report on the same topics, even using the same wording. In addition, governments, military and intelligence services use these global news agencies as multipliers to spread their messages around the world.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><em>A study of the Syria war coverage by nine leading European newspapers clearly illustrates these issues: 78% of all articles were based in whole or in part on agency reports \u2026 0% on investigative research. Moreover, 82% of all opinion pieces and interviews were in favor of a U.S. and NATO intervention, while propaganda was attributed exclusively to the opposite side.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>In short, until or unless at least one of these news agencies sends out a notice, national and local media are unlikely to report on an event. Even photos and videos are typically sourced directly from these global news agencies. This way, people hear, see and read the exact same message everywhere.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u201cThis dependency on the global agencies creates a striking similarity in international reporting: from Vienna to Washington, our media often report the same topics, using many of the same phrases \u2014 a phenomenon that would otherwise rather be associated with \u2018controlled media\u2019 in authoritarian states,\u201d<\/em> Swiss Policy Research writes.<sup><span id=\"edn42\" data-hash=\"#ednref42\">42<\/span><\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Even media outlets that have foreign correspondents on their payroll do not expect those correspondents to conduct independent investigations. They too simply report whatever the Big Three news agencies want covered, and from the angle they want it covered. What you end up with is a sort of echo-chamber where only one view is presented. As one might expect, this setup makes for a perfect propaganda machine.<\/p>\n<p>As noted by Swiss Policy Research, \u201cDue to the rather low journalistic performance of the mainstream media and their high dependence on a few news agencies, it is easy for interested parties to spread propaganda and disinformation in a supposedly respectable format to a worldwide audience.\u201d Intelligence agencies and defense ministries are well aware of this and use it with regularity, as surely does the CFR and the rest of the technocratic apparatus.<\/p>\n<p>In short, the current censoring and labeling of anything that threatens the technocratic agenda and the profiteering of its members as \u201cmisinformation\u201d and \u201cdisinformation\u201d is a top-down scheme. It\u2019s not random, by any means, and it\u2019s not driven by the opinions of private companies themselves. Social media companies, for example, are mere tools for the technocratic deep state, which operates worldwide.<\/p>\n<p>The question then becomes, if propaganda is that deeply entrenched in our media structure, how do we know what is true and what is not? There\u2019s no easy answer to this question, but the solution involves first becoming aware of the fact that media lies, and that there is a reason for why the media narrative is what it is. One way to evaluate the news is to ask yourself, \u201cWhy might they want me to think of this in this particular way?\u201d Eventually, patterns begin to form.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, to find the truth, you must be willing to look for it, and to look in places outside the mainstream media consortium. You have to ask questions and reason your way through the information you find. If something doesn\u2019t make sense yet you\u2019re told to accept it without question, it\u2019s probably propaganda.<\/p>\n<p>Any number of COVID-19 restrictions, for example, have been illogical in the extreme, which tells us they\u2019re not about protecting people from infection. It\u2019s about something else, and that something else has often been the purposeful destruction of small businesses to facilitate wealth transfer from the middle- and lower class to the top echelon. Ultimately, that is the plan, and to stop it, we have to stop believing the propaganda. It\u2019s just that simple. And that challenging.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"bcr_divfootnote\" class=\"sources-references narrow-width\"><span id=\"refclone1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"heading\" class=\"title link16\" data-jsid=\"sourcesReferencesBtn\">&#8211; Sources and References<\/h3>\n<div id=\"contentrefsources\" class=\"contentrefsources\" data-jsid=\"sourcesReferences\">\n<div id=\"bcr_divReferences\" class=\"references\">\n<ul id=\"footnote-references2\">\n<li><sup><span id=\"ednref2\" data-hash=\"#edn2\"><span id=\"lblReferenceNo\">2,<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<sup><span id=\"ednref4\" data-hash=\"#edn4\"><span id=\"lblReferenceNo\">4<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<a id=\"lnkReference\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sgtreport.com\/2019\/10\/operation-mockingbird-a-third-of-the-cia-budget-went-to-media-propaganda-operations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SGT Report October 7, 2019<\/a><\/li>\n<li><sup><span id=\"ednref3\" data-hash=\"#edn3\"><span 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id=\"lblReferenceNo\">13<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<a id=\"lnkReference\" href=\"https:\/\/f4d9b9d3-3d32-4f3a-afa6-49f8bf05279a.usrfiles.com\/ugd\/f4d9b9_25e2a7b73e8c4236a53c1002db4017b4.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Anti-Vaxx Playbook (PDF), Page 10<\/a><\/li>\n<li><sup><span id=\"ednref14\" data-hash=\"#edn14\"><span id=\"lblReferenceNo\">14<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<a id=\"lnkReference\" href=\"https:\/\/f4d9b9d3-3d32-4f3a-afa6-49f8bf05279a.usrfiles.com\/ugd\/f4d9b9_25e2a7b73e8c4236a53c1002db4017b4.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Anti-Vaxx Playbook (PDF), Page 43<\/a><\/li>\n<li><sup><span id=\"ednref15\" data-hash=\"#edn15\"><span id=\"lblReferenceNo\">15,<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<sup><span id=\"ednref20\" data-hash=\"#edn20\"><span id=\"lblReferenceNo\">20<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<a id=\"lnkReference\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.co.uk\/article\/gchq-in-cyberwar-on-anti-vaccine-propaganda-mcjgjhmb2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The 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href=\"https:\/\/unlimitedhangout.com\/2020\/11\/reports\/us-uk-intel-agencies-declare-cyber-war-on-independent-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Unlimited Hangout November 11, 2020<\/a><\/li>\n<li><sup><span id=\"ednref19\" data-hash=\"#edn19\"><span id=\"lblReferenceNo\">19<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<a id=\"lnkReference\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gchq.gov.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">GCHQ.gov.UK<\/a><\/li>\n<li><sup><span id=\"ednref21\" data-hash=\"#edn21\"><span id=\"lblReferenceNo\">21,<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<sup><span id=\"ednref24\" data-hash=\"#edn24\"><span id=\"lblReferenceNo\">24,<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<sup><span id=\"ednref25\" data-hash=\"#edn25\"><span id=\"lblReferenceNo\">25,<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<sup><span id=\"ednref26\" data-hash=\"#edn26\"><span id=\"lblReferenceNo\">26<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<a id=\"lnkReference\" href=\"https:\/\/www.infragardnational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/InfraGard_June_2019_Article3.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Infragard Journal June 2019; 2(1) (PDF)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><sup><span id=\"ednref22\" data-hash=\"#edn22\"><span id=\"lblReferenceNo\">22<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<a id=\"lnkReference\" href=\"https:\/\/www.infragardnational.org\/programs\/infragard-national-journal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">InfraGard<\/a><\/li>\n<li><sup><span id=\"ednref23\" data-hash=\"#edn23\"><span id=\"lblReferenceNo\">23<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<a id=\"lnkReference\" href=\"https:\/\/www.infragardnational.org\/about-us\/overview\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">InfraGard About Us<\/a><\/li>\n<li><sup><span id=\"ednref27\" data-hash=\"#edn27\"><span id=\"lblReferenceNo\">27<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<a id=\"lnkReference\" 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id=\"lblReferenceNo\">31<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<a id=\"lnkReference\" href=\"https:\/\/swprs.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/cfr-imperial-council-hdv.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Council on Foreign Relations: The Imperial Council of the US<\/a><\/li>\n<li><sup><span id=\"ednref33\" data-hash=\"#edn33\"><span id=\"lblReferenceNo\">33<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<a id=\"lnkReference\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/American-War-Machine-Connection-Afghanistan\/dp\/0742555941\/ref=cm_lmf_tit_2\/lewrockwell\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon.com American War Machine by Peter Dale Scott<\/a><\/li>\n<li><sup><span id=\"ednref34\" data-hash=\"#edn34\"><span id=\"lblReferenceNo\">34,<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<sup><span id=\"ednref40\" data-hash=\"#edn40\"><span id=\"lblReferenceNo\">40<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<a id=\"lnkReference\" href=\"https:\/\/www.globalresearch.ca\/cia-cfr-work-together-destroy-truth\/5690552\" target=\"_blank\" 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data-hash=\"#edn41\"><span id=\"lblReferenceNo\">41,<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<sup><span id=\"ednref42\" data-hash=\"#edn42\"><span id=\"lblReferenceNo\">42<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<a id=\"lnkReference\" href=\"https:\/\/swprs.org\/the-propaganda-multiplier\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Swiss Policy Research, The Propaganda Multiplier<\/a><\/li>\n<li><sup><span id=\"ednref1\" data-hash=\"#edn1\"><span id=\"lblReferenceNo\">1,<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<sup><span id=\"ednref6\" data-hash=\"#edn6\"><span id=\"lblReferenceNo\">6<\/span><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<a id=\"lnkReference\" href=\"https:\/\/allthatsinteresting.com\/operation-mockingbird\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ATI March 12, 2018<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>___<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/articles.mercola.com\/sites\/articles\/archive\/2021\/03\/10\/reuters-bbc-were-paid-for-propaganda-campaign.aspx?ui=e34f4e07e9e4aaaf5360c9c5b394d5ee352f718bb4183b226ed25891b407ee18&#038;sd=20110601&#038;cid_source=dnl&#038;cid_medium=email&#038;cid_content=art1HL&#038;cid=20210310&#038;mid=DM825991&#038;rid=1103852459\">https:\/\/articles.mercola.com\/sites\/articles\/archive\/2021\/03\/10\/reuters-bbc-were-paid-for-propaganda-campaign.aspx?ui=e34f4e07e9e4aaaf5360c9c5b394d5ee352f718bb4183b226ed25891b407ee18&#038;sd=20110601&#038;cid_source=dnl&#038;cid_medium=email&#038;cid_content=art1HL&#038;cid=20210310&#038;mid=DM825991&#038;rid=1103852459<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reuters and BBC Caught Taking Money for Propaganda Campaign<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=55736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55736\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=55736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=55736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=55736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}