Government Smears Journalists Who Investigate Government Corruption
Government agencies are monitoring social media for criticism.
They are also spying on U.S. journalists. See this, this, this and this:
(
(If the draconian Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) bill passes, the spying on journalists will only increase.)
They are also actively manipulating social media for propaganda purposes, to crush dissent (and see this), to help the too big to fail businesses compete against smaller businesses (and here), and to promote viewpoints which have nothing to do with keeping us safe.
We noted in 2009:
The U.S. government long ago announced its intention to “fight the net”.
As revealed by an official Pentagon report signed by Rumsfeld called “Information Operations Roadmap”:
The roadmap [contains an] acknowledgement that
information put out as part of the military’s psychological
operations, or Psyops, is finding its way onto the computer and
television screens of ordinary Americans.“Information intended for foreign audiences, including public
diplomacy and Psyops, is increasingly consumed by our domestic
audience,” it reads.“Psyops messages will often be replayed by the news media for much
larger audiences, including the American public,” it goes on.***
“Strategy should be based on the premise that the Department [of
Defense] will ‘fight the net’ as it would an enemy weapons system”.Indeed, the Pentagon publicly announced years ago that it was considering using “black propaganda” – in other words, knowing lies.
That includes smear campaigns against virtually anyone – foreign or domestic – who criticizes the government or threatens to report on illegal government activity.
Many popular bloggers – including Americans – who criticize the government have experienced such smear campaigns.
Even more interestingly, the Pentagon has apparently launched a massive smear campaign against USA Today reporters investigating … wait for it … unlawful domestic propaganda by the Pentagon:
A USA Today reporter and editor investigating Pentagon propaganda contractors have themselves been subjected to a propaganda campaign of sorts, waged on the Internet through a series of bogus websites.
Fake Twitter and Facebook accounts have been created in their names, along with a Wikipedia entry and dozens of message board postings and blog comments. Websites were registered in their names.
The timeline of the activity tracks USA Today’s reporting on the military’s “information operations” program ….
For example, Internet domain registries show the website
TomVandenBrook.com was created Jan. 7 — just days after Pentagon reporter Tom Vanden Brook first contacted Pentagon contractors involved in the program. Two weeks after his editor Ray Locker’s byline appeared on a story, someone created a similar site, RayLocker.com, through the same company.If the websites were created using federal funds, it could violate federal law prohibiting the production of propaganda for domestic consumption.
***
“I find it creepy and cowardly that somebody would hide behind my name and presumably make up other names in an attempt to undermine my credibility,” Vanden Brook said.
The activity is the work of what online reputation expert Andy Beal calls a “determined detractor.”
“It’s like a machine gun approach. They’re trying to generate as much online content as they can,” he said. “The person who’s behind this, we can give them a lot of credit here and assume they’re very sophisticated
about reputation attacks.”
***
“This is the work of somebody who knows what they’re doing. They have some experience of covering their tracks. This is probably not the first time they’ve done something like this,” said Beal, CEO of Trackur, an online reputation tracking service.
Some postings merely copied Vanden Brook’s and Locker’s previous reporting. Others accused them of being sponsored by the Taliban. “They disputed nothing factual in the story about information operations,” Vanden Brook said.
On Feb. 8, as Vanden Brook continued to ask questions of contractors, a new Wikipedia user attempted to create an entry on him, alleging he “gained worldwide notoriety” for his “misreporting” of the 2006 Sago Mine disaster in West Virginia.
Early reports from the scene, relying on faulty information from the governor and mine operators — said 12 of 13 miners were found alive, when in fact only one was. Many news outlets, including the Associated Press, the New York Times and USA Today, conveyed the inaccurate reports in early editions.
[S]imilar comments started populating Internet message boards and blogs. In one case, the fake @Tomvandenbrook Twitter account defended his Sago reporting to another apparently fake account.
Vanden Brook said he’s continuing to pursue the story. “If they thought it would deter me from writing about this, they’re wrong.”
“This is a clear attempt at intimidation that has failed,” Locker said.
If the information in Risen's book is true, it makes the US look like it's "planting evidence" by secretly selling nuclear bomb technology to Iran, then accusing Iran of seeking or possessing the technology. This is similar to just about every other sting operation except on a much larger and more dangerous scale.
On a side note, selling Iran blueprints of nuclear weapons with a few "design or formula flaws so that they supposedly would not work" is still very irresponsible. Competent scientists might be able to correct the mistakes and, thanks to us, now have the designs.
When the US is caught red handed, it's the whistleblowers who pay the price. US military and foreign policy is a juggernaut and anyone caught in the way gets crushed.
Same pattern as in Russia, China, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, India...
Megadeath = Megabucks
Plus the global umbrella of MAD that makes the elites economic endgame of extortion and control so viable in its limitations...
Interesting. Thanks for the post GW.
Just wonderin' what's your take on the Cartagena escort thing? Seems like something's fishy. The story first broke in the Washington Post, that's red flag number one. Then the NY Times does a detailed story, including the quote "Baby, my cash money". Lots of media coverage. Reports of twenty men involved. Congressman King gets briefed. Something don't add up.
Hookers Downgrade U.S. Credit
Borowitz Report
Days after Secret Service agents shortchanged a group of prostitutes in Colombia, the international trade group representing hookers downgraded the United States’ credit rating from AAA to B.
The strong rebuke from the International Alliance of Professional Escorts came after a Secret Service agent reportedly paid one of its members $30 for an $800 service, or only 4% of the stated price.
The statement from the International Alliance of Professional Escorts said that in downgrading the United States’ credit rating it was sending a clear message that its “members should be aware that doing business with the government of the United States carries with it a significant risk.”
“We are urging our members to avoid conducting transactions with the United States and to focus on more reliable customers, like the International Monetary Fund,” the statement added.
Just hours after the announcement from the escorts’ group, the U.S. Congress passed the following resolution blasting the Secret Service for its actions: “We strongly denounce the Secret Service for consorting with prostitutes, which has traditionally been Congress’s role.”
But it was not all bad news this week for the Secret Service, which today reported a 5000% jump in enlistment.
The agency said that enlistment offices across the country have been packed with prospective agents, including House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who abruptly dropped out of the Presidential race to join.
dp
You know, I feel sorry for the poor bastards ... they were ready and willing to take bullets for the Criminal Elite, but when push came to shove, the only "bullets" they took were a metaphorical "two to the head" from the Criminal Elite.
You sleep with dogs, you get fleas.
You sleep with sheep, you get fleeced.
They got both.
Will somebody please just let me know when this country is officially renamed the East German Democratic Republic of America already?
insult to injury, the mainstream beer still sucks
Hey Mr. A... it just was.
The scarry thing is that there is not solution to this. Governments are going to grab as much power as they can and with the US being a global super power, it sees itself as having the right to do so... even on its own citizens.
Maybe we need a big old fashioned rock to slam into the earth to fix things, because I don't see things getting better - ever.
Take care my friend.
There IS a solution ... get rid of central government and build self-sustaining local communities with local banks and local currencies - either at the county or state level...you know, like it's set out in the Constitution! For wider trade purposes, real money can be demanded and used just like foreign currencies today.
Problem is, only about 5 people in the US are keen on taking the medicine...the rest just want to take a blue pill and live with the metastasizing cancer that is central planning.
The CIA's Google is blocking the websites of dissidents to the US on a global scale, while the CIA's Wikipedia, and media sources that are tied to US intelligence agencies - like the NY Times and the UK Guardian - join in spreading hoaxes about dissidents whose websites are blocked.
So people looking on the internet don't find the writings of the dissident ... they find slanderous hoaxes on the CIA's Wikipedia, backed by notes linking to 'sources' in the CIA's corporate media.
Our important political refugee from the US in Belgium, under the protection of the Belgian monarchy here against US threats to murder him, is exactly a victim of these sorts of internet hoaxes and slanders, and the blocking of his websites. (I have met him, and use a photo from one of his sites as my avatar on ZeroHedge, as a way of honouring him).
The writings of this dissident were praised by Thom Hartmann, before Google agreed to help the US regime by 'erasing' all the dissident's websites from search results.
Live Photo: Google Inc. Caught Censoring EU Search Results (for USA - CIA)
Google Internet Censorship - Censure d'Internet par Google - Internet censuur door Google
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22325431@N05/6100668211/in/photostream
Current case: Wikipedia and Google in the attack on Europe, trying to slander and murder European citizens criticising the USA:
Report to the EU Parliament and the Commission of the European Union
Anti-Competition Crimes of EU Internet Monopoly Google Inc. (with CIA) and Wikipedia (with CIA), to Erase EU Journalism, to Slander and Murder EU - Polish Citizen, Writer, Journalist, Non-Zionist Jew
http://www.indymedia.nl/nl/2011/07/77181.shtml
'Ex-Agent: CIA Seed Money Helped Launch Google', retired intelligence agent Robert David Steele interviewed by Paul Joseph Watson, and speaking of the CIA's Dr Rick Steinheiser and his connections with Google:
http://www.infowars.com/articles/bb/google_cia_seed_money_launched_googl...
Maybe it is just too hard to understand.
Private property does not come with freedom attached to it.
Since the pentagon is the core of the pentagram, I advocate all references to "the Pentagon" be potentially supplemented with aka Pentagram Corp.
you can always tell the Stories that are LIES and meant to get people to waste time.. like this story.. the first thing he talks about is 1 judge murdered and another’s family was murdered.. but no names.. no link.. no nothing.. what I want to know is how much in back taxes is this guy not paying because he is running from the Government?? LOL!!
Notice how Alex Jones is backing this idiot! ANOTHER TIME WASTER!!
They are BOTH Controls for the system!
Time Wasters.. full of shit that under mine real facts!
Like George Washington’s story above!
and because this LOONEY! Posts here at ZeroHedge.. now we are all LOONES!
Under mining the facts!
The People like Alex Jones that have the LOUDEST BULLY PULPIT ARE THE MAIN TIMES WASTERS!
Alex may do two good stories but then the third story shoots everything in the foot and UNDER MINES THE FACTS that were mentioned before!
and anything that YOU talk about or that enough of us talk about.. then he talks about! thusly undermining our work of sharing or spreading the word!
Thanks for helping to spread the word on disinformation and Censorship on Wikipedia. The more people that know, the better for all of us.
Google and Wikepedia are both seriously compromised.
Use your judgement when dealing with these sites.
No offense, but how do we know we can trust your assessment of Google and Wikipedia?
Alternative to google (https://startpage.com/eng/protect-privacy.html). Not known how safe it is by comparison. Even the proxies and tunnels could be managed by NSA/DHS fronts. Seems like a lot of free proxies cropped up almost overnite. The web has been totally infiltrated by the American police apparatus, that's for sure.
"POLICE CLAMP DOWN ON INDEPENDENT ONLINE MEDIA: FBI Seizes Server from Progressive Internet Service Provider"
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=30420
It's like what Fear factory wrote about...Securitron 2000- The Police State.
We all had seen the writing on the wall, but somehow did not really believe it, until the last few years maybe.
Things are going to get far worse before there is any hint of a shift in the direction of oppressing world powers.
We still have "journalists" in this country?
What the fuck..?
How come they're nowhere to be found, then?
Nah, we have Matryoshka Maskirovka ... disinformers nested within what is passing for a journalist.
lol...no kidding.
Fast & Furious is the Watergate of our time...nothing but crickets.
new book out..."Fast and Furious: Barack Obama's Bloodiest Scandal and its Shameless Cover-Up"
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/04/20/pavlich-fast-and-furious
We are Breitbart ;-)
I agree with you... but if you listen to Simon's Knob on cnbc (Simon Hobbs, that is), you'll find he's being pretty argumentative with the the standard toads such as Jizz Crammer and David Faker. I presume he won't last long... he's pissing off a lot of people.
They're all steaming piles of shit.
Simon is an EU cheerleader. Most are Wall St. cheerleaders though....