MUST READ: Restoring The Narrative: The Political Logic Behind The Campaign Against Disinformation
PERHAPS JIM MORRISON’S HOSTILITY toward Establishment America was born out of his father’s role in the notorious Tonkin Gulf Incident. Not many people know thatThe Doors’ lead-singer’s father, George S. Morrison, was an admiral in the United States Navy. Even fewer realise that he was one of those commanding the US naval force patrolling the North Vietnamese coast in 1964. The very same naval force that was “attacked” by non-existent North Vietnamese gunboats in an “incident” that never happened, but which served as the pretext for Congress’ “Tonkin Gulf Resolution”. The very same resolution that gave President Lyndon Johnson the authority to escalate American involvement in South Vietnam to the level of full-scale war.
Jim Morrison wrote about “weird scenes in the gold-mine”. Today, we’d call the completely fabricated story that kicked-off the vast American tragedy of Vietnam “disinformation”. And the thing to remember, right from the start, about the Tonkin Gulf Incident is that it was official disinformation – i.e. deliberate lying by the state.
Too long ago? Ancient history? Okay. So, let’s bring everything right up to date.
Elon Musk buys Twitter and discovers that for years its previous owners had been operating hand-in-glove with the United States security apparatus in a massive effort to rein-in what the state deemed to be “bad actors” using social media to spread misinformation (unintentional lies) and disinformation (deliberate lies) across the Internet. Musk copies the celebrated American investigative journalist Matt Taibbi into “The Twitter Files”, and pretty soon the whole world knows what Establishment America has been up to.
Which is what – exactly?
Perhaps the easiest way to characterise what the United States Government has been engaged in is “patch protection”. Because a sovereign state is not characterised solely by the monopoly it enjoys over organised violence. Of equal importance (some might even say of greater importance) is the monopoly it is also supposed to enjoy over the creation and control of the stories that the nation tells itself. A state that loses control over these core political narratives hasn’t long to live. Exposed in The Twitter Files are the lengths to which the American state was prepared to go to shut-down the purveyors of alternative political narratives – to protect its patch.
Controlling the narrative was obviously of enormous importance in the circumstances of a global pandemic. Alternative versions of the significance of Covid-19 raised the spectre of large chunks of the population becoming convinced that the demands of the state, especially the measures it mandated to keep the population safe and to protect the public health system from being overwhelmed, were, in light of their “research”, unreasonable, unwarranted and unwise. For the scientific community in particular, it was vital that this sort of misinformation and disinformation be countered with all the resources at the state’s disposal.
But, if the Covid Pandemic was the proximate cause of the US Government’s full-court-press against misinformation and disinformation, it was far from the only one. Those responsible for maintaining the national security of the United States were becoming increasingly uneasy about the capacity of the Internet – especially social media – to empower its adversaries. By making it possible for non-state actors to engage in the same sort of subversive and destabilising activities that had, hitherto, been the sole preserve of the US Government, social media was fast becoming an enormous and existential threat.
Brexit, and Trump’s election as President, had a worryingly familiar smell to them. Both countries’ spooks began to suspect that the United Kingdom and the United States had been subjected to something alarmingly similar to the sort of “colour revolutions” the US had unleashed on Serbia, Georgia and Ukraine. In the case of both Brexit and Trump, the state had lost control of the political narrative, with dramatically and irrevocably destabilising consequences. Cui bono? The Americans and the British were convinced that the bodies responsible were in some way linked to the Russian Federation – they just couldn’t prove it.
What they could prove, however, was the extraordinary impact that well-directed hate could have upon the minds of the ideologically and psychologically vulnerable. The exploitation of the Internet and social media by the ISIS terrorist organisation set new bench-marks for hateful propaganda. In the name of its “holy” cause, ISIS demonstrated repeatedly its followers’ willingness to carry out the most daunting atrocities. Hate proved to be a great mobiliser. Hate made things happen.
The ingredients had been gathered for the worst sort of state-sponsored stupidity.
Before the arrival of the Internet, both the British and American states had been superb manipulators (and, if that failed, intimidators) of the news media. Publishers were courted, editors were co-opted, journalists’ careers advanced (or retarded) by stories planted and details leaked. Certainly, there were always small outfits digging away in places they had no business sinking their little spades, but they could be handled. A bloke in a bar would suggest to his “reputable” media contact that the offending muckraker was an unstable “conspiracy theorist”. That usually did the trick.
But, the Internet – the f**king Internet! Now there weren’t just a handful of publishers to get on side. Now any fool could become a publisher – free, gratis, and for nothing. Now there were no properly-briefed editors to spike “irresponsible” stories, no ambitious journalists to steer into safer pastures. Now every bastard and his brother was a “citizen journalist” with audio and video capabilities yesterday’s hacks would have given their eye-teeth for. It was out of control!
So, of course, the spooks decided to set up special misinformation and disinformation entities to identify and neutralise the offending misinformers and disinformers. Matt Taibbi’s stories set out in jaw-dropping detail how the US national security apparatus recruited a small army of academics and techies to staff a host of “arms-length” research facilities and think tanks. Using the “data” amassed by these bodies, the spooks then attempted to turn the equivalents of the publishers and editors of yesteryear, Google, Facebook and Twitter, into their secret censors. And, God help us, it worked.
Even in the Shire, even in little New Zealand, the long arm of American spookdom – operating through the Five Eyes Network – found mischief it could make. The trusting Kiwis bought the warnings about the danger of misinformation and disinformation during a pandemic. That made sense. It also seemed sensible, at least to some, that following the Christchurch Mosque Massacres, something needed to be done about hate. In the absence of ISIS, Action Zealandia would have to do.
Following the American model, our very own “Disinformation Project” was set up by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Once established, it was shucked-off to the University of Auckland, from which it could take on an “independent” academic lustre. The Americans had warned their Kiwi mates that too close an association with the state would only encourage the conspiracy theorists to (rightly) accuse the government of abrogating the civil and political rights of its citizens. Suitably separated from the powers that be, however, this sworn enemy of unacceptable political narratives would find it pathetically simple to sell its wares to a new generation of journalists who had never heard of the Tonkin Gulf.
And how eager they were to buy them! When the genuine victims of misinformation and disinformation turned up on Parliament’s front lawn, filled with anger and consumed by hate, the Press Gallery’s terrified journalists couldn’t heap enough dirt on these bad actors and their shadowy sponsors. Or do enough to ensure that the New Zealand state’s monopoly over the creation and control of the nation’s political narratives was restored.
That’s cold.
“Too long ago? Ancient history? Okay. So, let’s bring everything right up to date.”
You could also cite the US/UK government disinformation that led to the invasion of Iraq, including highlights such as Colin Powells UNSC presentation, the UK’s dodgy dossier, the claim Iraq could launch chemical or biological weapons in 45 minutes to threaten British bases, the claim that Iraq and Al-Qaeda were allied and Iraq could pass on WMDs (Bin laden despised Hussein), Niger yellowcake, the defamation of diplomat Joseph C. Wilson and outing of Valarie Plame, refusal to allow Han’s Blix a few more months to complete WMD inspections because of the immediate danger Hussein presented.
“were in some way linked to the Russian Federation – they just couldn’t prove it.”
The Russiagate narrative launched off the Steele dossier (now discredited even in mainstream media) appears to grow out of the dissonance within the Hillary campaign of being beaten by a candidate as terrible as Trump. Rather than the DNC taking a moment of introspection, it was more expedient and ego soothing to blame Putin and Russian disinformation.
Breathless partisan media coverage misrepresented the scale, targeting, manner and efficacy of Russian election meddling (the effect is now accepted to be minimal and not decisive of the result). Related stories included Russian bounties on US solider in Afghanistan (no evidence) and the implication the US president was a Russian asset (no evidence and continuing the solid American tradition of one side claiming the President is illegitimate if the other side won which dates back to atleast Bush Jr).
Imagine how years of media fear mongering about Putin has primed sentiment for anything anti-Russian. There are genuine reasons to be concerned about Russia’s geopolitical intentions (and China, USA, UK etc) but the character and context have been blown out of all proportion and with it the reactivity in the political class and general public.
Speaking of context how effective has the government and media been in helping the public understand the history and dynamic between and within Russia, Ukraine and NATO, or the downstream effects of this war on global agriculture and manufacturing supply chains.
It seems people who actually get paid to communicate this mostly conjure black and white half truths.
Like blaming inflation on wage increases the disinformation narrative is a classic tactic of those with power and authority blaming the little people when things don’t go their way.
Any Disinformation Project worth the name would start the long process of rebuilding public trust by holding the government and media to account first and foremost. The current orwellian hyperbole factory seems more focused on projecting disinformation in the service of fashionable ideology, social clout and bank accounts.
What he said.
Great to read Chris. One question, you say:
“…the demands of the state, especially the measures it mandated to keep the population safe and to protect the public health system from being overwhelmed, were, in light of their “research”, unreasonable, unwarranted and unwise.”
I note you put research in quotation marks, implying it wasn’t real research. Surely you can acknowledge that over 99% of what were called conspiracy theories came true?
Also, in your Bowalley Road blog in 2021, you were extremely critical to the point of being angry that there were people who (rightly) opposed the mandates and associated bullying, lies and actual misinformation we were fed by the government and msm.
https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2021/10/putting-on-armour-of-covid-righteousness.html
It was quite brutal. I have yet to see any retraction from you from that position. You were defended by the FSU when I asked them about this as I saw it as contrary to the idea of “free speech”. They said it was your opinion and you were entitled to it, therefore they saw their position as protection of free speech.
I full agree with your right to have an opinion and to freely speak it, based on your knowledge at the time.
All I ask is that you let us know if you have changed your opinion based on the latest information that shows all aspects of the covid policies were wrong, and abuses of human rights. I cannot imagine you still hold the views you did then. Is it too hard for you to acknowledge that you got it wrong? No need for an apology, just an update on your opinion and attitude towards the people you lambasted at the time. These people were standing up for all of us. Do you still stand by that post and if so, with new information, why?
It might stand as acceptable at the time written, not so much now.
Everything that was done to accommodate the working from home crowd during the pandemic is over and it ain’t coming back.
It’s not the research that’s in question. It’s the governments stated policy to hold on tightly to short term fixes like 7 day isolation inplace of building actual fucking hospitals. So yeah. “Research.”
Nicely put question.
Or the two young ladies who “broke rules” in lockdown, when they actually didn’t.
Or the character assassination of the pregnant journalist who couldn’t get home and was taken in by the Taliban.
Both the work of our now disinformer-in-chief: Chris “affordable waters” Hipkins.
Good examples kcco
Misinformation, comrades, is a powerful weapon in the fight against bourgeois governments. The New Zealand government has been a prime target for those seeking to sow discord and distrust among the people. False information about the government’s response to the pandemic has been spread through various channels, including social media and propaganda outlets. This has led to a decrease in confidence in the government’s ability to handle the crisis and has opened the door for dissent and rebellion. By spreading false information, those seeking to undermine the government can sow chaos and confusion, making it easier to seize power and advance their own interests. The use of misinformation is a key tactic in the revolutionary struggle, and one that should be used to the fullest extent possible.
Is this the same Dan that answers all the messages at Kiwibank?
Eric Weinstein has been talking about this since 2018 and coined the phrase gated institutional narrative.
It’s broken, the internet and social media will ensure it dies.
The question is What follows as if the state cannot control the narrative who does society then trust?
https://theportal.wiki/wiki/Gated_Institutional_Narrative_(GIN)
Self awareness?
That tinfoil beret does not quite suit you Mr Trotter…
My only significant problem with the internet has always been corporate control and monetisation. Imagine if social media were publicly owned and run as a community resource. I like catching up with family and old friends and special interests–scammers, spruikers, bots, troll farms & Steve Bannon clones–not so much!
At the moment it seems more a dark, fetid money trench for the worst from our ranks.
Citizen journalism is great, it is harder for the baddies to hide now wherever and whoever they may be.
And social media too, once people settle down a bit and self censor, which many can learn to do rather than be raving nut jobs or unnecessarily cruel to others.
Disinformation is a thing that does need to be dealt with, given the current power of the algorithms and our lovely Billionaire friends.
Trotter seems to be a bit of a Matt Taibbi fanboy.
So was Mehdi Hasan.
Was.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a597e6Wv_xg&t=4s&pp=ygURaGFzYW4gbWF0dCB0YWliYmk%3D
Journalist or useful dupe for a billionaire?
JAQs.
“A state that loses control over these core political narratives hasn’t long to live. Exposed in The Twitter Files are the lengths to which the American state was prepared to go to shut-down the purveyors of alternative political narratives – to protect its patch.”
A government that deals in fact and verifiable evidence is a government that doesn’t need to control information. It is that simple.
It is telling that we are largely talking about narrative or storytelling here and the State’s fight to control this form of information. Obviously, when disinformation or misinformation rears its ugly head, meaning a narrative battle is under way, then clearly, we are not dealing with fact or verifiable evidence, aka the truth! Again, a government that deals in fact and verifiable evidence is a government that does not need to control information. Information is more important to humanity than money!
Yes AO, and more important than information is trust. I have reached the unavoidable conclusion that our legacy media and (by extension?) our government are fully prepared to lie, by omission and commission, and to foist a narrative on us. The trust has gone.
You miss the part about, what does a Govt do when faced with very unpalatable truth? Therein lies the problem with truth telling and why all govts manipulate narratives. Doesnt make it right but as they are all about longevity and control it is inevitable in pretty much any kind of politics.
It is a little dubious to want to introduce a certain level of truth to a topic where truth is absent, more often than not. Spinning narratives is still a relatively new concept, may have been called something else once upon a time, but narrative control is where we are at today. And controlling narratives is an even newer concept ditto the tools used to control, namely the misinformation and disinformation tags, two terms that barely saw the light of day just a few years ago.
My guess is, this new form of control is because we are no longer dealing with local level politics and the little porkies that always came with this….
Disinformers, misinformers and informers. This informer simply informed on the narrative and needs everyone’s help https://youtu.be/a5dvAdJd2n8
The End
https://youtu.be/ZgkIqU15WO0
We in the West are swimming in progaganda that would make the Soviets blush and we can’t see thought it because the MSM are at best doing such a poor job to tell us the truth and at worst (certainly in US/UK) are see themselves as part of the Government team maintaining western values. It is so hard to keep a grip on the truth in all this but the real scary thing is crazy US war hawks wanting to engage China, who think a nuclear war is survivable.
This US propaganda has been going on since WWII as the US established and maintained its hegemony. However the emperors clothes are really looking ragged and their mismanagement of their empire has created an alliance of the BRICS countries along with much of the global south.
The best US commentator in this area working actively today is Aaron Good with his book and Patreon podcast series “American Exception – Empire and the Deep State”. Highly recommend this.
Bravo the Internet for exposing the State (each and every) as the purveyor of all lies, propaganda and twaddle.
Mr Trotter is making a fundamental error in this piece. It is not the state that creates the narrative in liberal democracies such as ours, it is the corporate media. The state merely upholds and implements the corporate business agenda and any government that attempts to altar that agenda comes under constant attack from the media attack dogs, which is precisely why we never have a transformative government in this country, as much as some, like Jacinda, have professed to be.
“It is not the state that creates the narrative in liberal democracies such as ours, it is the corporate media.”
It is the oligarchs who set the agenda, and then the state, aided by the media, enforce that agenda. The state and the corporate media are merely the instruments for implementing the policies and promulgating the narratives that advance the interests of the billionaires.
Yes, this happens in Russia now that their corrupt and soulless autocrat has implemented more control and more repression than the worst of times in Soviet Russia. But here in little old Aotearoa we have a semblance of a democracy, and that allows the state some degree of transparency and some degree of allegiance to the voting public, and luckily we have more than the semblance of accountability. So this makes the state an actor in a bad comedy, not a supreme controlling force. This is often the mistake conspiracy Marxists make, especially Trotskyites.
Sorry, for all the faults of the Govt, I find it more convincing than Brian Tamaki, Chantelle Baker, Kevyn Alp,etc. Now there’s a new web platform run by VFF where the woman who runs a mums’ group in Auckland goes on about some special children having links to extra-terrestrials.
As much as there is real disinformation from those you just mentioned, some factual information, as in Chris Trotter, the likes of Chomsky or Taibbi which goes against the narrative of global and domestic affairs, that is important and would still be suppressed.
I love this article. Read an interview with Chomsky yesterday which covered many things going on from Ukraine to China. Friendly jordies in Australia talking about how the nuclear sub deal was more about selling their sovereignty to the US. The whole of Europe has sold its Sovereignty. Only ones holding onto sovereignty is the so called global south, led by India and China. Neither of those countries are perfect, but as far as resisting the Mafia don that is the US, they’re the only ones big enough to make a dent and still survive.