The week after Syria's fall proved illuminating, but not for the reason you may think.
No, it revealed whom among the media operators outside the Thralls of Empire in the various Imperial media institutions were Thralls and which were not.
There are two networks of "independent" media channels, one serving Globohomo and the other serving the Red Dynasty (but mistaken as Neo-Tsarist). These are assets and agents waging Narrative Warfare for their Imperial masters. The competent ones will avoid outright bullshitting, preferring omission and attention management instead; they won't lie to you, but they won't give you the full truth or put a lot of focus upon what they want to conceal. The incompetent and desperate flat out lie, and it's the eruption of the latter that's been telling this week.
Let's start with the latter.
This group I call "The CCP Shillsphere", and it comprises most of the pro-Russian channels and social media accounts. The reason for the label? These people can, have, and do talk shit about Putin and Moscow and Russian operations from time to time; they never say one damned thing criticizng Xi Jinping, the CCP, the PLA, or any of their operations- it's all glowing praise. That is the tell.
Not all people in this sphere know they're being used. As with Globohomo, most of them are useful idiots used as assets for the handful that are agents.
- The New Atlas (Agent; Berletic is in Thailand, which is significantly infiltrated by CCP Intelligence, so he can easily be turned and run by a PLA Case Officer)
- George Galloway (Agent; he's been a professional contrarian for the whole of his adult life and thus easily approached to be run)
- The Duran (Assets; both men are dissidents but lack discernment and thus can be easily suckered by someone like Berletic)
- Gonzalo Lira (Asset; proven by how readily he was exploited by The Duran, Galloway, Berletic, and then cut loose the instant he gets into serious trouble)
- Danny Haiphong (Asset; earnest man, but naive, easily suckered)
- Richard Medihurst (Asset; butthurt Third Worlders are easily suckered into being disposable tools for Imperial networks)
- Neutrality Studies (Asset; anxious, naricisstic academics are the classic Useful Idiot)
- Garland Nixon (Asset; he wants to be like Galloway, so easily sucked into the net)
- Mark Sleboda (Asset; he wants to be part of the same game as the pro-Globohomo academic/journo/offcial set but got denied, so he's butthurt)
- DDGeoPoltics: See The Duran (applies to Ritter, MacGregor, Judge Napolitano, and others around The Duran also)
- Aussie Cossack: See Galloway, but he ain't getting paid.
- Redacted (Asset; dissident MSM journos in exile took a good deal to keep their indie outfit going without worrying about Google, but that deal was with an Agent with a minder)
Don't think I left Globohomo out. They operate differently because they don't need minders like the Shillsphere does; Google, the MSM, Facebook, etc. do all of that so there is no need for a Spook to be minding a key Agent, through which they manage the vast influence network like the Shillsphere. NONE of these people (well, maybe Ward) are under any active Intelligence management; those functions are baked into Western social media, getting the same results without the Glowies needing to do anything, as Mike Benz explained.
The tell for a pro-Globohomo outlet is being openly anti-Russian/Chinese to a stupid degree, but due to how Globohomo set this all up there is no need for them to lie. This is a real example of Structural Advantage being a thing; they are rewarded for willingly (actively or passively) promoting the Globohomo line.
- Task & Purpose: MIC shill
- Sandboxx: MIC Shill
- The Enforcer: Pro-Globohomo and not shy about it.
- Business Basics: Pro-Globohomo
- Caspian Report: Pro-Globohomo
- Good Times Bad Times: Pro-Globohomo
- Ward Caroll: Ex-military; backchannel disclosure asset (and may be actively managed)
- Pyotr Kurzin: Asset (Russian dissidents are particularly effective for Globohomo due to being bi-lingual and personally familiar with how Russia works; they don't need to lie to be effective propagandists.)
- INSIDE RUSSIA: Asset (Konstantin's business talk and demonstration of Christian faith is very effective against Western audiences.)
- Vlad Vexler: Russian liberal intellectual in exile. He needed no prodding to operate as an influencer.
- Natasha's Adventures (She, and other female Russian dissidents, are very effective; don't need to talk politics much, so her influence effectiveness is strong because she wants you to like her, so by extension if Putin goes down and she can go home again she can be happy and maybe you can meet someone like her there. Very effective; just ask The Filipina Pea, who pulls this stunt actively to promote the Phillipines.)
- Eli From Russia: See above
- Yuli's Russia: See above
- NFKRZ: Asset (Russia liberal Chill Dude Bro, apolitical, which makes him pro-Globohomo by default and his relatability and sincerity makes him effective as an influencer.)
"But what about the Lines On Maps cohort?"
The biggest tell about this group being more or less (they have their biases) okay is that (a) they revise their takes as information comes in, and (b) they show the lines on the maps and (for the better ones) how they geolocated the movements they report (i.e. provide receipts).
- Defense Politics Asia (biased against Globohomo)
- Military Summary (biased towards Russia)
- History Legends (slight Russian bias)
- William Spanel (professionally pro-Globohomo)
- Michael De La Broc (neutral)
- S2 Underground (neutral)
The Takeaway: If you do not need an Imperial-aligned outlet in your feed, cull it; stick only to those that show their receipts so you can verify claims yourself.
The Game: They will target known issues in your country, in your society, and feed you what you want to hear. Then, once you're paying attention, they will enact Cult Recruitment tactics by emotionally associating what they (correctly) identify as wrong with their proffered alternatives, and the better operators will have a counter-narrative on hand to explain their alternative and why it is superior to what you know.
This is how RT operates in Western media, Voice of America in hostile/neutral media, and other outlets (such as CGTN) do the same thing; the catch? They are all using American techniques to do this. Techniques that were pioneered over a century ago during World War I on Madison Avenue in New York by the co-founders of Public Relations: Edward Bernays and Walter Lippman. (Not a surprise, as all they did was to secularlize old esoteric practices.)
They are dealing in using Psychological Operations to get your to lower your guard, through which they cram in Infohazards that scramble your reasoning and render you open to reprogramming into a cult devotee- a True Believer. This is what a lot of the Assets look and sound like because they are. ("Which side?" "Yes.")
Knowing the tells of a cult programmer is knowing the tells of a political propagandist is knowing the tells of an abusive relationship because they are the same thing. Being free and sovereign starts between your ears: learn Friend/Enemy Distinction, learn how and when to determine the Exception, and reclaim your mind. Without it, you cannot win.
Empire Must Fall.
P.S.: For those, like the Syrian Girl, who've had a very bad time of things as of late you will note that I left those like her out. That's because people like her are pro-Syria (i.e. pro-Assad) and everything else second; these people will align with whomever, go on with whomever, etc. so long as they believe that it advances their cause. Whaever else may be said of them, they are an earnest and sincere cohort in their aims even if they are ineffective, incompetent, and tragic falures in their efforts because they do not (either due to ignorance of nescience) know how power really works. (Hint: You are considere Useful Idiots to be used and tossed by Imperial powers because you have no power of your own to wield; users don't fear their tools.)
Do your mourning, then go look in the mirror. There is no one coming to restore your country. You're on your own. Either you do what it takes to win or suffer the yoke- and, to date, you have not even tried.
