DOCSLIB.ORG

Ex-Soviet Era Spy Chief Writes Landmark Book on 'Disinformation'

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Ex-Soviet Era Spy Chief Writes Landmark Book on 'Disinformation' for immediate release by contact: Sheena Tahilramani phone: (202) 340-5536 email: [email protected] EX-SOVIET ERA SPY CHIEF WRITES LANDMARK BOOK ON ‘DISINFORMATION’ ASHINGTON -- The highest-rank- sassination squads to the U.S. to find his former spy ing Soviet bloc intelligence of- chief and kill him. They failed. On Christmas Day Wficial ever to defect to the West, 1989, Ceausescu was executed by his own people Lt. Gen. Ion Mihai Pacepa is at it again. at the end of a trial whose accusations came almost A quarter century ago, in his international bestsell- word-for-word out of Red Horizons. er Red Horizons, Pacepa exposed the massive crimes Still living undercover in the United States, and corruption of his former boss, Romanian the man credited by the CIA as the only person in President Nicolae Ceausescu, giving the dictator a the Western world who single-handedly demol- nervous breakdown and inspiring him to send as- ished an entire enemy espionage service – the one he himself managed – takes aim at an even bigger target: the exotic, widely misunderstood but still as- tonishingly influential realm of the Russian-born “science” of disinformation. Today, WND Books released nationally Disin- formation: Former Spy Chief Reveals Secret Strategies for Under- mining Freedom, Attacking Religion, and Promoting Terrorism. In it, Pacepa, along with his co-author, historian and law professor Ronald Rychlak, expose some of the most consequential yet largely unknown disinfor- mation campaigns of our lifetime. “This remarkable book will change the way you look at intelligence, foreign affairs, the press, and much else besides,” says R. James Woolsey, for- mer Director of Central Intelligence, who wrote the book’s introduction. Here the reader will discover answers to many crucial questions of the modern era: Why, during the last two generations, has so much of the Western world turned against its founding faith, Christiani- ty? Why have radical Islam, jihad and terrorism burst aflame after a long period of apparent quiescence? Why is naked Marxism increasingly manifesting in America and its NATO allies? What really happened to Russia after the Berlin Wall came down? Like the for media bookings and review copies of Disinformation, please contact Sheena Tahilramani at (202) 340-5536 or email [email protected] for immediate release by contact: Sheena Tahilramani phone: (202) 340-5536 email: [email protected] solution to a giant jigsaw puzzle lacking one crucial • How the defamatory attacks on American piece, Disinformation authoritatively provides the miss- soldiers John Kerry made before Congress ing dimension that makes the chaos of the modern upon his return from Vietnam – charges later world finally understandable. discredited and repudiated – were identical By its very nature, a disinformation campaign to a contemporaneous KGB disinformation can work only if the seemingly independent West- campaign concocted to turn Americans against ern press accepts intentionally fabricated lies and their own leaders. presents them to the public as truth. Thus, Pacepa and Rychlak also document how the U.S. “main- • How supposedly respectable institutions stream media’s” enduring sympathy for all things like the World Council of Churches have long liberal-left has made it vulnerable to – indeed, the been infiltrated and controlled by Russian prime carrier of – civilization-transforming cam- intelligence. paigns of lying, defamation and historical revision- • How much of the world came to believe ism that turn reality on its head. that the U.S. government itself masterminded In Disinformation, you’ll discover: the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. • How destroying the reputation of good • How the Soviet Union has been leaders has been developed into a high art and transformed into the first intelligence science. dictatorship in history. • How Pope Pius XII – a generation ago • How disinformation is still very much the world’s most high-profile Christian leader, alive in the age of Obama, remaining a powerful who personally saved countless Jews from Hitler’s engine in the ongoing socialist transformation Holocaust – was transformed, through the magic of America. of disinformation, into a Nazi sympathizer. • How Christianity and Judaism have All this and much more is meticulously docu- been targeted for constant denigration and mented in Disinformation, with the credibility of an defamation through an ongoing campaign of eyewitness who was not only there, but actively in- disinformation. volved as a Soviet bloc spy chief – who, thanks to a crisis of conscience, “left the dark side” and came to • How the Soviet bloc planted 4,000 America to help shine a light on the greatest source agents of influence in the Islamic world, armed of political evil of the modern age. with hundreds of thousands of copies of the most infamous anti-Semitic book in history, to fan IMPORTANT NOTE: To be released simultane- the flames of ancient Arab resentments against ously with the book today will be a companion, fea- the U.S. and Israel and sow the seeds of anti- ture-length film documentary from WND Films, Semitism that would later bloom in the form of titled Disinformation: The Secret Strategy to Destroy the West. violence and terror toward Jews and Christians. Disinformation is on sale now. for media bookings and review copies of Disinformation, please contact Sheena Tahilramani at (202) 340-5536 or email [email protected].
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Deception, Disinformation, and Strategic Communications: How One Interagency Group Made a Major Difference by Fletcher Schoen and Christopher J
    STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVES 11 Deception, Disinformation, and Strategic Communications: How One Interagency Group Made a Major Difference by Fletcher Schoen and Christopher J. Lamb Center for Strategic Research Institute for National Strategic Studies National Defense University Institute for National Strategic Studies National Defense University The Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) is National Defense University’s (NDU’s) dedicated research arm. INSS includes the Center for Strategic Research, Center for Complex Operations, Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs, Center for Technology and National Security Policy, Center for Transatlantic Security Studies, and Conflict Records Research Center. The military and civilian analysts and staff who comprise INSS and its subcomponents execute their mission by conducting research and analysis, publishing, and participating in conferences, policy support, and outreach. The mission of INSS is to conduct strategic studies for the Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Unified Combatant Commands in support of the academic programs at NDU and to perform outreach to other U.S. Government agencies and the broader national security community. Cover: Kathleen Bailey presents evidence of forgeries to the press corps. Credit: The Washington Times Deception, Disinformation, and Strategic Communications: How One Interagency Group Made a Major Difference Deception, Disinformation, and Strategic Communications: How One Interagency Group Made a Major Difference By Fletcher Schoen and Christopher J. Lamb Institute for National Strategic Studies Strategic Perspectives, No. 11 Series Editor: Nicholas Rostow National Defense University Press Washington, D.C. June 2012 Opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressed or implied within are solely those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Defense Department or any other agency of the Federal Government.
    [Show full text]
  • Information Warfare, International Law, and the Changing Battlefield
    ARTICLE INFORMATION WARFARE, INTERNATIONAL LAW, AND THE CHANGING BATTLEFIELD Dr. Waseem Ahmad Qureshi* ABSTRACT The advancement of technology in the contemporary era has facilitated the emergence of information warfare, which includes the deployment of information as a weapon against an adversary. This is done using a numBer of tactics such as the use of media and social media to spread propaganda and disinformation against an adversary as well as the adoption of software hacking techniques to spread viruses and malware into the strategically important computer systems of an adversary either to steal confidential data or to damage the adversary’s security system. Due to the intangible nature of the damage caused By the information warfare operations, it Becomes challenging for international law to regulate the information warfare operations. The unregulated nature of information operations allows information warfare to Be used effectively By states and nonstate actors to gain advantage over their adversaries. Information warfare also enhances the lethality of hyBrid warfare. Therefore, it is the need of the hour to arrange a new convention or devise a new set of rules to regulate the sphere of information warfare to avert the potential damage that it can cause to international peace and security. ABSTRACT ................................................................................................. 901 I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................... 903 II. WHAT IS INFORMATION WARFARE? .............................
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of Disinformation on Democratic Processes and Human Rights in the World
    STUDY Requested by the DROI subcommittee The impact of disinformation on democratic processes and human rights in the world @Adobe Stock Authors: Carme COLOMINA, Héctor SÁNCHEZ MARGALEF, Richard YOUNGS European Parliament coordinator: Policy Department for External Relations EN Directorate General for External Policies of the Union PE 653.635 - April 2021 DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR EXTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT STUDY The impact of disinformation on democratic processes and human rights in the world ABSTRACT Around the world, disinformation is spreading and becoming a more complex phenomenon based on emerging techniques of deception. Disinformation undermines human rights and many elements of good quality democracy; but counter-disinformation measures can also have a prejudicial impact on human rights and democracy. COVID-19 compounds both these dynamics and has unleashed more intense waves of disinformation, allied to human rights and democracy setbacks. Effective responses to disinformation are needed at multiple levels, including formal laws and regulations, corporate measures and civil society action. While the EU has begun to tackle disinformation in its external actions, it has scope to place greater stress on the human rights dimension of this challenge. In doing so, the EU can draw upon best practice examples from around the world that tackle disinformation through a human rights lens. This study proposes steps the EU can take to build counter-disinformation more seamlessly into its global human rights and democracy policies.
    [Show full text]
  • Taming the Trolls: the Need for an International Legal Framework to Regulate State Use of Disinformation on Social Media
    Taming the Trolls: The Need for an International Legal Framework to Regulate State Use of Disinformation on Social Media * ASHLEY C. NICOLAS INTRODUCTION Consider a hypothetical scenario in which hundreds of agents of the Russian GRU arrive in the United States months prior to a presidential election.1 The Russian agents spend the weeks leading up to the election going door to door in vulnerable communities, spreading false stories intended to manipulate the population into electing a candidate with policies favorable to Russian positions. The agents set up television stations, use radio broadcasts, and usurp the resources of local newspapers to expand their reach and propagate falsehoods. The presence of GRU agents on U.S. soil is an incursion into territorial integrity⎯a clear invasion of sovereignty.2 At every step, Russia would be required to expend tremendous resources, overcome traditional media barriers, and risk exposure, making this hypothetical grossly unrealistic. Compare the hypothetical with the actual actions of the Russians during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Sitting behind computers in St. Petersburg, without ever setting foot in the United States, Russian agents were able to manipulate the U.S. population in the most sacred of domestic affairs⎯an election. Russian “trolls” targeted vulnerable populations through social media, reaching millions of users at a minimal cost and without reliance on established media institutions.3 Without using * Georgetown Law, J.D. expected 2019; United States Military Academy, B.S. 2009; Loyola Marymount University M.Ed. 2016. © 2018, Ashley C. Nicolas. The author is a former U.S. Army Intelligence Officer.
    [Show full text]
  • PERSUADE OR PERISH Addressing Gaps in the U.S
    PERSUADE OR PERISH Addressing Gaps in the U.S. Posture to Confront Propaganda and Disinformation Threats Dr. Haroro J. Ingram Program on Extremism Policy Paper February 2020 PERSUADE OR PERISH 1 INGRAM | PROGRAM ON EXTREMISM Abstract: The purpose of this policy paper is to assess the U.S. government’s posture to deal with malicious ‘influence activities’ (i.e. propaganda and disinformation) by state and nonstate actors. It argues that while the U.S. government has provided inconsistent support for its foreign policy and national security information sector for decades, since 2017 an effort has been made to lay the foundations for a rejuvenated U.S. posture to address propaganda and disinformation threats. However, significant gaps remain that will weaken those foundation building efforts if left unaddressed. This paper concludes with four recommendations focusing on (i.) the need to learn lessons from the institutions’ history, (ii.) the value of an overarching paradigm through which to understand a spectrum of threats, (iii.) the important role of overt attributed U.S government messaging, and (iv.) initiatives to strategically cohere interagency activities. The United States and its allies are facing a complex spectrum of propaganda and disinformation threats that are rapidly evolving strategically, operationally, and technologically. 1 The U.S. government’s ability to address these malicious ‘influence activities’ will depend on its adoption of an appropriately balanced, resourced, and legislatively empowered posture that will be as much a product of institutional history as contemporary strategic-policy decisions. This policy paper assesses the U.S. government’s posture to deal with these threats and outlines ways in which strategic-policy gaps, drawn from this analysis, can be tackled.
    [Show full text]
  • Active Measures: the Secret History of Disinformation & Political
    Active Measures: The Secret History of Disinformation & Political Warfare | Thomas Rid Philosophers have only interpreted the world. The point, May 25th, 2020 however, is to change it. — Karl Marx INTRODUCTION Thomas Rid is Professor of Strategic Studies at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. Rid’s latest book, Active Measures, a startling history of disinformation, was published in late April 2020 with Farrar, Straus and Giroux (also in Russian, Japanese, Polish). His most recent book, Rise of the Machines (2016), tells the sweeping story of how cybernetics, a late- 1940s theory of machines, came to incite anarchy and war (also in Chinese, Russian, German, Japanese, Turkish). His 2015 article “Attributing Cyber Attacks” was designed to explain, guide, and improve the identification of network breaches (Journal of Strategic Studies 2015). In 2013 he published the widely-read book Cyber War Will Not Take Place. Rid’s Ph.D. thesis, “War and Media Operations: The US Military and the Press from Vietnam to Iraq,” was the first academic analysis of the role of embedded media in the 2003 Iraq War, providing a concise history of US military public affairs management since Vietnam. Rid testified on information security in front of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence as well as in the German Bundestag and the UK Parliament. From 2011 to 2016, Rid was a professor in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London. Between 2003 and 2010, he worked at major think tanks in Berlin, Paris, Jerusalem, and Washington, DC. Rid holds a PhD from Humboldt University in Berlin.
    [Show full text]
  • Democracy and Disinformation (Glbl S343e)
    DEMOCRACY AND DISINFORMATION (GLBL S343E) Asha Rangappa Yale Jackson Institute for Global Affairs Summer 2020 Overview of Course This course explores the evolution of information warfare as a national security threat to the United States. Beginning with the KGB’s use of “active measures” during the Cold War, the course looks at how propaganda and disinformation campaigns became central to the Putin regime and how social media has facilitated their expansion and impact. Using Russia’s efforts in the 2016 election as an example, students will examine how the First Amendment places limitations on the U.S.’s ability to counter such operations in the United States and explore how strengthening critical thinking and American social capital might be effective prophylactics against these efforts. At the end of this course, students should be able to: 1. Understand the history, tactics, and goals of Russian disinformation operations in the United States and worldwide; 2. Analyze the ways in which propaganda and disinformation manipulates consumers’ cognitive biases; 3. Recognize self-created vulnerabilities in American society which have been magnified by social media platforms and exploited by Russian intelligence; 4. Develop policy solutions that address the multi-faceted nature of disinformation and its impact on American democracy. Required Texts (in order of reading for the course) 1. Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone 2. Amy Chua, Political Tribes 3. Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson, Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me) 4. Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (chapters will be posted on Canvas) 5. Clint Watts, Messing with the Enemy You may use the link below to order your books at the Yale Bookstore: Yale Bookstore ordering site In addition to the books above, assigned articles, videos, and selected chapters of other books will be posted on Canvas for the weeks they are assigned.
    [Show full text]
  • The Secret Roots of Liberation Theology by Ion Mihai Pacepa April
    1 http://www.nationalreview.com/article/417383/secret-roots-liberation-theology The Secret Roots of Liberation Theology by Ion Mihai Pacepa April 23, 2015 4:00 PM History often repeats itself, and if you have lived two lives, as I have done, you have a good chance of seeing the reenactment with your own eyes. Liberation theology, of which not much has been heard for two decades, is back in the news. But what is not being mentioned is its origins. It was not invented by Latin American Catholics. It was developed by the KGB. The man who is now the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, secretly worked for the KGB under the code name “Mikhailov” and spent four decades promoting liberation theology, which we at the top of the Eastern European intelligence community nicknamed Christianized Marxism. Liberation theology has been generally understood to be a marriage of Marxism and Christianity. What has not been understood is that it was not the product of Christians who pursued Communism, but of Communists who pursued Christians. I described the birth of liberation theology in my book Disinformation, co-authored with Professor Ronald Rychlak. Its genesis was part of a highly classified Party/State Disinformation Program, formally approved in 1960 by KGB chairman Aleksandr Shelepin and Politburo member Aleksei Kirichenko, then the second in the party hierarchy after Nikita Khrushchev. In 1971, the KGB sent Kirill — who had just been elevated to the rank of archimandrite — to Geneva as emissary of the Russian Orthodox Church to the World Council of Churches.
    [Show full text]
  • Media Manipulation and Disinformation Online Alice Marwick and Rebecca Lewis CONTENTS
    Media Manipulation and Disinformation Online Alice Marwick and Rebecca Lewis CONTENTS Executive Summary ....................................................... 1 What Techniques Do Media Manipulators Use? ....... 33 Understanding Media Manipulation ............................ 2 Participatory Culture ........................................... 33 Who is Manipulating the Media? ................................. 4 Networks ............................................................. 34 Internet Trolls ......................................................... 4 Memes ................................................................. 35 Gamergaters .......................................................... 7 Bots ...................................................................... 36 Hate Groups and Ideologues ............................... 9 Strategic Amplification and Framing ................. 38 The Alt-Right ................................................... 9 Why is the Media Vulnerable? .................................... 40 The Manosphere .......................................... 13 Lack of Trust in Media ......................................... 40 Conspiracy Theorists ........................................... 17 Decline of Local News ........................................ 41 Influencers............................................................ 20 The Attention Economy ...................................... 42 Hyper-Partisan News Outlets ............................. 21 What are the Outcomes? ..........................................
    [Show full text]
  • Misinformation, Disinformation, Malinformation: Causes, Trends, and Their Influence on Democracy
    E-PAPER A Companion to Democracy #3 Misinformation, Disinformation, Malinformation: Causes, Trends, and Their Influence on Democracy LEJLA TURCILO AND MLADEN OBRENOVIC A Publication of Heinrich Böll Foundation, August 2020 Preface to the e-paper series “A Companion to Democracy” Democracy is multifaceted, adaptable – and must constantly meet new challenges. Democratic systems are influenced by the historical and social context, by a country’s geopolitical circumstances, by the political climate and by the interaction between institutions and actors. But democracy cannot be taken for granted. It has to be fought for, revitalised and renewed. There are a number of trends and challenges that affect democracy and democratisation. Some, like autocratisation, corruption, the delegitimisation of democratic institutions, the shrinking space for civil society or the dissemination of misleading and erroneous information, such as fake news, can shake democracy to its core. Others like human rights, active civil society engagement and accountability strengthen its foundations and develop alongside it. The e-paper series “A Companion to Democracy” examines pressing trends and challenges facing the world and analyses how they impact democracy and democratisation. Misinformation, Disinformation, Malinformation: Causes, Trends, and Their Influence on Democracy 2/ 38 Misinformation, Disinformation, Malinformation: Causes, Trends, and Their Influence on Democracy 3 Lejla Turcilo and Mladen Obrenovic Contents 1. Introduction 4 2. Historical origins of misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation 5 3. Information disorder – key concepts and definitions 7 3.1. Fake news – definitions, motives, forms 7 3.2. Disinformation, misinformation, malinformation 8 4. Distortion of truth and manipulation of consent 12 5. Democracy at risk in post-truth society – how misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation destroy democratic values 17 6.
    [Show full text]
  • Resistance Through Literature in Romania (1945-1989)
    DePaul University Via Sapientiae College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Theses and Dissertations College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences 11-2015 Resistance through literature in Romania (1945-1989) Olimpia I. Tudor Depaul University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/etd Recommended Citation Tudor, Olimpia I., "Resistance through literature in Romania (1945-1989)" (2015). College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Theses and Dissertations. 199. https://via.library.depaul.edu/etd/199 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at Via Sapientiae. It has been accepted for inclusion in College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Via Sapientiae. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Resistance through Literature in Romania (1945-1989) A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts October, 2015 BY Olimpia I. Tudor Department of International Studies College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences DePaul University Chicago, Illinois Acknowledgements I am sincerely grateful to my thesis adviser, Dr. Shailja Sharma, PhD, for her endless patience and support during the development of this research. I wish to thank her for kindness and generosity in sharing her immense knowledge with me. Without her unconditional support, this thesis would not have been completed. Besides my adviser, I would like to extend my gratitude to Dr. Nila Ginger Hofman, PhD, and Professor Ted Anton who kindly agreed to be part of this project, encouraged and offered me different perspectives that helped me find my own way.
    [Show full text]
  • November 22 1963 the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy A
    November 22 1963 The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy A Lincoln City Libraries Booklist compiled on the 50th Anniversary of the Historic Events At 12:30 p.m. on November 22, 1963, while traveling in an open-air motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States of America, was assassinated by gunfire from the Texas School Book Depository, alongside the presidential motorcade route. Arrested later that day was Lee Harvey Oswald, a former U.S. Marine who had defected to the Soviet Union and then returned to the U.S. in 1962. Arraigned for the murder of Kennedy and Dallas police office J.D. Tippit, Oswald himself was killed by Dallas night club owner Jack Ruby while he was being transferred between jails. An official governmental investigation into the assassination – the President’s Commission on the Assassination of John F. Kennedy, chaired by Earl Warren (Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States) – concluded in an 889-page report, released in September 1964, that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in shooting Kennedy, as did Ruby in later killing Oswald. Conspiracy theories have abounded in the decades following the Warren Commission’s findings, and numerous other investigations of the assassination have resulted in a variety of other “official” opinions. The United States House Select Committee on Assassinations, formed in 1976, released a report in 1979 that concluded that although Oswald was, indeed the “lone shooter”, there may very well have been a conspiracy behind his actions to assassinate Kennedy.
    [Show full text]