Let’s talk...Conspiracy theories.

A “calamitous event” ... creates a “very fertile breeding ground for conspiracy theories,”— John Cook, an expert on misinformation with George Mason University’s Center for Climate Change Communication.

Ppl need someone to blame.
Let’s talk...Conspiracy theories. A “calamitous event” ... creates a “very fertile breeding ground for conspiracy theories,”— John Cook, an expert on misinformation with George Mason University’s Center for Climate Change Communication.Ppl need someone to blame.
Let’s talk...Conspiracy theories. A “calamitous event” ... creates a “very fertile breeding ground for conspiracy theories,”— John Cook, an expert on misinformation with George Mason University’s Center for Climate Change Communication.Ppl need someone to blame.
Black Propaganda, Active Measures
Two key elements that fuel black propaganda:

Provocateurs & Forgeries
KGB media disinfo campaign-shorter
#BlackPropaganda

Stick info by unknown sources in a small foreign paper

Add legitimacy by using supposed experts, and/or forged or false docs.

Write about it in KGB friendly papers & use original foreign article as source

3 Ingredients:
July 17, 1983, when the world was freaking out about AIDS, an anonymous letter (written by KGB) surfaced.

It claimed that AIDS was created by the CIA in a lab (Spoiler, it wasn’t)

A small, fringe (KGB funded) Indian newspaper called The Patriot published the story.
July 17, 1983, when the world was freaking out about AIDS, an anonymous letter (written by KGB) surfaced. It claimed that AIDS was created by the CIA in a lab (Spoiler, it wasn’t)A small, fringe (KGB funded) Indian newspaper called The Patriot published the story.
July 17, 1983, when the world was freaking out about AIDS, an anonymous letter (written by KGB) surfaced. It claimed that AIDS was created by the CIA in a lab (Spoiler, it wasn’t)A small, fringe (KGB funded) Indian newspaper called The Patriot published the story.
July 17, 1983, when the world was freaking out about AIDS, an anonymous letter (written by KGB) surfaced. It claimed that AIDS was created by the CIA in a lab (Spoiler, it wasn’t)A small, fringe (KGB funded) Indian newspaper called The Patriot published the story.
July 17, 1983, when the world was freaking out about AIDS, an anonymous letter (written by KGB) surfaced. It claimed that AIDS was created by the CIA in a lab (Spoiler, it wasn’t)A small, fringe (KGB funded) Indian newspaper called The Patriot published the story.
Ffs @TWITTER THIS WAS A THREAD
https://twitter.com/lululemew/status/1258174016508002305?s=12">https://twitter.com/lululemew...
https://twitter.com/lululemew/status/1258174028554133504?s=12">https://twitter.com/lululemew...
https://twitter.com/lululemew/status/1258174040218439681?s=12">https://twitter.com/lululemew...
https://twitter.com/lululemew/status/1258174049139806209?s=12">https://twitter.com/lululemew...
https://twitter.com/lululemew/status/1258174058174259200?s=12">https://twitter.com/lululemew...
“Operation Infektion” video
by the NYT explains how this type of disinformation works, complete with interviews of former KGB/Stasi agents.

Full video: https://youtu.be/h5WjRjz5mTU ">https://youtu.be/h5WjRjz5m...
Detailed Report via CIA library

Operation Infektion:
Soviet Bloc Intelligence and Its AIDS
Disinformation Campaign

by Thomas Boghardt

https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol53no4/pdf/U-%20Boghardt-AIDS-Made%20in%20the%20USA-17Dec.pdf">https://www.cia.gov/library/c...
Detailed Report via CIA libraryOperation Infektion: Soviet Bloc Intelligence and Its AIDSDisinformation Campaignby Thomas Boghardt https://www.cia.gov/library/c...
Detailed Report via CIA libraryOperation Infektion: Soviet Bloc Intelligence and Its AIDSDisinformation Campaignby Thomas Boghardt https://www.cia.gov/library/c...
Two books on Russian Active Measures

Active Measures...
—Thomas Rid

Messing With the Enemy...
—Clint Watts
K... fast forward & let’s talk about the 5G/Gates/coronavirus conspiracy theory

Article: How the 5G coronavirus conspiracy theory tore through the internet
Author: James Temperton
Source: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/5g-coronavirus-conspiracy-theory">https://www.wired.co.uk/article/5...
It started w one obscure doctor in a small Belgian paper.

Jan 22
Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws published an interview with Kris Van Kerckhoven, a general practitioner from Putte

“5G is life-threatening, and no one knows it”, read the headline.
Van Kerckhoven claimed that 5G was dangerous & he linked it to coronavirus.

THE DOCTOR EVEN SAYS HE NEVER FACT CHECKED.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👋🏼" title="Waving hand (medium light skin tone)" aria-label="Emoji: Waving hand (medium light skin tone)"> “I have NOT DONE a FACT CHECK, but it may be a link with current events”. Dr Van Kerckhoven

And so the 5G #COVID19 fuse was lit.
The paper quickly issued a correction & deleted the false article, but it was too late.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📍" title="Round pushpin" aria-label="Emoji: Round pushpin">“Because the quotes were UNFOUNDED, we WITHDREW the ARTICLE within a few hours...We regret the fact that the story was online ...” —Het Laatste Nieuws editor Dimitri Antonissen
Too late
Anti-5G groups began spreading the rumor, and some members of a frightened public, desperate for some sense of order, believed this deeply implausible crazy lie.
Weeks later, it started to break out, propelled by engagement algorithms

From obscure beginnings, the conspiracy theory has now been pushed by celebrities with hundreds of thousands or millions of social media followers https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🙄" title="Face with rolling eyes" aria-label="Emoji: Face with rolling eyes">
A number of 5G masts across the UK have been set on fire in apparent arson attacks—at least 20 mobile phone masts have been vandalized as a result of this 5G disinformation.

Videos of attacks have gone viral on social media, adding to the fervour.
But the conspiracy theories aren’t as simple as they appear.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📍" title="Round pushpin" aria-label="Emoji: Round pushpin">One voice stands out.

Since 2019
RUSSIA’s RT has been attacking the roll-out of 5G.

The scientifically-baseless rant is part of a coordinated & sustained attack against 5G by RT —Kremlin propaganda TV
Much like in 1980s with
KGB Operation DENVER & AIDS,
RT adds “legitimacy” to conspiracy theories surrounding 5G technology.
RT’s disinfo campaign against 5G – seemingly created to hinder the global roll-out of 5G tech so Russia can catch up – has since spread to a network of blogs & social media accounts, where it has been decoupled from Moscow’s propaganda firehose.
And guess what...it doesn’t stop at 5G.

That Bill Gates coronavirus conspiracy theory your friend posted on Facebook about?

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📍" title="Round pushpin" aria-label="Emoji: Round pushpin">From Russia.
April 1
EU released report & highlighted
150 instances of pro-Kremlin disinformation about the coronavirus outbreak.

PLEASE wake up.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🚨" title="Police cars revolving light" aria-label="Emoji: Police cars revolving light"> If you think Bill Gates & 5G have something nefarious to do with coronavirus...

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤦🏻‍♀️" title="Woman facepalming (light skin tone)" aria-label="Emoji: Woman facepalming (light skin tone)"> congratulations you’ve been duped by the Kremlin.
I urge you to read the detailed report. 24pgs. It explains how, why, when & with whom the KGB created the disinfo op they named Operation DENVER. It cane to be known as Op. Infektion based on this report of the same name.

They still use these tactics.
https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol53no4/pdf/U-%20Boghardt-AIDS-Made%20in%20the%20USA-17Dec.pdf">https://www.cia.gov/library/c...
Came * to be known https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😬" title="Grimacing face" aria-label="Emoji: Grimacing face">
2019 Study
Weaponized Health Communication: Twitter Bots and Russian Trolls Amplify the Vaccine Debate https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6137759/">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/artic...
Weaponized Health Communication: Twitter Bots and Russian Trolls Amplify the Vaccine Debate

Objectives. To understand how Twitter bots and trolls (“bots”) promote online health content.Methods. We compared bots’ to average users’ rates of vaccine-relevant messages, which we collected online...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6137759/
Aug 24, 2018 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45294192">https://www.bbc.com/news/worl...
Russia trolls 'spreading vaccine discord'

Troll accounts that tried to influence the US election also tweeted about vaccines, a study says.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45294192
Aug 2017  @noUpside: Ru’ motive is “opportunism — opportunistically amplifying controversial topics”

Thread: Russian IRA tweets masquerading as antivaxxers as far back as 2015. https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1031317592244346880.html">https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/10...
Thread by @noUpside: "Sunday Russian troll research: the conspiracy subsets of IRA tweets are gems....

Thread by @noUpside: "Sunday Russian troll research: the conspiracy subsets of IRA tweets are gems. I'll do a proper write-up on All The Consn but to bring my two favorite topics together: yes,...

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1031317592244346880.html
https://twitter.com/proflevin/status/1258181178265239552?s=21">https://twitter.com/proflevin... https://twitter.com/proflevin/status/1258181178265239552">https://twitter.com/proflevin...
https://twitter.com/ericboehlert/status/1258231473359990791?s=21">https://twitter.com/ericboehl... https://twitter.com/EricBoehlert/status/1258231473359990791">https://twitter.com/EricBoehl...
https://twitter.com/macklamoureux/status/1258383454468739074?s=21">https://twitter.com/macklamou... https://twitter.com/MackLamoureux/status/1258383454468739074">https://twitter.com/MackLamou...
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