New documents reveal a covert British military-intelligence smear machine meddling in American politics
The
Integrity Initiative has mobilized an international disinformation
campaign across Europe. Now, with government and right-wing
foundation money, this massive “political smear unit” is
infiltrating the US.
by
Max Blumenthal and Mark Ames
Part
1
A
bombshell domestic spy scandal has been unfolding in Britain, after
hacked internal communications exposed a covert UK state
military-intelligence psychological warfare operation targeting its
own citizens and political figures in allied NATO countries under the
cover of fighting “Russian disinformation.”
The
leaked documents revealed a secret network of spies, prominent
journalists and think-tanks colluding under the umbrella of a group
called “Integrity Initiative” to shape domestic opinion—and to
smear political opponents of the right-wing Tory government,
including the leader of the opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn.
Until
now, this Integrity Initiative domestic spy scandal has been
ignored in the American media, perhaps because it has mostly involved
British names. But it is clear that the influence operation has
already been activated in the US. Hacked documents reveal that the
Integrity Initiative is cultivating powerful allies inside the
State Department, top DC think tanks, the FBI and the DHS, where it
has gained access to Katharine Gorka and her husband, the
fascist-linked cable news pundit Sebastian Gorka.
The
Integrity Initiative has spelled out plans to expand its
network across the US, meddling in American politics and recruiting
“a new generation of Russia watchers” behind the false
guise of a non-partisan charity. Moreover, the group has hired one of
the most notorious American “perception management” specialists,
John Rendon, to train its clusters of pundits and cultivate
relationships with the media.
Back in
the UK, Member of Parliament Chris Williamson has clamored for an
investigation into the Integrity Initiative’s abuse of
public money.
In a
recent editorial, Williamson drew a direct parallel between the
group’s collaboration with journalists and surreptitious payments
the CIA made to reporters during the Cold War.
“These
tactics resemble those deployed by the CIA in Operation Mockingbird
that was launched at the height of the cold war in the early 1950s.
Its aims included using the mainstream news media as a propaganda
tool,” Williamson wrote.
“They
manipulated the news agenda by recruiting leading journalists to
write stories with the express purpose of influencing public opinion
in a particular way,” the Labour parliamentarian continued.
“Now it seems the British Establishment have dusted off the
CIA’s old playbook and is intent on giving it another outing on
this side of the Atlantic.”
Source,
links:
Comments
Post a Comment