By John J
The Army released a new recruitment video by the Ft. Bragg Psychological Operations Group. It is both disturbing and brilliant. If you like psychological thriller movies, you’re gonna love it. Otherwise, you’ll come away confused; wondering what it was that you just watched.
The underlying message of the video inspires the viewer to join Army PSYOPS and to become the unseen ghost pulling the strings, of those who might threaten our national security.
The video starts by quoting Sun Tzu, and then with eerie background music, the viewer is moved from cartoons to 20th Century conflicts. Images show the evolution of the battlefield; from sword-wielding barbarians on horseback to rifled soldiers climbing out of tanks to a single finger scrolling on a tablet. The video claims, “You’ll find us working in the shadows.”
Remember the Ghost of Kyiv? He was a supposed Ukrainian fighter pilot who shot down several Russian planes. Overnight, the Ghost became an internet sensation, talked about on official Ukrainian social media accounts, and hailed as a symbol of Ukrainian resiliency as the country faced its mighty military foe. However, the pilot wasn’t real. Ukrainian Air Force officials admitted that the Ghost of Kyiv was a myth. Still, the Ghost of Kyiv has been one of the greatest boons in the Ukrainians’ fight. Psyops at its finest, by the Ukrainian government, intended to strengthen the resolve of the Ukrainian people. Social media and the internet allow for campaigns of disinformation and misinformation to be performed by agents anywhere in the world, on anyone in the world.
The video got me thinking about psyops and propaganda – are they not two sides of the same coin? They are both aimed at influencing values and beliefs, emotions, motives, and behavior. And they are sometimes combined with black operations or false flag tactics. Would our own government use such devices on the American people? I think you know the answer.
If there is one thing the past two years have shown us is that things are not always as they first appear. Our media talking heads are quick to recite a narrative. Our politicians seldom allow a disaster to go to waste. There may very well be ghosts in the American machine.
Protecting ourselves from propaganda and psyops is next to impossible. Keep your head up, your eyes open. Believe half of what you see and none of what you hear. Question everything and be wary of those who don’t allow you to question them. Remember, there are ghosts in the machine, even right here at home.
