Mind Viruses and their Vectors

What next after the COVIDcrisis propaganda wars?

As a community of independent thinkers, those who choose to follow the Substack titled “Who is Robert Malone” (a nod to “John Galt”) have generally been more aware (awake?) than the average citizen concerning the deployment of propaganda and military grade Psy-Ops during the COVIDcrisis. This propaganda has been actively spread by an amazingly diverse and coordinated global cast, apparently justified by the logic of Plato’s Noble Lie; in other words, a myth or a lie which is knowingly propagated by an elite to maintain social harmony.

Just to re-cap, the Noble Lie is a concept attributed to Socrates and discussed in Book III of Plato’s “The Republic”, which holds that the use of noble lies by the ruling caste is necessary to uphold social cohesion within an ideal society (The Republic). In many ways, this is the root of the internal justification employed by the various bureaucrat/administrative state actors that have authorized and funded (using taxpayer funds) the fearporn and pro-vax propaganda campaigns. Few recognize that the Noble Lie is one component of a core Platonic myth designed to justify a permanent class system, with the allegory of the cave being another. Both are derived from the Myth of Three Metals.

The Three Metals myth posits that Mother Nature invented all human beings and mixed different metals—gold, silver, bronze or iron—into their characters. This is basically Plato’s justification for a permanent social caste structure of rulers (overlords) and ruled. Rulers have gold in their characters, workers have iron, and so on for all different classes and professions. Plato posits that this myth will make it easier to rule an ideal republic since 1) everyone will think that their social class is an extension of their inner character, and 2) everyone will know they have a common mother so they will treat each other peacefully. In such an “ideal” republic, inspired wise philosopher-kings, with characters of gold, will rule in a benevolent manner (noblesse oblige) and will lie to the ruled when necessary to maintain social order and the natural social structure (based on one’s metal content, or “mettle”).

In short, based on these assimulated social theories which trace to antiquity, we were all lied to throughout the COVIDcrisis BECAUSE the ruling caste was philosophically justified in doing so. Otherwise, allowing free speech would jeopardize the social structure by causing hesitancy or concerns about the governmental and WHO public health policies (including mandated reliance on an experimental vaccine). And our Golden overlords were justified in doing so because their very characters are fashioned from gold, while ours contain silver, bronze or iron.

Bluntly, the Platonic thesis is that propaganda emanating from the ruling caste is necessary and required to maintain social order. In the 21st century, the term “propaganda” has become curiously quaint and anachronistic as the associated underpinning psychologic science and technology have advanced. Terms more accurately reflecting the current state-of-the-art include fifth generation warfare, nudge theory, psy-ops, and the censorship-industrial complex.

As the COVIDcrisis winds down, and the roaches responsible for the horrid public policy decisions have all scurried into various cracks and crevices to hide from the light of day, we are left with two fundamental questions. “Will there be any real accountability commensurate with the needle and the damage done?” And “What will they do to us next?”

My point of view on the first is that it is highly unlikely that anything more than some token sacrifice to the gods of public opinion will happen, if even that. On the second, batten down the hatches, cuz thar will be years if not decades of stormy seas ahead consequent to the decision making of the Golden overlord caste which has become so invested in globalism, utilitarianism (for the underclasses), Malthusianism, command-economy Marxism, and the bizarre dysfunctional cluster of victim theory often referred to as “Wokeism”.

As I look out across the torn and tortured psy-ops battleground terrain remaining after over three years of globalized total unrestricted information warfare, the fields of diseased, dead and dying, the shreds of what were once the battle standards we carried into the conflict as both sword and shield - those being the Declaration of Independence, US Constitution and Bill of Rights- lie trampled into the soggy clay of our collective consciousness. And who do we have to thank for that? Who did we expect to fight for truth by our sides, but instead took the metaphorical 30 pieces of silver to become a pharma and government-sponsored mercenary force deployed against us? That would be corporate and social media and the information technology giants of the Western United States.

Jill and I have spent over a year now trying to make sense of what has happened, writing, talking, thinking, podcasting with people from all walks of life. It started with just being conscientious objectors to the obscenities of abuse and wholesale disregard of fundamental human rights, including the right to informed consent for medical procedures and of bodily autonomy. Now we all know what the Administrative State really thinks about human rights.

“Ye shall know them by their fruits.”

Matthew 7:16

Then we progressed to hour after hour of podcasts and social media infowars just trying to help people understand what was being done to them. Obsessing about identifying, developing, and describing early treatment protocols involving repurposed drugs, and trying so, so hard to get the necessary clinical trials funded and operational. Travel and rallies. And then the pivotal moments; left wing corporate media attacks, censorship and de-platforming, and the lightning strikes of the Dark Horse Podcast, Joe Rogan #1757 and the resulting globally coordinated backlash to my just trying to interpret and speak COVIDcrisis truth based on the current data.

As I look back in order to look forward, my expectations of the WHO and Bureaucratic Administrative (Uniparty) State were always quite low. My most profound shock and awe was in seeing how readily people- physicians, politicians, clergy, school boards, and most significantly the corporate and social media, were readily corrupted and coopted to serve the Pharmaceutical/Biodefense/Vaccine/Public health enterprise. Having spent far too much time writing a book (together with Jill) that seeks to make sense of all of this, and now watching as the propagandists and apologists daily work to sweep the whole fecal storm under the rug (while also seeking to destroy what remains of my professional reputation), I am left wondering “what comes next for me”?

Should I just try to sell vitamins and supplements like most of the “medical freedom” fighters now seem content to do? Should I go into politics (as Bannon seems to want me to do) and find myself back immersed in a deeply corrupt and corrupting Washington DC culture? Just to be clear, the answer to both of those is a hard no.

I, and I suspect all of us, crave a worthy opponent, a cause worth getting up in the morning to fight. Something big and meaningful. And as I look back over the last three years and try to imagine the next three, I think that the worthy opponent for me is deeply corrupted corporate and social media and their enablers. If corporate MSM and the social media/tech giants had acted with integrity, the corruption of my profession (medicine, clinical and regulatory affairs) could never have become this bad. I cannot “fix” the US Government. I cannot “fix” the WHO. I cannot even “fix” the deep corruption of the medical enterprise. But I think I just might be able to participate in enabling an alternative media ecosystem where mainstream people can go to access accurate information, as well as intelligent and insightful interpretation.

And that would be enough for me, for my sunset years. Well, that and taking care of wife, horses, dogs and farm.

The deployment of military grade propaganda psy-ops and government sponsored and facilitated social media censorship on the citizens of a representative republic (or really any political organization which purports to derive legitimacy from the will of the governed) is grossly unethical. It makes a mockery of the concept of individual liberty or sovereignty. State-sponsored media and propaganda is wrong, on so many levels, and it is antithetical to any society seeking to foster competent problem solving and innovation.

Working to break the stranglehold of the modern administrative state and its Uniparty facilitators on media and information is the worthy opponent that I choose. “Medical freedom” is a meaningless aphorism in a world in which the administrative state seeks to deploy its awesome power to control your very thoughts and emotions. This is the nature of fifth generation warfare technology, and this is what the western nations have deployed on their own citizens over the last three years. All in the name of the “Noble Lies” told to us for our own good and that of society by the Golden overlords.

What are we up against? The Mind over Media Propaganda educational laboratory project provides an excellent summary.

What is the mind-virus called Propaganda?

1. Propaganda is one means by which large numbers of people are induced to act together.
-Bruce Lannes Smith and Harold Lasswell, authors of Propaganda, Communication and Public Opinion, 1946

2. Propaganda is a form of information that panders to our insecurities and anxieties.
-Jacques Ellul, author of Propaganda: The Formation of Men’s Attitudes, 1962

3. Propaganda is the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist.
-Garth Jowett and Victoria O'Donnell, authors of Propaganda and Persuasion, 1986

4. Propaganda is intentionally-designed communication that invites us to respond emotionally, immediately, and in a either-or manner.
-Neil Postman, author of Technopoly, 1994

5. Propaganda is a form of purposeful persuasion that attempts to influence the emotions, attitudes, opinions, and actions of specified target audiences for ideological, political or commercial purposes through the controlled transmission of one-sided messages (which may or may not be factual) via mass and direct media channels.
-Richard Alan Nelson, author of A Chronology and Glossary of Propaganda in the United States, 1996

6. Propaganda is indifferent to truth and truthfulness, knowledge and understanding; it is a form of strategic communication that uses any means to accomplish its ends.
-Walter Cunningham, author of The Idea of Propaganda, 2002

7. Propaganda is a form of communication aimed towards influencing the attitude of a population toward some cause or position.
-Wikipedia, entry on propaganda, 2008

8. Propaganda appears in a variety of forms. It is strategic and intentional as it aims to influence attitudes, opinions and behaviors. Propaganda can be beneficial or harmful. It may use truth, half-truths or lies. To be successful, propaganda taps into our deepest values, fears, hopes and dreams.
-Steven Luckert and Susan Bachrach, authors of The State of Deception, 2009

Who uses Propaganda? Who are the vectors that spread this mind virus?

Everyone participates in the process of persuasion, which is the use of words and other symbols to influence people. People use persuasion to gain social power. But the term propaganda is generally used when someone is aiming to reach a large group of people, not just a few.

If you are an activist, you may have created propaganda yourself. People who create propaganda have a specific goal and design a communication message that is intended to circulate among a large group of people and create a reaction. Propaganda involves reinforcing existing beliefs, changing perceptions, activating an emotional response or provoking a behavior.

Today, social media like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter make it easy for ordinary individuals to create or disseminate propaganda. Of course, communication is always oriented to a specific goal or purpose, as people use symbols to build relationships, convey information, entertain, inspire or teach. But the propagandist does not aim to encourage deliberation or reflection. The propagandist does not encourage independent judgement by presenting a variety of viewpoints and allowing the audience to determine which perspective is correct. Instead, the propagandist uses facts and information selectively, transmitting only those ideas that help accomplish the goal.

Where is Propaganda Found?

Propaganda can be found in news and journalism, advertising and public relations, and education – and in all aspects of daily life. It is present in information from government, business, religious and non-profit organizations, and in many forms of entertainment including music, TV shows, movies, videogames and social media like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Look for propaganda in these 6 locations: 

Journalism and Public Relations: Public relations is the term used for communication professionals who seek to shape perceptions and influence public opinion on behalf of a business client. In the U.S., there are four public relations professionals for every working journalist. PR people feed journalists based on their agenda. They may aim to get information and positive opinions about a business into the news media by using events, video news releases, blogging, newsletters, policy documents, and social media. In general, people are not aware of how public relations efforts have shaped the content of newspaper articles, blog posts or other online information.

Advertising: There is a big difference between advertising and propaganda. Advertising supports sales and marketing goals. For example, McDonald’s spent $998 million to buy advertising placements in television, outdoor advertising, radio and magazines in 2013. Advertisers want to generate increased consumption of their commercial products and services by using a variety of forms of mass media and digital media to persuade readers, viewers, users or listeners. The public is generally aware of advertising and recognizes its purpose. Many forms of free mass media, including broadcast television, radio and search engines depend on selling advertising, which enables businesses to sell products and services.

Government: Throughout the 20th century, the United States has generated war propaganda by defining battles as conflicts between good and evil. Propaganda is also used to help improve public health. You may be familiar with public service announcements (PSAs) that aim to alter your behavior. For example, when researchers found that college students overestimated how many of their peers were involved in binge drinking, they designed messages that showed that binge drinking is not as common as many people think. By reshaping perceptions of social norms, the campaign had a beneficial impact in helping lower the rate of binge drinking among college students. 

Education: From kindergarten to college, some forms of education are explicitly designed to lead people to accept a particular world view. Education can be a form of indoctrination when certain doctrines, ideas, information, values and beliefs are not permitted to be questioned. Propaganda enters the classroom in many ways. Many businesses and technology companies provide curriculum materials to educators which are explicitly designed to promote a particular point of view. For example, Monsanto and other biotechnology firms provide videos, lesson plans and other materials for science teachers. In Illinois, a state law mandates that schools promote a positive image for coal mining.

Entertainment: Some stories are just entertainment, but many stories are also a form of propaganda. Stories offer ideas and information about good and evil, right and wrong, thus embedding values and ideology into narrative form. For example, as early as the 1930s, Warner Bros. movies offered stories that interpreted contemporary life by presenting a specific point of view on current events, often indirectly through the lens of history. In many American movies and video games, violence is depicted as justified and morally courageous, which is a value message that is generally not questioned in society. Another way that propaganda is embedded in entertainment is through native advertising or sponsored content, where a company’s world view is presented as a form of entertainment. In 2014, the restaurant chain Chipotle launched an online comedy series about the agriculture industry on Hulu. Using comedy, the show reflected the company’s values about sustainable agriculture and the humane treatment of animals used for meat.

Advocacy: People who are trying to improve society or create social change use propaganda to influence public opinion. Activists try to promote social, political, economic or environmental change through using communication activities and public events that attract attention and influence people's knowledge, attitudes and opinions.

How can you recognize Propaganda?

Propaganda appears in a variety of forms and uses common techniques to successfully influence people, including:

1. Activating strong emotions

2. Responding to audience needs & values

3. Simplifying information & ideas

4. Attacking opponents

Use the Propaganda Techniques button in the upper right to learn more about these techniques in the items you find as you browse the gallery. 

Propaganda is not the same as brainwashing or mind control. These terms refer to psychological tactics, sometimes used in warfare, that are designed to subvert an individual’s sense of control over their own thinking. Brainwashing usually requires isolation of the individual from his or her social group. By contrast, propaganda is often so ordinary that it becomes enmeshed with “common sense.”

Although propaganda sometimes involves deception, most forms of propaganda use well-verified, factual information. Propagandists may use partially true or incomplete information that comes from a source that looks authentic, but is controlled by sources that are disguised. These disguises come in many forms. Businesses often provide funding to sources (like researchers and other professional communicators) to create information and transmit messages that align directly with their interests and goals. For example, in 2014, the government of Norway paid $5 million to a non-profit organization to produce information designed to influence top officials in the White House. Online, the term sockpuppet refers to the use of online sources that are specifically created to praise, defend or support a person or organization. When such efforts mislead the public, they can be called propaganda.

I hope you will walk along with me as I gradually stray from the medical freedom path to tread what I believe to be a higher and more important trail (and calling). Freedom, let alone medical freedom, is a meaningless concept if we are not even allowed the tools and ability to think for ourselves.

And I must live free, free to choose, or I will surely die a miserable death at the conclusion of a hollowed out and meaningless life. Maybe some of you feel the same way. If so, I hope you will join me.

---

Update, Friday April 07 2023

Twitter and its partners have flagged this essay as “unsafe”. Good to know.

---