Intentional disinformation

[Martin Calloway]

Something new to discuss. What about INTENTIONAL DISINFORMATION

Not, mistakes in research or sloppy historical notekeeping, but INTENTIONAL DISINFORMATION.

I have a question. How do you tell one from the other?

I have watched Victoria play this sort of grudge match she has going with Moore and Vassilatos. Shes mad that they won't stand up and "be counted" I thought today that there might be several layers of disinformation ... ranging from intentional and cleverly planned to the other end .. just simple misunderstandings. Frankly, I don't know what Vassilatos represents. Not knowing where someone of interest died and is buried ranks right up there with ... well, sort of simply dumb.

But maybe he had things to say, but couldn't actually. So he threw the shovelful of dirt over it, so that he could say what he needed to say, but it wouldn't be taken seriously. I am not being very clear?

So am I being difficult to understand because its natural? or do I just want you to work harder to see the point that I am trying to make? While disguising the fact that I am actually letting something out that is important information?

Thats the kind of mentality that you might be up against. Martin

[Elizabeth Helen Drake]

Thanks Martin for the interesting post and by bringing out the difficulty project we have in front of us (you as readers do too actually)

As a researcher the problem of MISUNDERSTANDING is something that smacks me in the face all the time. I have discovered that the OTHER person is not always the one generating the misunderstandings(which can evolve into disinformation).

Each of us looks at things a certain way, a unique way, therefore we phrase things that reflect that viewpoint. Its what makes each of us wonderfully different..... unfortuneately ..... Its easy for someone else , who has a different framework, to misinterpret our words. A perplexing human condition and the difficulty that all of us face when we use WORDS. Ask any husband!

So I thought .... regarding disinformation. First. I have to understand what the other person ACTUALLY MEANT before I assume that it was intentional disinformation, or even any kind of disinformation. So maybe I just have to remind myself that sometimes I need to repeat the question. Are we on the same page? Elizabeth

[Gabriel]

Elizabeth,
I think disinformation is a tool which is used to hide things from those who are not yet ready for the truth, but for those who are ready, they are able to pick up enough of the pieces to follow the trail. I think it can also be a protection too. For example you here of little green men in flying space ships. Maybe they are real or not, but the question remains will we be able to see what is not there, of which, is really far more important. It is what is unseen the holds the key to answering a lot of questions left to us by mr. Brown. If you get enough people to believe in a lie then it eventually becomes the truth. Its not so much what's on top of the sheets but what is under the cover. I think Mr. Brown in his various travels realized this and the dangers posed to man if he used Brown's work in the wrong way. Its kind of like a back door but what a cost to the person if he has to disinform everything he has done in his life time. But the bread crumbs are there we have to go now and put them together and follow the map laid out before us. Gabe

[twigsnapper]

I thought you folks might appreciate this.

During WWII the PWE ( Political Warfare Executive) was founded. The idea was to start rumors, which would disrupt the workings of the Germans. We sort of called it our "Blue Water Policy" The idea was to pull the Germans out into deep water emotionally and anything that could get them out there mentally was fair game. And I do mean anything. There were no rules. And when I think of some of the outrageous stories that were cooked up,its pretty downright embarrassing. But they all had their place.

I think someone has already mentioned the powerful radio station that was in operation. The "News" that it broadcasted was somewhat true. And because of that it laid fertile seeds for disinformation. Hope I can remember. The radio station wouldn't come outright but the agents in the field were encouraged to spin thier yarns, based on what was hinted at on the radio. Lets see .... there was ....

That there had been a failed attempt to invade England but the English had discovered a way to catch the channel on fire. Also they had hauled in tankerloads of maneating sharks from Australia and dumped them in the channel so the German soldiers who were "rescued" were badly mauled and burned, the rest died.

Lets see " that the current bombings in Leipzig had killed many women because most refused to go down into the shelter since there had been an outbreak of pubonic plague in the rat population of the city."

(Never proud of this one) .... that the SS was supplying blood to the troops from the concentration prisoners.

That The SS was "collecting " women from the countryside for use in their brothels (wait ... that was true ... but not many German soldiers knew it at the time.)

It just got worse and worse. Trust me .

.... but then there was one story that seemed to have a life of its own.There was a splattering of stories first reported by that particular phantom radio station, announcing that the Germans had developed a fantastic new missile system that had been seen following the English bombers. They were simply bright lights but the English would learn soon that they were to be armed, the Fatherland would have a new and fantastic weapon to use against the Allies."

Oh and yes, that it had been reported that there were 6000 commandos operating in the countryside with silencers and knives and they would kill you and your family without a seconds remorse. It was whispered that they were called ghost commandos because it was nearly impossible to kill any of them.

Just to give you an idea of what things were like. Sir Charles Hambro said at the time that it was "Not good for democracies to know what their governments did in times of war."

Twigsnapper