The fake news and disinformation tactics russia perfected before social. For putin, disinformation is power the new york times. Jun 07, 2017 the kgb wasted no time propagating the jfk assassination disinformation hoax. Kennedy to provoking the rise of islamic extremism. A recent new york times video series explores the long history of russian disinformation and its origins in what the soviets dubbed active measures. The kgb and soviet disinformation is also organized better than the deception game, and includes topics especially in the later chapters not broached by the earlier book. Remember, putin himself was a kgb case officer, and so when people try to understand his psychology. Disinformation efforts laid out in crisp detail in new book.
A quartercentury ago, the highestranking soviet bloc intelligence official ever to defect to the west, lt. Disinformation is false information spread deliberately to deceive. An expose by a former czechoslovak intelligence officer of soviet and east european covert operations against the west. The secret work of soviet secret agents, they smeared swastikas, kicked over. I have been anticipating this book s release for over a year, and i would love to credit any author writing about the history of russian disinformation with a 55. Russia sows disinformation to divide societies and undermine democracies. Among specialists who follow russian disinformation, rid is. Learn how to be a spy from previously unpublished kgb. Soviet and russian disinformation regarding aids and other pathogens. In his numerous articles and books he denounced the socalled disinformation dezinformatsiya, an expression created by the russians at the time of stalin to designate the communist method of disseminating lies in the west through intellectual nongovernmental. Long before facebook, the kgb spread fake news about aids in the 1980s, the soviet union and allies participated in a widespread disinformation campaign.
Aug, 20 the approaching 50th anniversary of the assassination of john f. Active measures provides a comprehensive look at the disinformation game, from the 1920s through the digital revolution. Over the next years, the european and the north american media repeatedly reported on soviet bloc intelligence sponsorship of the aids conspiracy theory. It was written by former intelligence officer specializing in disinformation for the czech intelligence service and retired professor of disinformation at boston university. Nov 12, 2018 russia is known for its disinformation campaigns. Russian spy agencies like the kgb, which since 199192 has been the svr. The kremlins disinformation playbook goes to beijing. Episode 1 meet the kgb spies who invented fake news. Opinion for putin, disinformation is power the new. Disinformation disinformaziahad long been a staple of soviet intelligence, but the kgb had begun throwing more resources into their efforts. Active measures in soviet strategy is a nonfiction book about disinformation and information warfare used by the kgb during.
In january 1959, aleksandr shelepin, who had recently taken over as head of the kgb, established a new organization, department d, to create and coordinate disinformation programs. Russia has also focused its disinformation lens on neighboring ukraine, dating back to efforts in 202014 to discredit westernoriented ukrainian reformers and reduce support among ukrainians for the donbass conflict. Mar 12, 2017 the highestranking soviet bloc intelligence official ever to defect to the west, lt. An insiders view is a nonfiction book about the kgb s use of disinformation and information warfare during the soviet union period. Herbert romerstein is an adjunct professor at the institute of world politics.
On the basis of his research with scholar christopher nehring in the archives of the former communist secret police in bulgaria, germany, and. Ultimately, rid concludes that russian and russia linked efforts to fill the internet with disinformation most likely did not cause many people to change their minds in 2016. Finally, it will detail different disinformation techniques and recent attempts to create chaos and doubt in europe and the united states. Pacepa pays special attention to the kgb, and how big of an instrument they were in. Read animal farm and understand russian disinformation. Disinformation wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. May 02, 2020 in 1960, the kgb embarked on a series of racebaiting disinformation operations that included mailing ku klux klan leaflets to african and asian delegations to the united nations on the eve.
In the 1980s, the kgb, the ussrs state security agency, spread disinformation about aids. He was somebody who was trying to get you to do things that would ultimately destroy yourself. A russian police officer during a rally in support of vladimir v. Even if russian disinformation can be tamped down on social mediaand the efforts here, on balance, are encouragingthere are other ways, arguably more consequential, to manipulate american. Many ideas, misconceptions and flatout lies taking hold since world war ii were secretly generated by the.
It was written by former threestar general in the securitate, the secret police of socialist republic of romania, ion mihai pacepa, and law professor ronald j. Disinformation strategic deception to undermine the church. Kgb ranks and usually employs such traditional disinformation techniques as forgeries or agents of influence. But the higher up you go, lets just say, the less enthusiasm there is. Dont believe russias disinformation about coronavirus.
Russias old but effective weapon of influence fragment of the cover of disinformation, a book by ion mihai pacepa, exdeputy chief of communist romanias foreign intelligence, and law professor ronald j. Tells about and thoroughly analyzes russia s disinformation campaigns that have been going on for more than a century. Ion mihai pacepa deserted from the romanian intelligence service and sought asylum in the united states. He was a professional staff member of the permanent select committee on intelligence of the us house of representatives and served as chief of the office to counter soviet disinformation and active measures at the united states information agency. More than 150 cases of prokremlin disinformation on covid19 have been recorded in the euvsdisinfo database since january 22. This is a subset of misinformation, which may also be unintentional the english word disinformation is a loan translation of the russian dezinformatsiya, derived from the title of a kgb black propaganda department. Disinformation and democracy the weapons of political. Kgb agents werent simply posing as the kkk remarkably, the same russian operators posed as an africanamerican organization. In his book disinformation, pacepa wrote that the soviet manuals he read as a young intelligence officer described disinformation as a tactic used by moscow with roots in russian history.
Aug 22, 2018 long before facebook, the kgb spread fake news about aids in the 1980s, the soviet union and allies participated in a widespread disinformation campaign. Cull, vasily gatov, peter pomerantsev, anne applebaum and alistair shawcross october 2017. Nov 06, 2018 in the 80s the russians planted a story in an indian newspaper that the u. In disinformation, pacepa credits kgb operations with everything from plotting the assassination of u. They document a disinformation campaign led by the kgb whose goal was to spread government dissension by u. The military university of the ministry of defense in moscow. Even after the collapse of communism and the russian intelligence services revelation of the kgbs role in the disinformation campaign in 1992, the kgbs false theses regarding aids have continued to spread, especially on the internet. Full text of the kgb and soviet disinformation ladislav. Since then, he has excelled at using the media to consolidate power inside russia and, increasingly, to wage an. A decade of health disinformation promoted by president vladimir putin of russia has sown wide confusion, hurt major institutions and encouraged the spread of deadly illnesses. The strategy of soviet disinformation is a nonfiction book about disinformation and information warfare used by the kgb during the soviet union period, as part of their active measures tactics.
The use of disinformationactive measures, in the kgb jargon of mr putins professional pastto weaken the west was a constant of soviet policy, one that the wouldbe victims fought. Disinformation book wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. Jul 27, 2019 as my parents were enjoying the pleasures of the kgb in the 1970s, the philippines were ruled by colonel ferdinand marcos, a usbacked military dictator, who used the army to impose censorship and. How the west fought against it an analytic history, with lessons for the present. Thomas rid gives the reader an insiders view of how highprofile influence campaigns are designed and executed, thus providing historical perspective that can help us blunt the impact of disinformation. The secret history of disinformation and political warfare. Nov 22, 2019 as one of the sources close to the affair on the kgb side, ilya dzhirkvelov wrote in his 1987 book that soviet leaders considered strauss one of the most dangerous people in west germany. Jul 26, 2019 a kgb case officer was a combination of a priest, a therapist, a best friend and also a mortal enemy. The kgb wasted no time propagating the jfk assassination disinformation hoax. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new books every 1. Apr 24, 2020 disinformation is a chess game, tit for tat, my fake for yours. Full text of the kgb and soviet disinformation ladislav bittman see other formats. Both are excellent, but this one is certainly more comprehensive. Operation infektion soviet bloc intelligence and its aids.
Disinformationdisinformaziahad long been a staple of soviet intelligence, but the kgb had begun throwing more resources into their efforts. The russian playbook for spreading fake news and conspiracy theories is. The approaching 50th anniversary of the assassination of john f. The kgb conducts hundreds of these categories every year even though their impact is rather limited. How the russians practice disinformation accuracy in media. The kgb and soviet disinformation ladislav bittman. We reveal how one of the biggest fake news stories ever concocted the 1984 aidsisa.
Even after the collapse of communism and the russian intelligence services revelation of the kgb s role in the disinformation campaign in 1992, the kgb s false theses regarding aids have continued to spread, especially on the internet. This remarkable book will change the way you look at intelligence, foreign affairs, the. Former spy chief reveals secret strategies for undermining freedom. It was written by former intelligence officer specializing in disinformation for the czech intelligence service and retired professor of disinformation at boston university, ladislav bittman later known as lawrence martin. Former spy chief reveals secret strategies for undermining freedom, attacking religion, and promoting terrorism is a nonfiction book about disinformation tactics and history rooted in information warfare. Russian statecontrolled media outlets have shifted their focus to highlight russia s preparedness to tackle the outbreak.
It was written by former intelligence officer specializing in disinformation for the czech intelligence service and retired professor of disinformation. The orthodox masquerade patriarch kirill, an agent of kgb. Going well beyond the authors personal experiencehe left czechoslovakia in 1968the book ranges over the entire field forgeries, black propaganda, front organizations, recruitment of agents, penetration of western institutions, terrorism, assassinations, aid to. Putins goal is to bring down american democracy the. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman maria zakharova is criticizing news outlets for printing disinformation after the new york times and financial times reported that the. He learns information tactics from protesters in serbia, narcowarlords in mexico, fox news hosts in america, and the kgb officers who forced his own family into exile. In 1978, soviet officials working through a major kgb front organization called the world peace council organized a symposium with an official. The kgb and soviet disinformation wikimili, the best. Russian disinformation distorts american and european democracy. The secret work of soviet secret agents barron, john on. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The long history of russian disinformation targeting the u. Rid, whose previous book, rise of the machines, focused on cybernetics, opens in 2016, as the russians were employing disinformation to influence the american presidential election, and then moves back in time to offer a.
Especially valid in todays republican world were dishonesty is the norm rather than the exception. A quarter century ago, in his international bestseller red horizons, pacepa exposed the massive crimes and corruption of his former boss, romanian president nicolae ceausescu, giving the dictator a nervous breakdown and inspiring him to send assassination squads to the u. Russia accuses nyt, ft of publishing disinformation on. In the second half of the 1980s, the kgb conducted an international disinformation campaign accusing the u.
I was celebrating new years eve of 2000 with my high school friends. Inside neptun, a daring cold war disinformation operation. Dec 25, 2016 the main building of the russian federal security service, former kgb headquarters, in lubyanka square in moscow, russia, on jan. Oct 30, 2017 facebook ads and other types of racial agitation are the latest examples in a long line of information operations aimed at amplifying tensions within the u. In the 80s the russians planted a story in an indian newspaper that the u.
The point is, if its their intention to interfere, theyre. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading active measures. How the west fought against it an analytic history, with lessons for the present final report nicholas j. What really happened to russia after the berlin wall came down. The kgb agents would chide him for his love of modernist authors who, instead of writing in the impersonal, officious language of soviet. The united states and the eu arent the only targets and, of course, russia isnt the only perpetrator. Theres a phrase in russian working with people which is really all kgb case officers. Kennedy is sufficient reason alone to buy and read the new book, disinformation. Long before facebook, the kgb spread fake news about aids. It was written by former threestar general in the securitate, the secret police of socialist republic of romania, ion mihai.
Oct 11, 2017 the making of a russian disinformation campaign. Rychlak is a revealing and eloquent book that requires greater dissemination and should be required reading by sober citizens of every civilized. The highestranking soviet bloc intelligence official ever to defect to the west, lt. Just over three years ago, on a bitingly cold spring day, i drove out to rockport, massachusetts, a small town on the tip of cape ann, to meet with a defector from the old soviet bloc. Active measures in soviet strategy and a later edition published as dezinformatsia. For decades russia and previously the soviet union has used disinformation as a weapon against its adversaries, including by. The secret history of disinformation and political warfare kindle edition by rid, thomas. Required reading on the russian disinformation front. Putins long war against american science the new york times. Pacepa and rychlak document how the russian word dezinformatsiya was. Lebedev, who was born in moscow in 1981, picks 10 books that explain russias complicated past and present. The kgb always preferred to place disinformation in nonsoviet media. A johns hopkins professor of strategic studies delves into the murky historyand current pervasivenessof disinformation. Before fake news, there was soviet disinformation the.
Jun 26, 20 in the new bestselling book, disinformation, the highestranking soviet bloc intelligence official ever to defect to the west, lt. Mar 20, 2019 his disinformation book focuses on the lies used to manipulate public perception since world war ii. So putin was in the kgb during this era when kgb agents were. In his signature style by turns analytical, poetic, lurid, and funny disinformation expert peter pomerantsev explores the contours of this new global order. Nov 26, 2016 in his book disinformation, pacepa wrote that the soviet manuals he read as a young intelligence officer described disinformation as a tactic used by moscow with roots in russian history. Tells about and thoroughly analyzes russias disinformation campaigns that have been going on for more than a century.
Fiona hills story of russian disinformation sounds very. Far more kgb energy went into disinformation than traditional espionage. Disinformation former spy chief reveals secret strategies for undermining freedom, attacking religion, and promoting terrorism 20 by lieutenant general ion mihai pacepa and professor ronald j. The kgb bankrolled magazines and newspapers with the party line in the 1940s and 50s.
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