Sunday, December 15, 2024

UK
Labour LGBT+ group voices ‘deep concern’ over Wes Streeting’s ban on puberty blockers
13 December, 2024 
Left Foot Forward


Streeting has said the blockers present ‘an unacceptable safety risk for children and young people




LGBT+ Labour has expressed ‘deep concern’ about the health secretary Wes Streeting’s indefinite ban of puberty blockers for the treatment of gender dysphoria.

The party’s LGBTQ group has said that prohibiting the use of blockers, which have been in use since the 1980s, “will have a detrimental impact on the mental health of young trans people”.

In an open letter to the health and social care secretary, LGBT+ Labour said that puberty blockers “represent an important medication” for many children and young people as part of their gender transition.

The medication, known scientifically as Gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogues, work to stop the rise in sex hormones – oestrogen and testosterone – at the onset of puberty.

In a statement, Wes Streeting said “children’s healthcare must always be evidence-led”.

Streeting noted that “The independent expert, Commission on Human Medicines, found that the current prescribing and care pathway for gender dysphoria and incongruence presents an unacceptable safety risk for children and young people.”

He added: “Dr Cass’ review also raised safety concerns around the lack of evidence for these medical treatments . We need to act with caution and care when it comes to this vulnerable group of young people, and follow the expert advice.”

LGBT+ Labour said it believes in evidence-based policy making and welcomes the commitment that NHS England will carry out a clinical trial on the effectiveness of puberty blockers next year.

However, it said it is concerned about the lack of information on these clinical trials.

They said that trans adolescents must now be provided with further resources elsewhere to support them.

Streeting said: “We are working with NHS England to open new gender identity services, so people can access holistic health and wellbeing support they need.

“We are setting up a clinical trial into the use of puberty blockers next year, to establish a clear evidence base for the use of this medicine.”

Georgia Meadows, who is the National Trans Officer for LGBT+ Labour, has written her own separate letter, stating on social media that she had been “completely and utterly ignored” by LGBT+ Labour and that their open letter was “shockingly poor”.

Meadows has called on Streeting to reverse his decision, and “commit to, at least, a temporary ban along with a swift and comprehensive clinical trial to affirm the internationally understood safety of the drugs”.

Puberty blockers for the treatment of gender incongruence and dysphoria in under 18s were initially banned on a temporary basis in May 2024 after the Cass Review found there was insufficient evidence to show they were safe.

The legislation has now been updated to make the order indefinite. It will next be reviewed in 2027.

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward


NHS puberty blockers ban: Fresh party trans row as LGBT+ Labour sounds alarm


Photo: Mareks Perkons/Shutterstock

Labour’s stance on puberty blockers has sparked a row in the party, with the party’s LGBT+ group expressing “deep concerns” at the move to permanently ban them for children.

LGBT+ Labour itself has also come under fire though from its own trans officer for not challenging the Health Secretary more. Gender-critical activists within the party welcomed the announcement, however.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced yesterday that a ban on puberty blockers for under-18s will be made permanent.

The Department of Health and Social Care said that the decision was made following advice from independent expert advice that claimed there was an “unacceptable safety risk in the continued prescription of puberty blockers to children”.

Streeting said: “Children’s healthcare must always be evidence-led. The independent expert Commission on Human Medicines found that the current prescribing and care pathway for gender dysphoria and incongruence presents and unacceptable safety risk for children and young people.

“We need to act with caution and care when it comes to this vulnerable group of young people and follow the expert advice.

“We are working with NHS England to open new gender identity services, so people can access holistic health and wellbeing support they need. We are setting up a clinical trial into the use of puberty blockers next year, to establish a clear evidence base for the use of this medicine.”

READ MORE: New Labour MP embroiled in trans rights row

However, the move has been criticised by LGBT+ activists and organisations, including LGBT+ Labour, which said the ban would “have a detrimental impact on the mental health of young trans people”.


In an open letter to the Health Secretary, LGBT+ Labour said: “Puberty blockers represent an important medication for many children and young people with gender dysphoria both in the UK and the rest of the world, as part of their gender transition. Trans adolescents must now be offered further resources elsewhere to support them.”

LGBT+ Labour welcomed the news of a clinical trial on their effectiveness, to begin next year, but called for greater information about the nature and scale of the trials.

The organisation’s response to yesterday’s announcement has itself sparked controversy, however, with the national trans officer for LGBT+ Labour Georgia Meadows taking to social media to describe their comments as “shockingly poor”.

“LGB Labour have completely lost the confidence of the trans community,” Meadows wrote.

They claimed to have been “ignored” in the process of drafting the statement, posting online the version they had suggested they should make.

LabourList has approached LGBT+ Labour for comment.

Ban ‘flies in the face of Labour’s manifesto’

Labour For Trans Rights condemned the decision by the Health Secretary and said that it amounts to a breach of a manifesto commitment to trans people.

In a statement, the group said: “This move disregards the urgent needs of vulnerable young people and flies in the face of Labour’s manifesto commitment to ‘remove indignities for trans people who deserve recognition and acceptance’.

“The indefinite nature of this ban creates an environment of fear and uncertainty, which is already taking a toll on the mental health of trans youth.

“Trans lives are not a political battleground. We urge the Labour leadership to listen to its membership, to the trans community, and to change course.”

‘Wes Streeting has shown himself as the adult in the room’

The decision has received some praise from others within the Labour Party, including the Labour Women’s Declaration Working Group.

They said: “Wes Streeting has consistently shown himself as the adult in the room on this topic. His commendation of those of us who have spoken out for years about the harms to children and to women’s rights was moving to hear.

“Our welcome of the decision is shared by the majority of the PLP, by Labour members and by the general public. The Cass Review concluded that there is no evidence of their safety or efficacy. Those like Labour for Trans Rights who are still opposing the ban are now the outliers.”

NHS prescriptions of puberty blockers to children at gender identity clinics ended in March, with a government ban following in May, restricting NHS provision to within clinical trials.


Labour bans puberty blockers for under-18s in attack on trans+ healthcare


Transphobes seized on the Cass Review when it was published in April



Protesters on Trans Pride marching through central London in July 2023
 (Picture: Guy Smallman)

By Judy Cox
Wednesday 11 December 2024  
SOCIALIST WORKER Issue 2935


The Labour government has indefinitely banned puberty blockers for trans+ young people under the age of 18.

Health secretary Wes Streeting announced on Wednesday that he would make existing “emergency measures” banning the sale and supply of puberty blockers indefinite.

NHS bosses announced in March that children would no longer be prescribed puberty blockers at gender identity clinics.

The then Tory government claimed it was in the “best interests of the child”—using a transphobic dog whistle of “protecting the children”.

In April, Dr Hilary Cass published her review in trans+ children’s healthcare, which opened the door to further attacks.

The crux of the report’s case rested on studies into puberty blockers being “poor quality”. Such medication, which is reversible, puts on hold the largely irreversible and sometimes distressing physical changes of puberty.

Cass painted a fantasy view of medics handing out puberty blockers to children like sweats and dismissed a vast number of studies that show their benefit.

The announcement came days after a shocking new report found trans+ people are being refused vital hormone treatment or having treatment suddenly withdrawn.

The report was carried out by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Trans+ people and NHS staff told the report that doctors are increasingly unlikely to prescribe crucial treatment—and others are withdrawing prescriptions without consultation or warning.

More doctors are turning down people who need hormone replacement therapy as part of their transition.

Some doctors blame a lack of funding. This funding crisis is combining with a wider roll back of gender affirming health care since the publication of the Cass Review.

Socialist Worker argued in April that the Cass Review would lead to more attacks on trans+ people.

Doctors now fear that they are no longer allowed to prescribe Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and are “genuinely scared” of doing something wrong if they prescribe hormone treatments.

Duncan, a GP for Sussex Gender Service, explained that the Cass Review was supposed to be a review of children’s gender services. But it made recommendations for people up to 25. This has left GPs confused and intimidated. “Some staff don’t care about our community”, Duncan said.

“And they can get away with it because they’re emboldened by the rhetoric in society and politics. And I think to be fair they are beleaguered and already overstretched.”

A trans woman, known as Emily, told the report that her life changed with a text message from her GP practice. The HRT which allowed Emily to live her life had been stopped. The text told Emily the GP was unable to “safely support ongoing prescribing or monitoring” of the “specialist drug”.

Emily would have to go private to get her HRT—an option she could not afford. Other trans people are being forced to source the drugs they need from unlicensed suppliers on the internet.

A young trans man, Elijah, told the investigators that he relied on testosterone prescribed by his GP. But when he moved house, he registered with a new doctor who decided to stop his treatment.

Investigators spoke to trans+ people who had had their prescriptions refused even when it had been recommended by a specialist. Others had their prescription cancelled when it had been prescribed for years. The Tavistock and Portman gender clinic said refusals to provide HRT were a “frequent occurrence”.

Kamilla Kamaruddin is a GP who works at the East of England Gender Service. She said, “We are seeing more and GPs refusing to prescribe on the basis that they don’t have the expertise. If a GP didn’t know how to treat a heart condition, they’d ask a cardiologist. They would get advice and guidance but for some GPs this doesn’t seem to apply to trans people.”


Socialism tops capitalism in popularity among Britons, new poll shows

Yesterday
LEFT FOOT FORWARD


'We won't get socialism with a Murdoch right wing press.'



A new YouGov poll shows that socialism is more popular than capitalism among Britons.

The “Which political ideologies do Britons have a positive view of?“ survey analysed public opinion on 12 different ideologies.

Environmentalism is the most favoured ideology, with 64% of respondents expressing a positive view about concern and action aimed at protecting the environment.

This was closely followed by feminism (56%) and liberalism (41%). Socialism is the fourth most popular ideology, with the support of 38% of Britons, surpassing capitalism at 30%.

Other beliefs, including conservatism (32%), nationalism (29%), libertarianism (24%), and populism (13%), were less favoured.

Communism was supported by 10% of those surveyed, while anarchism and fascism received 8% and 2% support, respectively.

In response to the poll, readers recalled clips of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn advocating for socialism. One notable moment was his keynote speech at the Labour conference in 2016, when he promised “21st century socialism” for Britain, taxing the super-rich, pouring money into new council houses and blocking arms sales to abusive regimes.

Interestingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, the right-wing media largely ignored the YouGov poll, with UnHerd being one of the few outlets to write about it.

Founded by billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Marshall who, earlier this year, sealed a £100m takeover of the Spectator magazine, UnHerd took the opportunity to criticise Corbyn, saying that Britons had rejected socialism in the 2017 and 2019 elections when he led Labour.

The outlet also sought to defend capitalism, arguing that the term has become associated with negative aspects of the system, such as corporate greed, but that alternative terms like “free market” are more positively received by the public.

However, judging by some of the readers’ comments, many seemed to resonate with the survey’s findings. One commenter expressed hope, saying:

“Yay. I do hope that’s true. I mean why wouldn’t you…The pursuit of a fairer more equal society that supports the vulnerable and looks after us all…. What’s not to like?”

Another bluntly noted the media’s role:

“We won’t get socialism with a Murdoch right wing press.”
UK

RENT IS INFLATION

Tenants stage major protest in London over spiralling rents

Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead 
Yesterday
LEFT FOOT FORWARD

'We are sick and tired of seeing our city carved up by the rich and powerful.'



Tenants are gathering in Cavendish Square Gardens today in protest of the capital’s ‘spiralling’ rents.

The event is being organised by the London Renters Union (LRU), which represents thousands of renters united to transform the housing system and win homes for “people, not profit.”

The protest comes as renters in London and across Britain continue to face dramatic rent hikes, with the capital seeing some of the largest increases in the UK. According to the LRU, the cost of rent in the city has reached a level where many renters are struggling to make ends meet.

Elyem Chej, representing the LRU, said: “We are sick and tired of seeing our city carved up by the rich and powerful. It is disgraceful that ordinary people have to uproot their lives because a landlord or a developer thinks they can get more money.

“Rent control can take the pressure off renters right now while we continue to push for the public homes we need and deserve.”

In a post on X, the LRU said:

“Let’s send a message to politicians that renters won’t stand for the exploitation any longer! This city belongs to us, not landlords and developers. See you in the streets.”

The private rented sector in England has become the second-largest housing tenure, following owner-occupied homes. Approximately 4.6 million households in England rent privately, with around 450,000 in Wales and 887,000 in Scotland.

Recent figures show that rents in the capital have surged by 10.4% from 2023 to 2024, with average rents now hitting £2,172 per month.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that the average rent in England has increased by 8.8% over the past year, reaching £1,348 per month. Rents in Wales and Scotland have also risen, with average costs now at £766 and £976, respectively. In total, 1.2 million private renters in England are reporting difficulties in paying their rent, according to the English Housing Survey.

Despite the challenges, government responses have been limited. The government unfroze the local housing allowance (LHA) in April 2024, but many tenants, particularly those on low incomes, are still struggling to keep up with the rising costs. Labour opted not to raise the LHA in line with the bottom 30% of market rents.

Rachelle Earwaker, senior economist at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), warned that the government has not done enough to protect people from hardship.

“Local housing allowance (LHA) was kept frozen at the latest budget, so the gap between these rising rents and the shortfall families need to cover is getting wider. The government must reverse this decision and permanently link LHA to what rents cost, so renters don’t face another winter of impossible choices. They must also ensure that the other benefits families receive actually cover the cost of their essentials,” Earwaker added.

 

Brian Mast As Foreign Policy Indicator: New Boss, Same as the Old Boss


In 2016, Donald Trump ran for president as a kinda-sorta, maybe-a-little-bit, “antiwar” candidate.

Once in office, however, he escalated every war he had inherited, ending none of them, “surging” US troops into Syria and Afghanistan, making a public head-fake at withdrawing from Syria before changing his mind, abrogating the Iran “nuclear deal,” and negotiating a withdrawal agreement on Afghanistan that he could have completed, but chose not to, leaving the task to his successor so as to shift blame for what a lost war looks like.

This year, Trump once again ran – and won – as a kinda-sorta, maybe-a-little-bit, “antiwar” candidate, mainly on his claim that he could negotiate a “deal” with Russian president Vladimir Putin to end the US proxy war in Ukraine.

Should we have believed him this time? His prospective appointees to office are a mixed bag on the subject of foreign military entanglements, but a recent event in Congress provides strong evidence that the answer is “no.”

On December 9, Republicans selected US Representative Brian Mast of Florida to chair the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Mast was considered a dark horse candidate for the position, entering the race late. How did he win?

“Insiders,”  the Jewish Telegraph Agency reports, “say that President-elect Donald Trump lobbied the Republican Steering Committee, which names committee chairs, to choose Mast.”

If you’re looking for a foreign military misadventure, Mast is your man in Congress to drum one up on demand and with enthusiasm.

He’s most notable for being pretty much the most “pro-Israel” member of the House — so much so that, after the Israel-Gaza war broke out last year, he wore his Israeli Defense Forces uniform to the Capitol.

No, I’m not kidding. In 2015, Mast volunteered with the IDF in a non-combat role (he’s a double amputee, wounded in Afghanistan as an explosive ordnance disposal technician). To each their own, I guess, but a congressman wearing the uniform of a foreign power’s army to the Capitol probably wouldn’t fly if it was any foreign power other than Israel, Washington’s favorite welfare client.

In 2016, Mast called for “an all-out military effort” in Syria.

Last year, supporting Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, he opposed humanitarian aid, claiming it was “not a far stretch to say there are very few innocent Palestinian civilians.”

While he did vote against additional US military aid to Ukraine earlier this year, his reasoning wasn’t that US intervention is a bad idea as such, but rather “because Europe has all the money it needs to ensure Kyiv’s survival if only it would open up its wallet to the extent it expects America to do.”

Mast isn’t just a “hawk.” He’s a warmonger of the first order. And while he’s turned out to be a Trump toady on most issues, his bellicose foreign policy positions are what he’s primarily known for.

Trump’s backing of Mast for a key foreign policy position establishes, to a high degree of confidence, that Trump has no intention of a second term that’s even kinda-sorta, maybe-a-little-bit, “antiwar.”

Author: Thomas Knapp

Thomas L. Knapp is director and senior news analyst at the William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism, publisher of Rational Review News Digest, and moderator of Antiwar.com’s commenting/discussion community. 

 

It’s All Over Red, White and Blue!


Dylan’s song resonates well with this writer, causing me to come to tears. Why? Well, look around you citizens of this Amerikan empire. Like lab rats running nowhere inside a maze with no exit, working stiffs and the poor and indigent cannot find a way out of this mess. As Walt Kelly put it in his unique 20th century comic strip Pogo: “We have met the enemy and he be us.” Just as with Mr. Hitler and his brown and black shirted Nazis, it was the suckers… sorry, the voters, who gave them license to become despots. Of course, in Weimar Germany’s parliamentary system, there were options for the people to form coalitions within their multi party structure. Bottom line: Hitler could have been stopped in his tracks! The sad sin of it all was how much many Germans feared the Communists more than the Nazis. Thus, it was the ‘lesser of two evils’ that put the Hitler over the top.

For decades, since WW2, our Military Industrial Empire created and protected this Two Party/One Party system. One wing of it, The Democrats, were as the late Black Agenda Report editor Glen Ford called them, the ‘Foxes.’ Shrewd enough to play upon identity politics and ignore the plight of working stiffs. They did and have always nurtured the very poor and indigent, but disregarding we who labor for ‘The Man.’ The other wing, the Republicans, Glen Ford labeled as The Wolf Pack, ready and able to devour you as they followed their leader’s dictates.

If you will read Rick Perlstein’s fantastic book, Reaganland, you will find how this Trump phenomena was strictly out of Ronald Reagan’s 1980 campaign playbook. Trump even plagiarized the slogan ‘Make America Great Again‘ from Reagan. The 2024 Republicans, as with their 1980 counterparts, pile on the undocumented AKA Illegal Aliens (as if they are from Mars or beyond), Gay Americans, a woman’s right to choose, and of course the Democrats who caused higher food and gasoline prices (and not this Military Industrial Empire). Imagine the irony that the Air Traffic Controllers Union endorsed Ron… and then he fired their asses! So it will be with The Donald 2 when his far right-wing foolowers continue the destruction of labor unions, which are sadly down to but a bit over 6% membership in the private sector. Although we now know that over 60% of Americans polled want government-run National Health Coverage, the MAGA run cabal will see to it that the shitty Medicare Advantage will soon be all we will have a choice for. Profit before People is their mantra folks!

As I listen to Pink Floyd’s masterpiece ‘Comfortably Numb’ so it will be for the less than 1 % of our fellow citizens once January 20 comes around. Dylan was correct gang
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Philip A Farruggio is regular columnist on itstheempirestupid website. He is the son and grandson of Brooklyn NYC longshoremen and a graduate of Brooklyn College, class of 1974. Since the 2000 election debacle Philip has written over 500 columns on the Military Industrial Empire and other facets of life in an upside down America. He is also host of the It’s the Empire… Stupid radio show, co produced by Chuck Gregory. Philip can be reached at paf1222@bellsouth.netRead other articles by Philip.

 

The Psywar Glossary


Excerpt from the book PsyWar: Enforcing the New World Order.

By means of ever more effective methods of mind manipulation, the democracies will change their nature; the quaint old forms… elections, parliaments, supreme courts and all the rest… will remain.

The underlying substance will be a new kind of Totalitarianism. All the traditional names, all the hallowed slogans will remain exactly like they were in the good old days. Democracy & freedom will be the theme of every broadcast & editorial. Meanwhile, the ruling oligarchy and its highly trained elite will quietly run the show as they see fit.

-Aldous Huxley, 1962

“I know it when I see it”

In the 1964 Supreme Court case Jacobellis v. Ohio, – which was about pornography in the movie industry, the concurring opinion stated,

“I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description [‘hard-core pornography’], and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it.’

And with that statement, one of the most infamous phrases in the American lexicon was born.

PsyWar and Psyops operations are like that also. The problem is that people often have to be taught to “see it.”

The US Department of Defense (DoD) 2004 and 2010 Counterinsurgency Operations Reports define “psyops” as the following:

Psychological operations: Planned operations to convey selected information and indicators to foreign audiences to influence their emotions, motives, objective reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of foreign governments, organizations, groups, and individuals. The purpose of psychological operations is to induce or reinforce foreign attitudes and behavior favorable to the originator’s objectives. Also called PYSOP.

When authorized, PSYOP forces may be used domestically to assist lead federal agencies during disaster relief and crisis management by informing the domestic population.

Psychological warfare (PsyWar) involves the planned use of propaganda and other psychological operations to influence opposition groups’ opinions, emotions, attitudes, and behavior. PsyWar is when psyops is used by governments against a foreign population or even against the citizens of a government (domestically) in a coordinated fashion.


The book PsyWar was specifically written to provide armor against PsyWar being deployed by governments and the globalists against we, the people.

In the back of that book, there is a list of terms associated with PsyWar, in the hopes that if people can understand the concepts, methods, and groups involved in PsyWar campaigns, they will “know it when they see it.”

PsyWar is an excellent present for the older teen or anyone really who wishes to understand better the political world they were born into.

Below is the full PsyWar Glossary from the book PsyWar: Enforcing the New World Order.


A PsyWar Glossary

Administrative state is a term used to describe the phenomenon of executive branch administrative agencies exercising the power to create, adjudicate, and enforce their own rules. The administrative state uses nondelegation, judicial deference, executive control of agencies, procedural rights, and agency dynamics to assert control above the republic and democratic principles.

Advocacy journalism is a subset of journalism that adopts a nonobjective viewpoint, usually for some social or political purpose.

Algorithms on social media and in search engines are computational processes. Online platforms such as Google, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X use algorithms to predict what users are interested in seeing, isolate users who break “community standards” or government censorship rules and maximize revenues. Algorithms filter and prioritizes the content that the user receives, based on their individual user history. Algorithms can isolate different user groups into echo chambers and away from other others or bring users together.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a branch of computer science that focuses on creating machines that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. A key characteristic of AI is that it can learn from data and improve performance over time. AI systems learn from experience, understand natural language, recognize patterns, solve problems, and make decisions.

Astroturfing (ergo, fake grass roots) is the practice of masking the sponsors of a message or organization to make it appear as though it originates from and is supported by grassroots participants. Astroturfing gives organizations credibility by hiding information about the source’s financial or governmental connections. An Astroturf organization is an organization that is hiding its real origins, in order to deceive the public about its true intentions.

Asymmetric warfare is a type of war between opponents whose relative military power, strategy, or tactics differ significantly. It often involves insurgents or a resistance movement against a standing army or a more traditional force.

Advocacy journalism is journalism that advocates a cause or expresses a viewpoint with a specific agenda. It is often designed to increase or decrease the Overton window. It is a form of propaganda.

Bad-jacketing. Rumors and gossip meant to disenfranchise and destroy a movement or quell enthusiasm.

Black ops is an abbreviation for “black operations,” which are covert or clandestine activities that cannot be linked to the organization that undertakes them.

Black propaganda falsely claims a message, image, or video was created by the opposition in order to discredit them.

Bot is an automated account programmed to interact like a user on social media. Bots are used to push narratives, amplify misleading messaging, and distort online discourse. The name “bot” came from a shortened version of the name robot.

Botnet is a network of devices infected with malware, controlled by an attacker to launch distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks or spread malware.

Chaos agents are a person or people that purposefully causes chaos or mischief within a group, for their own personal entertainment or as a tool to cause organizational fragmentation. It is a tool often used by intelligence agencies.

Community technology is the practice of synergizing the efforts of individuals, community technology centers and national organizations with federal policy initiatives around broadband, information access, education, and economic development” (Wikipedia)

Computational propaganda: is an “emergent form of political manipulation that occurs over the internet” (Woolley and Howard, 2018, p. 3). This type of propaganda is often executed through data mining and algorithmic bots, which are usually created and controlled by advanced technologies such as AI and machine learning.

Computational propaganda (EU Parliament definition): “the use of algorithms, automation, and human curation to purposefully distribute misleading information over social media networks.” These activities can feed into influence campaigns: coordinated, illegitimate efforts of a third state or non-state agent to affect democratic processes and political decision-making, including (but not limited to) election interference. It is asserted that disinformation (deliberately deceptive information) turns one of democracy’s greatest assets—free and open debate—into a vulnerability. The use of algorithms, automation and artificial intelligence is boosting the scope and the efficiency of disinformation campaigns and related cyber-activities.

Computer algorithms—to control access or speech. Example: Algorithms to enable X’s policy of “Freedom of speech, not reach”

Controlled opposition, disruptors and chaos agents. Historically, these tactics involves a protest movement that is actually being led by government agents. Nearly all governments in history have employed this technique to trick and subdue their adversaries. However, in fifth-gen warfare, controlled opposition often may come in the form of disruptors and chaos agents. Either “real” people or bots that generate outrageous claims that delegitimize a movement (examples currently may (or may not be); “snake venom in the water” or “everyone is going to die who took the vaccine within two years.” Another tactic is placing agents of chaos whose job is to basically disrupt organizations and events. This may also come in the form of “reporters” who assert fake or highly exaggerated news stories, and who most likely are funded by the opposition. “Undermine the order from the shadows” is the tactic here.

Cryptographic backdoors are methods that allows an entity to bypass encryption and gain access to a system.

Cyberattack is an attempt by an individual or organization to hack into another individual or organization’s information system. The attacker seeks to disrupt, damage, or destroy the system, often for personal gain, political motives, or harm. Cyberattacks can include the use of botnet, denial-of-service, DNS tunneling, malware, man-in-the-middle attacks, phishing, ransomware, SQL injection, and zero-day exploitation.

Cyberstalking involves the use of technology (most often, the internet!) to make someone else afraid or concerned about their safety. Generally speaking, this conduct is threatening or otherwise fear-inducing, involves an invasion of a person’s relative right to privacy, and manifests in repeated actions over time. Most of the time, those who cyberstalk use social media, internet databases, search engines, and other online resources to intimidate, follow, and cause anxiety or terror to others.

Data mining: is the software-driven analysis of large batches of data in order to identify meaningful patterns.

Decentralized and highly non-attributable psychological warfare (memes, fake news).

Deepfakes are synthetic media that have been digitally manipulated to replace one person’s likeness or voice convincingly with that of another. Deepfake techniques include using a type of artificial intelligence called deep learning to create convincing images, audio, and video hoaxes.

Deep state is a type of governance made up of potentially secret and unauthorized networks of power operating independently of a state’s political leadership in pursuit of their own agenda and goals.

Denial-of-service (DoS) attack involves overwhelming a system with traffic to exhaust resources and bandwidth.

Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is a malicious attempt to disrupt normal traffic to a web property.

DNS Tunneling is the use of a domain name system (DNS) protocol to communicate non-DNS traffic, often for malicious purposes.

DoD Military Deception Missions are attempts to deliberately deceive by using psychological warfare to deliberately mislead enemy forces during a combat situation.

DoD Military Information Support Operations (MISO) Missions: Military Information Support Operations (MISO) missions involve sharing specific information to foreign audiences to influence the emotions, motives, reasoning, and behavior of foreign governments and citizens. This can include cyber warfare and advanced communication techniques across all forms of media. In the case of a domestic emergency, MISOs can be used on domestic populations.

DoD Interagency and Government Support Missions: shape and influence foreign decision-making and behaviors in support of US objectives by advising foreign governments.

Electronics intelligence (also called ELINT) is technical and intelligence information obtained from foreign electromagnetic emissions that are not radiated by communications equipment or by nuclear detonations and radioactive sources.

Electronic warfare (EW) is warfare that uses the electromagnetic spectrum, such as radio, infrared, or radar, to sense, protect, and communicate. At the same time, EW can disrupt, deny and degrade the adversaries’ ability to use these signals.

Emotional appeal is a persuasive technique that relies on descriptive language and imagery to evoke an emotional response and convince the recipient of a particular point of view. An emotional appeal manipulates the audience’s emotions, especially when there is a lack of factual evidence.

Fearporn is any type of media or narrative designed to use fear to provoke strong emotional reactions, with the purpose of nudging the audience to react to a situation based on fear. Fearporn many also be used to increase audience size or participation.

Fifth generation (fifth-gen) warfare is using non-kinetic military tactics against an opponent. This would include strategies such as manipulating social media through social engineering, misinformation, censorship cyberattacks, and artificial intelligence. It has also been described as a war of “information and perception.” Although the concept has been rejected by some scholars, it is seen as a new frontier of cyberspace and the concepts behind fifth-generation warfare are evolving, even within the field of military theory and strategy. Fifth-gen warfare is used by non-state actors as well as state actors.

Flooding is a tactic that manipulates search engine or hashtag results by coordinating large volumes of inauthentic posts. Flooding may also be referred to as “firehosing.”

Fourth industrial revolution, 4IR, or Industry 4.0, conceptualizes rapid change to technology, industries, and societal norms in the twenty-first century due to increasing interconnectivity and smart automation. This is being led by the joining of technologies such as artificial intelligence, gene editing, advanced robotics, and transhumanism, which will blur the lines between the physical, digital, and biological worlds.

Gang stalking (cyber) is a form of cyberstalking or cyberbullying, in which a group of people target an individual online to harass them through repeated threat threats, fear-inducing behavior, bullying, teasing, intimidation, gossip and bad-jacketing.

GARM is the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, a cross-industry initiative established by the World Federation of Advertisers and the WEF to address the challenge of “harmful” content on digital media platforms and its monetization via advertising. This is done by rating social media platforms and websites. If an entity has a low score, advertisers, including aggregator sites, such as Google, are not allowed to advertise on those platforms. This is a de-monetization strategy. That has been used by governments to censor news stories that they find inconvenient, such as the existence of Hunter Biden’s laptop, the safety and efficacy of the mRNA jab, and the origins of COVID-19. Both the participants and the terms of the GARM agreement are nontransparent.

GARM was launched at Cannes in the summer of 2019 and has been working hard to highlight the changes needed for advertisers to feel more confident about advertising on social media. As of November 2019, GARM is a flagship project of the World Economic Forum Platform For Shaping the Future of Media, Entertainment and Culture.

Gatekeeping is a process and propaganda technique of selecting content and blocking information to sway a specific outcome. It is often used in news production to manipulate the people by manipulating the writing, editing, positioning, scheduling, and repeating of news stories.

Generative AI means the class of AI models that emulate the structure and characteristics of input data in order to generate derived synthetic content. This can include images, videos, audio, text, and other digital content.

Gray and dark market data sets. A gray market or dark market data set is the trading of information through distribution channels that are not authorized by the original manufacturer or trademark proprietor.

Gray propaganda is communication of a false narrative or story from an unattributed or hidden source. The messenger may be known, but the true source of the message is not. By avoiding source attribution, the viewer becomes unable to determine the creator or motives behind the message. This is common practice in modern corporate media, in which unattributed sources are often cited.

The Great Reset is the name of an initiative launched by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and its founder, Klaus Schwab in June 2020. They are using the cover of anti-COVID measures and an overstated public health crisis, as well as emergencies such as “climate change” to push an agenda to remake the world using stake-holder capitalism (a form of socialism).

Honeypots (not the sexual entrapment kind). In computer terminology, a honeypot is a computer security mechanism set to detect, deflect, or, in some manner, counteract attempts at unauthorized use of information systems.

Hypnosis is a procedure that guides one into a deep state of relaxation (sometimes described as a trancelike state) designed to characterized by heightened suggestibility and receptivity to direction. Hypnosis can be implemented it in digital media, movies, advertising and propaganda. Trance-like experiences aren’t all that uncommon. If you’ve ever zoned out while watching a movie or daydreaming, you’ve been in a similar trance-like state.

Hypnotic language patterns are used to influence and persuade by employing techniques such as lulling linguistic patterns, metaphor, and emotionally appealing words and phrases. Hypnotic language patterns and propaganda are connected through the use of persuasive and manipulative techniques to influence public opinion and highlights the powerful impact of language on shaping public perception and behavior.

Industry 4.0: The fourth industrial revolution (4IR) is a term used to refer to the next generation of technological advances, where it is anticipated that the differences between physical, digital and biological technologies disappear. This is a world where machines and computers evolve independently, where new biological entities and evolutionary changes are being controlled by artificial intelligence, where brain waves can be manipulated. It is, quite literally, a brave new world.

Infodemic is the rapid and far-reaching spread of information, both accurate and inaccurate about a specific issue. The word is a conjoining of “information” and “epidemic.” It is used to describe how misinformation and disinformation can spread like a virus from person to person and affect people like a disease. This use of this technique can be deliberate and intentional.

Inverted totalitarianism is a managed democracy, where economic and state powers are conjoined and virtually unbridled. Regulatory control is superimposed upon the administrative state and a nontransparent group of managers and elites run the country from within.

Limited hangout is a propaganda technique of displaying a subset of the available information. It involves deliberately revealing some information to try to confuse and/or prevent discovery of other information.

A modified limited hangout goes further by slightly changing the information disclosed. Commercially controlled media is often a form of limited hangout, although it often also modifies information and so can represent a modified limited hangout.

Low-cost radios (ham, AM, local) Throughout less-developed technologically areas in the world, these technologies are the backbone of communications.

Mal-information is any speech that can cause mistrust of the government, even if the information is true.

Malware is malicious software that breaches a network through a vulnerability, typically when a user clicks a dangerous link or email attachment.

Man-in-the-middle (MitM) is an attack that interferes with a two-party transaction to steal data or inject malware.

Mass formation is, in essence, a kind of group hypnosis that destroys individuals’ ethical self-awareness and robs them of their ability to think critically. Mass formation within a population can happen suddenly.

Mass formation psychosis describes the individual under the spell of mass formation. Although this term is not found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), it is our opinion that it is just a matter of time before this amendment will be included.

Mass surveillance is the surveillance of a population or fraction of a population. This surveillance is often carried out by local and federal governments or governmental organizations, but it may also be carried out by corporations. Often specific political groups are targeted for their beliefs and influence.

Modified limited hangout is a propaganda technique that displays only a subset of the available information, that has also been modified by changing some or all of the information disclosed (such as exaggeration or making things up). It is meant to confuse and/or prevent discovery of other information.

Moral outbidding (see purity spiral)

NBIC is hyper-personalized targeting that integrates and exploits “neuroscience, bio-technology, information, and cognitive” (NBIC) techniques by using social media and digital networks for neuro-profiling and targeting individuals.

Neurolinguistic programming (NLP) is a set of techniques that are used to improve communication, interpersonal relationships, and personal development. It is based on the idea that our thoughts, language, and behaviors are all connected. By changing one of these elements, the other elements will be altered. Hypnosis and meditation, including the use of repetitive messaging are core NLP Techniques. Other techniques including visualization, image switching, modeling of other successful people, mirroring (using body language to mirror others that you wish to gain approval of) and the use of incantations to reprogram the mind.

Nudging is any attempt at influencing people’s judgment, choice or behavior in a predictable way that is motivated because of cognitive boundaries, biases, routines, and habits in individual and social decision-making posing barriers for people to perform rationally in their own self-declared interests, and which works by making use of those boundaries, biases, routines, and habits as integral parts of such attempts. In fifth-gen warfare, nudging can take the form of images, videos or online messages.

Open-source intelligence (OSINT) is the collection and analysis of data gathered from open sources (covert and publicly available sources) to produce actionable intelligence.

Operation Mockingbird was organized by Allen Dulles and Cord Meyer in 1950. The CIA spent about of one billion dollars a year in today’s dollars, hiring journalists from corporate media, including CBS, the New York Times, ABC, NBC, Newsweek, Associated Press, and others, to promote their point of view. The original operation reportedly involved some three thousand CIA operatives and hired over four hundred journalists. In 1976, the domestic operation supposedly closed, but less than half of the media operatives were let go. Furthermore, documentary evidence shows that much of Operation Mockingbird was then offshored to escape detection. It is rumored that British intelligence picked up many of the duties of Operation Mockingbird on behalf of the US intelligence community (see the Trusted News Initiative).

Othering is a phenomenon where individuals or groups are defined, labeled and targeted as not fitting in within the norms of a social group. This is a tactic used by the deep state, politicians and the media. Chaos agents as well as propaganda are used to create a sense of divide. This influences how people perceive and treat those who are viewed as being part of the in-group versus those who are seen as being part of the out-group. This can happen on both a small and very large scale.

Outrage porn, also known as outrage journalism, is a form of media or storytelling that aims to elicit strong emotional reactions to expand audiences or boost engagement.

Phishing is the practice of sending fraudulent communications that appear to come from a reputable source, aimed at stealing sensitive data or installing malware.

Propaganda is a form of manipulation of public opinion by creating a specific narrative that aligns with a political agenda. It uses techniques like repetition, emotional appeals, selective information, and hypnotic language patterns to influence the subconscious mind, bypassing critical thinking and shaping beliefs and values. Propaganda can use a form of hypnosis, whereby putting people into a receptive state where they are more prone to accepting messages.

Psychological Bioterrorism is the use of fear about a disease to manipulate individuals or populations by governments and other organizations, such as Big Pharma. Although the fear of infectious disease is an obvious example, it is not the only way psychological bioterrorism is used. Other examples include propaganda regarding environmental toxins, unsafe drinking water, soil contamination, and climate change risks. Another name for psychological bioterrorism is information bioterrorism.

Psychological warfare involves the planned use of propaganda and other psychological operations to influence opposition groups’ opinions, emotions, attitudes, and behavior.

PsyWar is when psyops is used by governments against a foreign population or even against the citizens of a government (domestically) in a coordinated fashion.

Publicly available raw data and surveys used to sway public opinion by use of memes, essays and social media posts.

Purity spiral is a form of groupthink, where it becomes more beneficial to hold certain views than to not hold them, and more extreme views are rewarded while expressing doubt, nuance, or moderation is punished (a process sometimes called “moral outbidding”). Moral outbidding makes it beneficial to hold specific beliefs than to not hold them. Although a purity spiral often concerns morality, it is about purity.

Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts a victim’s files and demands payment in exchange for the decryption key.

Realpolitik is political philosophy (or politics) based on practical objectives rather than on ideals. The word does not mean “real” in the English sense but rather connotes “things”—hence a politics of adaptation to things as they are. Realpolitik thus suggests a pragmatic, no-nonsense view and a disregard for ethical considerations. In diplomacy it is often associated with relentless, though realistic, pursuit of the national interest.

Repetitive messaging is a propaganda technique whereby a large number of messages are broadcast rapidly, repetitively, and continuously throughout media without regard for truth or consistency.

Sealioning is a trolling or harassment tactic in online discussions and blogs. It involves the attacker asking relentless and insincere questions or requests for evidence under the guise of civility and a desire for genuine debate. These requests are often tangential or previously addressed and the attacker maintains a pretense of civility and sincerity, while feigning ignorance of the subject matter. Sealioning is aimed at exhausting the patience and goodwill of the target, making them appear unreasonable.

Shadow banning (also known as stealth banning, hell-banning, ghost banning, and comment ghosting) is the practice of blocking or partially blocking a user or the user’s content from some or all areas of an online community. This is done in such a way that the ban is not readily apparent to the user, regardless of whether the action is taken by an individual or an algorithm.

Social credit systems: China’s social credit system is a combination of government and business surveillance that gives citizens a “score” that can restrict the ability of individuals or corporations to function in the modern world by limiting purchases, acquiring property or taking loans based on past behaviors. Of course, how one uses the internet directly impacts the social credit score. This is the origin of the social credit system that appears to be evolving in the United States. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics are a kind of social credit system designed to coerce businesses—and, by extension, individuals and all of society—to transform their practices, behaviors and thinking.

Social engineering is any manipulation technique that exploits human behavior and error in order to gain access to sensitive or confidential information. Where some scammers would steal someone’s personal information, social engineers convince their victims to willingly hand over the requested information like usernames and passwords. “Nudge” technology is actually applied social engineering.

Social media algorithms are a set of rules and calculations used by social media platforms to prioritize the content that users see in their feeds based on their past behavior, content relevance, and the popularity of post. Social media algorithms are also used to determine which posts will or won’t get seen by other uses. “Free speech but not reach,” first coined by Elon Musk describes the use of social media algorithms on “X” and other such platforms.

Social media analytics (commercially available) is the process of gaining and evaluating data from social media networks (such as Twitter, Google, Brave or Facebook). This process helps to determine if a social media campaign’s performance was effective and make future decisions on the basis of this analysis.

Social media manipulation (data driven) involves a series of computational techniques that abuse social media algorithms and automation to manipulate public opinion.

Sophistry is the use of fallacious arguments, especially with the intention of deceiving. It is a technique often used by the media and fact-checkers.

SQL Injection is a code injection technique used to attack data-driven applications whereby malicious SQL statements (code) are inserted into an entry field for execution.

Stovepiping is a term used in intelligence analysis, which prevents proper analysis by preventing objective analysts from drawing conclusions based on all relevant data by only providing some of the raw data without context.

Surveillance capitalism is a business model based on the unilateral claim of human private experiences as free raw material for translation into behavioral data. These personal data are then extracted, processed, and traded to predict and influence human behavior. Specific data concerning individuals is the commodity. In this version of capitalism, the prediction and influencing of behavior (political and economic) rather than production of goods and services is the primary product. The economic success of this business model is a major contributor to the profitability of Google, Facebook, TikTok and many other social media companies. The data and tools of surveillance capitalism has been exploited for political purposes by Cambridge Analytica. In many cases the surveillance state and globalist governmental organizations have fused with surveillance capitalism to yield a new form of fascism commonly known as techno-totalitarianism.

Switchboarding describes the federal government’s practice of referring requests fo the removal of content on social media from state and local election officials to the relevant social media platforms for removal.

Synergistic use of mixed media to build excitement or to create outrage.

Synthetic media is a term used for the artificial production, manipulation, and modification of data and media, through the use of generative AI and artificial intelligence algorithms for the purpose of misleading people or changing an original meaning. Often referred to as deepfakes.

Technocracy is a form of government in which the decision-makers are selected on the basis of their expertise in a given area of responsibility. This system explicitly contrasts with representative democracy. Decision-makers are selected on the basis of specialized knowledge and performance, rather than political affiliations, parliamentary skills, or popularity.

Tracking surveillance software (such as COVID trackers, GPS and cell phone keyword searches).

Traditional protest tools can be combined with fifth-gen warfare. An example would be a large rally combined with social media tools to create synergy or opposition for a movement.

Trolls are human online agents, sometimes sponsored to harass other users or post divisive content to spark controversies as well as dis-enfranchise individuals or group members through bad-jacketing and gossip.

The Trusted News Initiative (TNI) is a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)–led organization which has been actively censoring eminent doctors, academics, and those with dissenting voices that contravene the official COVID-19 narrative as well as other narratives, such as voter fraud, elections and current news not sanctioned by government. Partners in this endeavor include the major mainstream media organizations, Big Tech (such as Google and social media), governments, and nongovernmental organizations. Anything contrary to the government narrative is considered disinformation or misinformation and will be deleted, suppressed, or deplatformed.

Ultra vires (“beyond the powers”) is a Latin phrase used in law to describe an act that requires legal authority but is done without it. Its opposite, an act done under proper authority, is intra vires (“within the powers”).

Virtue signaling is sharing one’s point of view on a social or political issue, often on social media or through specific dress or actions, to garner praise or acknowledgment of one’s righteousness from others who share that point of view or to rebuke those who do not.

Web crawler, also known as a spiderbot, is an automated Internet program that systematically browses the World Wide Web for specific types of information.

White propaganda is a type of propaganda where the producer of the material is marked and indicated, and the purpose of the information is transparent. White propaganda is commonly used in marketing and public relations. White propaganda involves communicating a message from a known source to a recipient (typically the public or some targeted sub-audience). White propaganda is mainly based on facts, although often, the whole truth is not told.

World Economic Forum (WEF) is one of the key think tanks and meeting places for managing global capitalism and is arguably coherent enough to qualify as the leading global “deep state” organization. Under the leadership of Professor Klaus Schwab, it has played an increasingly important role in coordinating the globalized hegemony of large pools of transnational capital and associated large corporations over Western democracies during the last three decades.

Wrap-up smear is a deflection tactic in which a smear is made up and leaked to the press. The press then amplifies the smear and gives it legitimacy. Then, an author can use the press coverage of the smear as validation to write a summary story, which is the wrap-up smear.

Yellow journalism is newspaper reporting that emphasizes sensationalism over facts. Advocacy journalists who support government narratives often use it to sway public opinion.

Zero-day exploit is a technique targeting a newly discovered vulnerability before a patch is available.FacebookTwitterRedditEmail

Robert W Malone MD, MS is president of the Malone Institute whose mission is to bring back integrity to the biological sciences and medicine. The Malone Institute supports and conducts research, education, and informational activities. Contact: info@maloneinstitute.orgRead other articles by Robert, or visit Robert's website.