GCHQ documents are the first to prove that a major western government is using some of the most controversial techniques to disseminate deception online and harm the reputations of targets.
Glen Greenwald worked with NBC News to publish a series of articles about “dirty trick” tactics used by GCHQ’s [Government Communications Headquarters] previously secret unit, JTRIG (Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group). Among the core self-identified purposes of JTRIG are two tactics:
(1) to inject all sorts of false material onto the internet in order to destroy the reputation of its targets
(2) to use social sciences and other techniques to manipulate online discourse and activism to generate outcomes it considers desirable.
How to Discredit a Target
*Set up a honey-trap
*Change their photos on social networking sites
*Write a blog purporting to be one of their victims
*Email/text their colleagues, neighbors, friends, etc..
How to Destroy Companies the Agency Targets
*Leak confidential information to companies/the press via blogs, etc..
*Post negative information on appropriate forums
*Stop deals/ruin business relationships
GCHQ describes the purpose of JTRIG:
“using online techniques to make something happen in the real or cyber world”
THE 4 D’S: Deny :: Disrupt :: Degrade :: Deceive
The “targets” for this deceit and reputation-destruction extend tothose who use online protest activity for political ends.
Far beyond hacktivists, these surveillance agencies have vested themselves with the power to deliberately ruin people’s reputations and disrupt their online political activity even though they’ve been charged with no crimes, and even though their actions have no conceivable connection to terrorism or even national security threats. Targeting Anonymous and hacktivists amounts to targeting citizens for expressing their political beliefs, resulting in the stifling of legitimate dissent.
Government monitors and influences internet communications, and covertly infiltrates online communities in order to sow dissension and disseminate false information. The US government employs teams of covert agents and pseudo-”independent” advocates to “cognitively infiltrate” online groups and websites, as well as other activist groups.
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