The institute claims its technology can read the subconscious mind and alter behavior. Douglas Selvage:Based on statements by KGB and Stasi officers to their Bulgarian counterparts in 1986-9, the Stasis foreign intelligence branch (Hauptverwaltung Aufklrung, HVA) played a central role in the disinformation campaign alongside the KGB. What possible reasonable reason could there be for leaving a paper that is a lie in their journal without even an expression of concern, much less a retraction? Congress Has a Lo-Fi Plan to Fix the Classified Documents Mess. People prefer one over the other based on their, The new MeerKAT telescope will help us unlock the secrets of these massive beasts, making this an exciting time for, Those scientists who use cosmetic words when talking about female scientists mean no direct harm. The latter were arguing correctly, as it later turned out that HIV had originated in Africa, where it had spread from non-human primates to human beings. "That's the level of modern neuroscience. Through the operation, the Stasi sought to expose the dangers to mankind arising from the research, production, and use of biological weapons, to strengthen anti-American sentiments in the world, and to spark domestic political controversies in the USA. To this end, the Stasi promised to provide their Bulgarian comrades with a scientific study and other materials that prove that AIDS originated in the USA, not in Africa, and that AIDS is a product of the USAs bioweapons research., Also Read: Rumours, Misinformation and Self-Verification of Facts in the Age of COVID-19. . There's no way to falsify the results. Despite Smirnov's death, Rusalkina predicts an "arms race" in psychotronic weapons. The two co-creators of the West German film strenuously deny that the Stasi covertly financed the film or was involved with it in any other way. SSRM Tek is presented to a subject as an innocent computer game that flashes subliminal images across the screen -- like pictures of Osama bin Laden or the World Trade Center. The scientific study to which the Stasi referred was clearly AIDS: Its Nature and Origin by the retired Soviet-East German biologist Jakob Segal and his wife, Lilli, a scientist and author in her own right. When officials asked what would happen if the subliminal signals didn't work, Smirnov replied that Koresh's followers might slit each other's throats, Morris recounted. What's gotten DHS' attention is the institute's work on a system called Semantic Stimuli Response Measurements Technology, or SSRM Tek, a software-based mind reader that supposedly tests a subject's involuntary response to subliminal messages. Getentrepreneurial.com: Resources for Small Business Entrepreneurs in 2022. Photo: Nathan Hodge"If it's a clean result, the passengers are allowed through," said Rusalkina, during a reporter's visit last year. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Smirnov moved from military research into treating patients with mental problems and drug addiction, setting up shop at the college. Portraits of Smirnov cover Rusalkina's desk, and his former office is like a shrine, the walls lined with his once-secret patents, his awards from the Soviet government, and a calendar from the KGB's cryptographic section. PBS America Rusalkina markets the technology as a program called Mindreader 2.0. It sounds absurd that an obscure US company with a hastily constructed website could have driven international health policy and brought major clinical trials to a halt within the span of a few weeks. WASHINGTON Fear-based appeals appear to be effective at influencing attitudes and behaviors, especially among women, according to a comprehensive review of over 50 years of research on the topic, published by the American Psychological Association. In the 1960s, the KGB conducted some fascinating experiments. The result you can see is most of the people who graduated in 60s are drop outs or half-baked intellectuals who are now occupying the positions of power in the government, civil service, business, mass media, the educational system; you are stuck with them. It also illustrates how the search for counter-terrorism technology has led the U.S. government into unconventional -- and some would say unsound -- science. They found fear appeals to be effective, especially when they contained recommendations for one-time only (versus repeated) behaviors and if the targeted audience included a larger percentage of women. Operation INFEKTION was an active measure disinformation campaign run by the KGB in the 1980s to plant the idea that the United States had invented HIV/AIDS as part of a biological weapons research project at Fort Detrick, Maryland.Historian Thomas Boghardt popularized the codename "INFEKTION" based on the claims of former East German Ministry for State Security (Stasi) officer Gnter . But the FBI was put off by Smirnov's cavalier response to questions. The terrorist's response to the scrambled image involuntarily differs from the innocent person's, according to the theory. DS:Strangely, in retrospect, I did not imagine living through another global pandemic in my lifetime, despite the warnings of the Obama Administration and the example of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Home / Technology / 1960's KGB psychological experiments. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. They learnt that if you bombard human subjects with fear messages non stop, in two months or Liked by Adam Coogans. [1][2] In 1967, he was assigned to Vienna, Austria in an undercover operation as a press attach, to recruit European reporters as secret agents that Soviet intelligence could use to spread disinformation. 27 Jan 2023 14:18:38 He described the process as "a great . Your email address will not be published. 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They learned that if you bombarded human subjects with fear messages non-stop, by the end of two months most of the subjects became brainwashed and believed the false message, to the point that no amount of clear (truthful) information they were shown would change their minds. The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. In September 1985, the Soviet State Security Committee (KGB) informed other Warsaw Pact foreign intelligence agencies that it had launched a new, major disinformation campaign. It was particularly active in combatting the Soviet blocs AIDS disinformation. NEWSFLASH! While these types of messages are commonly used in political, public health and commercial advertising campaigns (e.g., smoking will kill you, Candidate A will destroy the economy), their use is controversial as academics continue to debate their effectiveness. The conspiracy theories circulating in 2020 are more diffuse and less coherent than the disinformation propagated by the KGB and the Stasi in the 1980s, but the two periods bear distinct similarities. The example of the response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic by the democratically-elected government of South Africa under President Thabo Mbeki (1999-2008) should serve as a warning to us today as we grapple with COVID-19. At $25 a pop$43.99 for a two-hour guided strollthe KGB Spy Museum offers a thoroughly capitalist look at the decidedly Communist spy tools, from the Bolshevik era through the F.S.B. But the U.S. war on terror and the millions of dollars set aside for homeland security research is offering Smirnov a chance at posthumous respectability in the West. In our exchange featured below, Selvage sheds light on the origins and main purpose of operation Denver and considers the lessons we may learn in responding to Russian and Chinese disinformation in 2020. The KGB told Andrei his father's remains were cremated and there would be no grave. Yuri Bezmenov, known by the alias Tomas David Schuman, was a Soviet KGB informant who defected to Canada. Smirnov is best known in the United States for consulting with the FBI during the 1993 Waco siege. Why that many years? Bu kartu, gelimi yazdrma teknolojisi sayesinde ok yksek kaliteli ve st dzey yazdrma performans sunar. Smirnov was a Rasputin-like character often portrayed in the media as having almost mystical powers of persuasion. This article has been republished from The MIT Press Reader. In the 60s, the KGB did some fascinating psychological experiments. She also claimed that Russian special forces contacted the institute during the 2003 Moscow theater siege, in which several hundred people were held hostage by Chechen militants. The WIRED conversation illuminates how technology is changing every aspect of our livesfrom culture to business, science to design. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. This is one of the prime way TDS was created. The Stasi also claimed to have covertly co-financed a documentary film shown three times on public-financed West German television in 1989 and subsequently in an English version on British Channel Four in 1990. She says it works faster than a polygraph and can be used at airports. International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, Media censorship and disinformation during the Gezi Park protests, "The Spy Who Came Into the Classroom Teaches at Boston U. 27 Jan 2023 20:54:46 As for the science, Ioffe says he has a Ph.D in neurophysiology, and cited Smirnov's Russian-language publications as the basis for SSRM Tek. 3 talking about this. The Russians used a narcotic gas to subdue the attackers and their captives, which led to the asphyxiation death of many of the hostages. [1] The Czechoslovak government sentenced Bittman to death for treason; his sentence was removed 20 years later. The FBI took a pass, and Smirnov returned to Moscow with his mind control technology. It is the essential source of information and ideas that make sense of a world in constant transformation. But the Alfa Group" -- the Russian equivalent of Delta Force -- "decided to go with an old method that had already been tested before.". "It would be premature to discuss any details about the pending contract with DHS and I will be happy to do an interview once the contract is in place," Ioffe, of Northam Psychotechnologies, wrote in an e-mail. Business, Economics, and Finance. The breakthroughs and innovations that we uncover lead to new ways of thinking, new connections, and new industries. As early as 1987, the Stasi officers responsible for the AIDS disinformation campaign began using the terms Denver and Detrick interchangeably in talks with their Bulgarian counterparts. These days, Rusalkina explained, the institute uses its psychotechnology to treat alcoholics and drug addicts. The Stasi apparently helped behind the scenes in bringing the Segals together with certain foreign journalists who were known quantities to its disinformation division. Meet the KGB Spies Who Invented Fake News. Fearing the companys new management, researchers frantically completed studies on misinformation and algorithmic bias, then rushed to publish them online. He describes a failed attempt by the Soviet intelligence services to make Dan Rather, then a newsman with CBS News, appear guilty of killing citizens in Afghanistan. This site participates in the Amazon Associate program and earns revenue from qualifying purchases (links to books or products). Within hours of the disaster, software engineers were rolling out applications to help locate people in need and distribute aid. In the case of the AIDS disinformation campaign, the KGB simply picked up on existing conspiracy theories in the US, added a new element that conformed to its disinformation goals (i.e., the exact location of HIVs construction, Fort Detrick), and spread the resulting conspiracy theory internationally to its own ends. Posted by . Photo: Nathan HodgeSmirnov died in November 2004, leaving the widowed Rusalkina -- his long-time collaborator -- to run the institute. How did they Vote? [3][5], The book was first published in 1983 by Pergamon-Brassey's and another edition was released in 1985 by the same publisher, with a foreword by Roy Godson. Photo . Psychiatrist. [4] In some instances such covert operations led to blowback and unintended consequences from intelligence agency actions, which were harmful to the Soviet Union. Mitrokhin was an archivist for the KGB for 30 . Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Op-Ed: Busy Bee DeSantis is Buzzing Around the Honey Hive Will He Land on a Cherry Blossom? the truth . And there arent going to be any believable answers. At the heart of the deception was a paper published in The Lancet on May 22 that suggested hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug prom, 329 Lullaby, Stevie Lewis Bloody brilliant, some astute, clever lyrics, also a plug for Children of the Cure, Bravo Stevie, Bravo all brave dissenters,.. X. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright var currDate = new Date(); document.write(currDate.getFullYear()); Data Based Medicine Americas Ltd. 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