From Socialist Worker: http://socialistworker.org/2014/03/05/cointelpro-version-2
Throughout the history of capitalism, the state has engaged in attempts to squelch dissent and left-wing political activism–and today is no different.
March 5, 2014
THERE’S AN old cliché about the left that we see plots by the state where they don’t exist. But the latest revelations about the Big Brother spy state via National Security Agency (NSA) leaker Edward Snowden show that an equally old joke has the ring of truth: Just because we’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get us.
Recent articles by journalist Glenn Greenwald for NBC News and The Intercept document, using evidence obtained by Snowden, cooperation between the British intelligence agency Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and the NSA.
A previously unknown division of GCHQ called the Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group (JTRIG) presented classified documents to the NSA and other government intelligence agencies that detailed some of their favorite spy tactics and dirty tricks–including “monitoring of YouTube and Blogger, the targeting of Anonymous with the very same [denial of service] attacks they accuse ‘hacktivists’ of using, the use of ‘honey traps’ (luring people into compromising situations using sex) and destructive viruses,” Greenwald wrote.
The bottom line, according to Greenwald: “[T]hese agencies are attempting to control, infiltrate, manipulate and warp online discourse, and in doing so, are compromising the integrity of the Internet itself.”
Consider JTRIG’s advice on how to discredit a political activist, as explained in a Power Point presentation: “Set up a honey-trap. Change their photos on social networking sites. Write a blog purporting to be one of their victims. E-mail/text their colleagues, neighbors, friends, etc.” Other slides in the presentation include suggestions for “Identifying and exploiting fracture points” of activist groups–and “Gambits for deception” when infiltrating such organizations.
According to JTRIG, the “four D’s” of “online covert action” are: “Deny/Disrupt/Degrade/Deceive.”
Continue reading at: http://socialistworker.org/2014/03/05/cointelpro-version-2
