Is U.S. Response to COVID Pandemic an Official Government Psychological Operation?

Guest Post by David Marks

The possibility that U.S. government psychological operations, or PSYOP, have been engaged to sway the public to accept COVID vaccines should be investigated thoroughly.

Those who have questioned the intentions behind government policy in response to the pandemic continue to observe the unreasonable intensity of supporters of mandated protocols. Declaring vehement loyalty to vaccine therapy, their minds are closed to any further input.

Vaccination proponents don’t want to see or hear anything contradicting their very confident, though most questionable position: that a benevolent government, supported by a monolithic, knowledgeable, scientific community, is successfully dealing with the crisis.

In addition to the challenges of an uncompromising public debate, some of us face a personal crisis: The compassionate principles of long-term relationships are being tested.

With entrenched devotion to vaccines, loved ones and friends who were once willing to discuss most other topics, refuse to engage. At a minimum, they express disappointment in our lack of understanding and compliance. When forthright they confess their judgment — our unwillingness to conform causes continuing affliction.

Many people have been persuaded that anyone who has doubts about the infallible words and irrefutable facts presented by somber leaders and an impartial press corps are infecting others with dangerous information.

Failures of the pandemic response are increasingly laid at the feet of the unvaccinated.

However, the furious indignation is often irrational, inordinate and out of character, suggesting it is driven by a set of external stimuli designed to create the response.

A looming crisis, initially presented with expectations of horrific consequences including widespread severe disease and millions dead, can be viewed as the beginning of a prescribed government response to the pandemic.

The intentional amplification of the threat, unjustifiable by any scientific defense, was never diminished, even as ominous predictions of suffering and mortality proved to be greatly exaggerated.

From the moment vaccines were released, anyone who doubted their importance and efficacy has been depicted as a hostile deviant entranced by fantasies or blindly following aberrant leaders.

And although so-called anti-vaxxers are belittled for their ignorance, there is no indication those rejecting enforced protocols are doing anything but defending their inalienable rights — life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The extreme aggressive tactics of the government and media to promote vaccines — including a campaign to humiliate those who refuse to comply — have the earmarks of psychological warfare, with manipulation of citizens on a grander scale than any effort in recent history.

The continuing prevailing mindset of many people appears to be the reaction to a calculated induction of a mass hypnotic trance.

Of all aspects of pandemic response, this is one of the most troubling, and should cause us to consider its probability, provenance and rectification.

‘My honor is my loyalty’

The government’s use of a psychological operation — aka PSYOP — to promote immunization follows standards and practices for engendering a cult mentality to reach its objectives.

The central technique for initiating and maintaining an obedient population is developing an “us versus them” mindset. The demonization of outsiders is essential.

Demands and sacrifices are made of the members, solidifying their involvement and ensuring they see themselves as superior to those who don’t participate.

These mesmeric psychological operations can be identified in groups small and large, including mass populations.

The most dramatic example of a PSYOP engendering a cult is the rise of fascism in Nazi Germany. An elite propaganda machine entranced a nation into believing they were a superior race, arousing a blind loyalty to their cause, with a loss of moral parameters unmatched in modern history.

Hitler’s most loyal troops, the SS, closely associated with forced labor and death camps, and deemed a criminal organization by the Nuremberg tribunals, wore belt buckles and kept daggers engraved with the words, “my honor is loyalty.”

More recently, less-militarized cults have made some dramatic impact in the United States.

The religious organization, the People’s Temple, in its early days gained the support of politicians and manipulated the media to project a positive spin on its activities.

The People’s Temple devolved into darkness, eventually leading to a quintessential cult event in Jonestown, Guyana. On the cusp of being arrested for the murder of a visiting congressman, their leader, Jim Jones, demanded the highest level of loyalty: Hundreds of members committed mass suicide, including their children, by drinking a cyanide-valium cocktail.

Mass hypnosis allows transference of an individual’s attention and priorities to a singular objective or ideology, and loyalty to the cause is elevated, overshadowing self-preservation.

Another example of an influential cult based in the United States is the Unification Church. Their members, the Moonies, were staunchly loyal to Sun Myung Moon, who was famous for presiding over spectacular mass weddings of arranged marriages.

The Unification Church also funneled money to powerful politicians through grants and speaking fees. Moon founded the Washington Times, which openly supported his political agenda.

As a lead investigator in a BBC biography of the Korean Cult leader, I met and interviewed former devotees and abettors who described the process of indoctrination into a trance of blind obedience.

Moon created a sophisticated psychological framework to attract and retain members, claiming he was a messiah greater than Buddha, Jesus and Mohammed combined. Good-hearted, intelligent people succumbed to a psychotic euphoria invoked by Moon and his agents, with support from government and media.

Only later did they awaken to their profound mistake, falling for rhetoric they eventually recognized as hypnotic, deeply flawed and dangerous.

One of the interviewees spoke most eloquently about having lost his soul, and given away years of his life.

An individual whose attitude embraces the affirmation — “my honor is loyalty” — towards any leader, cult or policy, has given up his or her personal power, often to abusive forces.

Symbolically, the SS motto has been illegal to use in Germany since 1947.

Cults are often viewed as aberrations that occurred in the past, however, they continue to thrive.

The susceptibility of humans to mass hypnosis and manipulation continues to be exploited and has never been applied for the greater good.

Cult of the vaccinated

Those who resist vaccination are reacting to harsh directives and overt hostility from a heavy-handed government. Their position is neither the result of mass hypnosis nor cult-like programming, rather an exercise in freedom of speech and choice.

Psychologically, there is an indisputable, definitive metric that demonstrates the difference between the anti- and pro-vaccine groups.

A large majority of the unvaccinated have reviewed information and statistics from a range of sources, that either support or contradict government policy. They have made choices based on concerns about efficacy and risks, but are open to engaging in debate.

Most of the pro-vaccine faction stand by what they deem unassailable information from the news media. They are willing to accept a filtered version of data, and staunchly refuse to look at any material that might cause doubt about their decisions or challenge authoritative mandates.

They refuse to engage in debate.

A majority of the general public has been beguiled into feeling threatened by the virus, and roused to angrily denounce those who doubt the efficacy or risks of COVID-19 inoculants.

The pro-vaccine disciple’s lockstep, cult-like behavior is classic. The mentality includes:

• Unbending loyalty to a methodology promulgated by influential leaders who make claims that are too good to be true.
• Unquestioning adherence to and dependency on the group’s approach and procedures, with insistence that they are on the only true and worthy path.
• Unwillingness to consider any written or spoken words, or ideas that counter the messaging of leaders or the group’s intentions.
• Willingness to change lifestyle or engage in risky behavior, with blind acceptance that there are only benefits and minimal risks.
• Continuing belief in dogma, even when firmly presented concepts devolve, or prove to be deeply flawed.
• Denying any self-doubt in the name of a greater mission — critical thinking about the group is an abomination.
• Persuading or pressuring new members to join, using guilt as primary motivation. When this fails, forcing submission through ridicule, mental anguish or material punishment.
• Demeaning, isolating and penalizing anyone who defects or does not enlist.
• Willingness to dishonor family or destroy long-term relationships in the name of the cult’s objectives.
• Self-destructive behavior — as in all of the above — that eventually leads to dissolution of the cult and irreparable harm to the members.

Designing a PSYOP for a pandemic

A strong circumstantial case can be made that there is an imposed PSYOP in place in the United States. The vehement public support and willingness to obey without question are the precise results a government would seek in response to the perceived threat of a deadly pandemic.

The tactics used to generate this kind of outcome are not hidden from those willing to consider how the U.S. government applies its knowledge.

This excerpt from the opening chapter of the “U.S. Army Field Manual on PSYOP” makes intentions of a campaign very clear:

“PSYOP are planned operations that convey selected information and indicators to foreign target audiences (TAs) to influence their emotions, motives, objective reasoning, and ultimately, the behavior of foreign governments, organizations, groups, and individuals. The purpose of all PSYOP is to create in neutral, friendly, or hostile foreign groups the emotions, attitudes, or desired behavior that support the achievement of U.S. national objectives and the military mission. In doing so, PSYOP influence not only policy and decisions, but also the ability to govern, the ability to command, the will to fight, the will to obey, and the will to support. The combination of PSYOP products and actions create in the selected TAs a behavior that supports U.S. national policy objectives and the theater commander’s intentions at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels.”

If this type of operation has been applied, it appears the public is behaving in concordance with a PSYOP to imbue a key objective: universal ongoing vaccination.

Activities of a massive psychological operation to promote inoculation are evident. They are:

• Gaining public obedience by exaggerating or fabricating a threat, focusing on an approaching danger and relying on the human response to authoritative commands.
• Using an imminent threat to eliminate the basic right to personal medical autonomy in the name of social and political obligation. (i.e., Initial pictures of body bags on the streets of Wuhan and estimates of at least a 3% death toll were used to incite fear.)
• Glorification of vaccination as an unquestionable, patriotic, team effort.
• Labeling dissenters and launching phrases with the intent to diminish, dehumanize and increase paranoia. (i.e., vaccine hesitancy, anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists, “pandemic of the unvaccinated,” and “disinformation dozen.)”
• Developing and/or promoting information distributed in news media supporting debasement of critics. (i.e., the Center for Countering Digital Hate, disseminators of the so-called disinformation dozen, claim to be an international not-for-profit NGO. News media outlets were quick to embrace their claims, never challenging their motivation or funding source.)
• Rapid responses to degrade and eliminate sources, including respected scientists and doctors, who provide information and perspective that counters the prime directive to get vaccinated.
• Dismissal of facts as fabrications or subjective interpretations, even those extracted from government and reliable scientific sources.
• Belittling or rebranding competitive, yet effective treatments in an attempt to dismiss them without analysis. (i.e. labelling Ivermectin a horse dewormer.)

The enemy is within

In further consideration of whether a PSYOP has been applied to our current health crisis, it is important to understand that sophisticated psychological warfare has been developed and forced upon foreign enemies for decades.

The most recent and widely accepted uses of psychological operations have been against U.S. foes in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lack of effectiveness of PSYOP in these countries is self-evident, unless the intent was to completely divide and degrade the societies and instill perpetual animosity towards the United States.

Information covertly or overtly distributed to support U.S. government goals has a singular mission, and it is unrelated to disseminating truth, rather geared towards attaining submission and compliance.

Social psychologists postulate that advertising and public relations, whether promoting products or policies, are softened terms to disguise what should be called propaganda.

Government public relations activities, justified by a need for unified thinking, are sometimes applied as a propaganda tool to advance a domestic or international agenda.

There is corroboration of a Psychological Operations Committee, coordinating the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency in foreign and domestic activities.

The cartel within the National Security Council was initiated during the Reagan administration, with no indication that its surreptitious activities have ceased. Its present appellation and leadership are unknown, and current endeavors are necessarily covert and deniable.

There are some explicit examples of how the government interferes with domestic business and media:

• There is evidence that so-called, retired army PSYOP specialists have been hired to support corporate interests.
• PSYOP military personnel were confirmed to be working in the CNN news headquarters in the past. Anderson Cooper, CNN’s news anchor, interned at the CIA for two summers while attending Yale University. With the likelihood that influential relations continue with intelligence forces, it would account for CNN inculcating pro-vaccine government policy, with a litany of interviews and reports attempting to categorize and dismiss experts and demean those who resist vaccination.
• The CIA continues to actively shape entertainment media to conform public opinion and minimize negative attitudes about US government actions or programs.
• A report about Canadian military propaganda operations reveals how intelligence forces are currently applying their expertise in shaping the response to the pandemic. This seemingly minor PSYOP might appear harmless or bizarre, but it would neatly fit into a greater effort gauged to manipulate underlying fear and confusion in an effort to generate conformity. If this recent activity is indicative of a larger engagement, it would not be limited by any borders. Canadian PSYOP troops train and work together with their comrades from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and France.

As there is no current investigation, further evidence confirming operations is limited. Yet the unprecedented mass behavior, in light of a pattern of government intervention and media hit pieces, is strongly indicative of an underlying clandestine program.

The operation would need to shield itself from scrutiny.

The primary tactic in avoiding inquiry would be part of the offensive effort, disseminating negative information about those who challenge the precepts. This is why anti-vaxxers must be regarded as dangerous non-conformists, not to be taken seriously.

Criticism of the government is simply deemed foolish or a conspiracy theory, thus the existence of a huge PSYOP is easily dismissed and never considered by the general public.

The concealment of the PSYOP is integral in the fabricated distortions that dominate the disinformation. Truth, human rights and common decency are pushed aside in the name of fighting a virus.

One might argue that using — whatever it takes — as the core of a methodology to promote vaccines is a noble objective, insisting the pandemic and the campaign for vaccines must be fought like a civil war.

This certainly could be the government’s rationale for developing and using a PSYOP to quell a pandemic. But its utilization raises a number of questions regarding moral and legal precedents, and potentially harmful results.

Motives and malfeasance

In establishing the possibility of a heinous offense, in this instance a domestic PSYOP, it is important to examine the alleged perpetrators’ stated intentions.

Motivation and outcome could be considered mitigating factors in understanding why extreme tactics might be used. If ending the pandemic is considered the primary goal of a government plan, it should entail development and application of appropriate prevention and treatment modalities.

A strong case can be made that the COVID-19 vaccines were presented with a false pretense. Promoted as safe, effective and free, an examination shows that all three of these superlatives are unsupported exaggerations.

• Safety can only be determined by objective assessment of data. This information has been intentionally limited or obscured. What little detail is made public indicates incredible risks vs. benefits.
• Lack of effectiveness of vaccines in preventing transmission, which should be their primary function, has been admitted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Need for additional doses, conveniently labeled as boosters, reveal initial expectations were exaggerated. Current analysis shows vaccination has not impacted the spread of the virus and rates of infection.
• The financial costs of vaccines and the profits made from their proliferation present numbers that show they certainly are not free. And the public health cost of focusing on a failed modality will only be revealed by historical outcomes.

The loss to those whose lives could have been saved by immediate treatment with other remedies is incalculable. Although some pharmaceuticals are being tested for late-stage symptoms, there has been no warp speed development or application of drugs for early intervention in treatment of the illness.

There are very few protocols issued by the government for caring for those with COVID-19, other than staying at home until there is a need for hospitalization.

The overall progression of the pandemic suggests that emphasis on vaccines is misguided or deceitful. And the government and news media continue to scapegoat the unvaccinated — the latest ruse is blaming them for the growing economic crisis.

Malfeasance is undeniable. Although most evidence has been intentionally obfuscated by powerful forces whose motivation appears to be everything but benevolent.

Law and disorder

It’s worth scrutinizing the actual incentives for using propaganda to promote the universal vaccination program. Whether motives are financial or political, the use of a PSYOP in response to the pandemic is unethical and reprehensible.

The U.S. government has a history of overstepping legal boundaries to control what it deems national security threats.

PSYOP and other manipulative techniques have no place in a country that rejects absolute sovereignty, founded on principles of inherent individual rights.

Application of subversive tactics is a symptom of the overt degradation of constitutional principles.

The use of PSYOP remains specifically illegal under U.S. law, which forbids federal and military intelligence agencies to operate domestically unless there is a clear and present foreign threat.

There is continuing justification for abuse of power with invocations of war-like extremis. And it is feasible the government and the agencies charged with disseminating vaccine compliance would use the most sophisticated mass psychological techniques under the administration’s command.

However, no matter what the degree of disaster or suffering, a trustworthy government response to the pandemic should rest on a foundation of openness and democratic principles.

The obvious dismissal of this approach reveals the core morality of the current public health policy.

The most compelling circumstantial evidence of a duplicitous scheme to manipulate the public is the overt hostility, deception and defensiveness of leadership in promoting vaccination as a panacea.

Strategy for intervention

Government programs, supported by news media, that secretly engender or condone public, cult-like behavior are catastrophic and deeply disconcerting.

The entrancement promulgated by corporations and government agencies to achieve their ends has reached a crescendo. This approach has resulted in extreme polarization, heightened tension and deterioration of personal relationships.

Most people who are hostile towards the unvaccinated don’t realize how much their inflamed emotions have been encouraged by manipulative forces who project animosity out into the world.

The damage to those who have embraced the burden of the government’s vaccine campaign, both physically and emotionally, is yet to be calculated.

Contributing further to their disturbance is clearly counter-productive.

It is difficult, but important, to not respond with animosity or scorn when blamed for the downfall of a policy full of inherent flaws.

Divisive language and insults will only cause additional tension and suffering. Strategies for improved communication are best when they are gentle, humorous and dynamic.

As demands and attitudes are mollified, informative, non-judgemental discussions can heal the divides caused by manipulation, deception and coercion.

No doubt there will be obstinate resistance, but eventually, as a lack of an imminent threat becomes apparent, people will come to their senses and recall that questioning authority should be instinctive and welcome.

Maintaining an open, inquisitive mind to understand new and different ideas is a more natural and practical approach to resolving differences.

This ancient knowledge seems lost in the shadow of distorted, hardened policies, but this will pass as compounding new data emerges that can’t be hidden or denied.

The fallacies that have been widely accepted will vanish as verifiable and irrefutable information about the pandemic and vaccines come to light.

Truth is a relentless force that awakens us to what is important.

The outrageous possibility that U.S. government psychological operations have been applied to sway the public should be investigated thoroughly.

If this criminality is confirmed, it is the utmost priority that a major shift is implemented towards protecting all citizens from totalitarian tactics.

As we recover from imposed divisiveness we should not lose sight of a guiding concept: There is never a justified cause to eclipse humility, or lose compassion for our fellow human beings.