The 25 Rules of Disinformation

The 25 Rules of Disinformation

By H. Michael Sweeney
Vigilant Citizen.com
June 06, 2013

These 25 rules are everywhere in media, from political debates, to
television shows, to comments on a blog.

1. Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.

Regardless of what you know, don’t discuss it, especially if you are a
public figure, news anchor, etc. If it’s not reported, it didn’t happen,
and you never have to deal with the issues.

2. Become incredulous and indignant.

Avoid discussing key issues and instead focus on side issues which
can be used show the topic as being critical of some otherwise
sacrosanct group or theme. This is also known as the “How dare
you!” gambit.

3. Create rumor mongers.

Avoid discussing issues by describing all charges, regardless of
venue or evidence, as mere rumors and wild accusations. Other
derogatory terms mutually exclusive of truth may work as well.

This method works especially well with a silent press, because
the only way the public can learn of the facts are through such
“arguable rumors”.

If you can associate the material with the Internet, use this
fact to certify it a “wild rumor” which can have no basis in
fact.

4. Use a straw man.

Find or create a seeming element of your opponent’s argument
which you can easily knock down to make yourself look good and
the opponent to look bad.

Either make up an issue you may safely imply exists based on your
interpretation of the opponent/opponent arguments/situation, or
select the weakest aspect of the weakest charges.

Amplify their significance and destroy them in a way which appears
to debunk all the charges, real and fabricated alike, while actually
avoiding discussion of the real issues.

5. Sidetrack opponents with name calling and ridicule.

This is also known as the primary attack the messenger ploy,
though other methods qualify as variants of that approach.

Associate opponents with unpopular titles such as “kooks”, “right-
wing”, “liberal”, “left-wing”, “terrorists”, “conspiracy buffs”,
“radicals”, “militia”, “racists”, “religious fanatics”, “sexual
deviates”, and so forth.

This makes others shrink from support out of fear of gaining the
same label, and you avoid dealing with issues.

6. Hit and Run.

In any public forum, make a brief attack of your opponent or the
opponent position and then scamper off before an answer can be
fielded, or simply ignore any answer.

This works extremely well in Internet and letters-to-the-editor
environments where a steady stream of new identities can be
called upon without having to explain criticism reasoning,
simply make an accusation or other attack, never discussing
issues, and never answering any subsequent response, for that
would dignify the opponent’s viewpoint.

7. Question motives.

Twist or amplify any fact which could so taken to imply that the
opponent operates out of a hidden personal agenda or other bias.

This avoids discussing issues and forces the accuser on the defensive.

8. Invoke authority.

Claim for yourself or associate yourself with authority and
present your argument with enough “jargon” and “minutiae”
to illustrate you are “one who knows”, and simply say it isn’t
so without discussing issues or demonstrating concretely why
or citing sources.

9. Play Dumb.

No matter what evidence or logical argument is offered, avoid
discussing issues with denial they have any credibility, make
any sense, provide any proof, contain or make a point, have
logic, or support a conclusion.

Mix well for maximum effect.

10. Associate opponent charges with old news.

A derivative of the straw man usually, in any large-scale matter of
high visibility, someone will make charges early on which can be or
were already easily dealt with.

Where it can be foreseen, have your own side raise a straw man
issue and have it dealt with early on as part of the initial contingency
plans.

Subsequent charges, regardless of validity or new ground uncovered,
can usually them be associated with the original charge and
dismissed as simply being a rehash without need to address current
issues, so much the better where the opponent is or was involved
with the original source.

11. Establish and rely upon fall-back positions.

Using a minor matter or element of the facts, take the “high road”
and “confess” with candor that some innocent mistake, in hindsight,
was made, but that opponents have seized on the opportunity to blow
it all out of proportion and imply greater criminalities which, “just
isn’t so.”

Others can reinforce this on your behalf, later.

Done properly, this can garner sympathy and respect for “coming
clean” and “owning up” to your mistakes without addressing more
serious issues.

12. Enigmas have no solution.

Drawing upon the overall umbrella of events surrounding the crime
and the multitude of players and events, paint the entire affair as
too complex to solve.

This causes those otherwise following the matter to begin to loose
interest more quickly without having to address the actual issues.

13. Alice in Wonderland Logic.

Avoid discussion of the issues by reasoning backwards with
an apparent deductive logic in a way that forbears any actual
material fact.

14. Demand complete solutions.

Avoid the issues by requiring opponents to solve the crime at hand
completely, a ploy which works best for items qualifying for rule 10.

15. Fit the facts to alternate conclusions.

This requires creative thinking unless the crime was planned with
contingency conclusions in place.

16. Vanishing evidence and witnesses.

If it does not exist, it is not fact, and you won’t have to address
the issue.

17. Change the subject.

Usually in connection with one of the other ploys listed here, find
a way to side-track the discussion with abrasive or controversial
comments in hopes of turning attention to a new, more manageable
topic.

This works especially well with companions who can “argue” with
you over the new topic and polarize the discussion arena in order
to avoid discussing more key issues.

18. Emotionalize, Antagonize, and Goad Opponents.

If you can’t do anything else, chide and taunt your opponents and
draw them into emotional responses which will tend to make them
look foolish and overly motivated, and generally render their material
somewhat less coherent.

Not only will you avoid discussing the issues in the first instance,
but even if their emotional response addresses the issue, you can
further avoid the issues by then focusing on how “sensitive they
are to criticism”.

19. Ignore proof presented, demand impossible proofs.

This is perhaps a variant of the “play dumb” rule.

Regardless of what material may be presented by an opponent in
public forums, claim the material irrelevant and demand proof that
is impossible for the opponent to come by (it may exist, but not be
at his disposal, or it may be something which is known to be safely
destroyed or withheld, such as a murder weapon).

In order to completely avoid discussing issues may require you
to categorically deny and be critical of media or books as valid
sources, deny that witnesses are acceptable, or even deny that
statements made by government or other authorities have any
meaning or relevance.

20. False evidence.

Whenever possible, introduce new facts or clues designed and
manufactured to conflict with opponent presentations as useful
tools to neutralize sensitive issues or impede resolution.

This works best when the crime was designed with contingencies
for the purpose, and the facts cannot be easily separated from
the fabrications.

21. Call a Grand Jury, Special Prosecutor, or other empowered
investigative body.

Subvert the (process) to your benefit and effectively neutralize
all sensitive issues without open discussion. Once convened,
the evidence and testimony are required to be secret when
properly handled.

For instance, if you own the prosecuting attorney, it can insure
a Grand Jury hears no useful evidence and that the evidence is
sealed an unavailable to subsequent investigators.

Once a favorable verdict (usually, this technique is applied to find
the guilty innocent, but it can also be used to obtain charges when
seeking to frame a victim) is achieved, the matter can be considered
officially closed.

22. Manufacture a new truth.

Create your own expert(s), group(s), author(s), leader(s) or
influence existing ones willing to forge new ground via scientific,
investigative, or social research or testimony which concludes
favorably.

In this way, if you must actually address issues, you can do so
authoritatively.

23. Create bigger distractions.

If the above does not seem to be working to distract from sensitive
issues, or to prevent unwanted media coverage of unstoppable
events such as trials, create bigger news stories (or treat them as
such) to distract the multitudes.

24. Silence critics.

If the above methods do not prevail, consider removing opponents
from circulation by some definitive solution so that the need to
address issues is removed entirely.

This can be by their death, arrest and detention, blackmail or
destruction of their character by release of blackmail information,
or merely by proper intimidation with blackmail or other threats.

25. Vanish.

If you are a key holder of secrets or otherwise overly illuminated and
you think the heat is getting too hot, to avoid the issues, vacate the
kitchen.



This list is taken from Twenty-Five Ways To Suppress Truth:
The Rules of Disinformation (Includes The 8 Traits of A Disinformationalist) by H. Michael Sweeney.

http://vigilantcitizen.com/latestnews/the-25-rules-of-
disinformation