Thread by @JoshJPhilipp

Thread:

Legacy news outlets sowed discord for two years, divided Americans, incited violence, roused hatred, and spread lies.

When it comes to Russian active measures/subversion, these outlets did Russia's work for them.

My latest column: theepochtimes.com/in-sowing-chao…

The Trump-Russia probe came to its official end April 18, at least legally, when Attorney General William Barr outlined his conclusions of the special counsel report that the Trump campaign did not collude with Russia, and that Trump did not obstruct justice. (1)

During any sane part of history, the fact that a sitting president did not collude with a foreign government, and did not obstruct an investigation into the allegations, would be a good thing. But this wasn’t the case on Thursday. (2)

There was audible hostility in the voices of reporters when they questioned Barr about his conclusions. (3)

Their comments online reflected their thoughts. Maggie Haberman of the New York Times tweeted “this is not a press conference—it’s an opportunity for Barr to put a spin on the ball or defend himself.” The tone of others was similar. (4)

https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/1118647600515776512

Meanwhile, the talking heads that pushed the Trump-Russia conspiracy for close to two years signaled they would continue their “resistance” with or without facts. They seem intent to increase the social chaos they’ve already perpetuated. (5)

And make no mistake. This is all really about chaos. (6) theepochtimes.com/chaos-operatio…

The special counsel report explains that Russia’s Internet Research Agency (IRA) worked on “active measures” against the United States. (7) justice.gov/storage/report…

Tactics like this go back to the Cold War, and the Soviet Union was extremely adept in their use. Another name for this is ideological subversion. (8) theepochtimes.com/the-misinforma…

According to “Love Letter to America” from the late Soviet defector Yuri Bezmenov, “This process has many names: psychological warfare, ideological aggression, propaganda warfare, etc. The KGB calls it ‘Active Measures'”. (9) archive.org/details/Bezmen…

Bezmenov explained that these tactics included the use of double standards, overt and covert propaganda, use of “agents of influence,” fake “international forums,” and other systems. (10)

This was used to “bring the atmosphere and respectability to Soviet operations,” provoke and manipulate mass demonstrations, spread rumors, create forgeries, and manipulate the media. (11)

The goal of these tactics was to first demoralize the United States, then destabilize it, bring it to the point of crisis, and then from the state of crisis offer the solution to “normalize” the situation under communist control. (12)

Here's a look at how these same operations are being done under the Chinese regime against the United States.

High-res infographic here: theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads…

Ideological subversion works through spreading chaos—in society, in culture, and in people’s minds. From the state of chaos people start demanding a return to order, and this demand is taken advantage of to create new systems of power. (14)

The idea is to drive a wedge between the various groups of a society, to incite conflict between them, and to create an air of hostility and hopelessness in the general public as people watch the chaos unfold. (15)

Creating chaos, sowing discord, and manufacturing division was exactly what the legacy news outlets and talking heads of the “resistance” have been doing for more than two years. (16)

The fake news and use of disinformation by the legacy media and "resistance" has divided this country, led to violence on the streets, and falsely convinced people that their president colluded with a foreign power. (17)

Then, when the truth emerged, showing that all these concerns had been false—that Trump had not colluded with Russia, and that Trump had not obstructed justice during this manufactured crisis—rather than feel relieved, many of them reacted with bitterness and hatred. (18)

Rather than back down from their false narratives, they decided to push them even further—even calling for Barr to “recuse himself.” (19)

Barr explained during his press conference that Russia’s IRA worked to “sow social discord among American voters through disinformation and social media operations.” (20) justice.gov/opa/speech/att…

The IRA had operations that were favorable to the Trump campaign, but it had operations favorable to other candidates as well, including to Bernie Sanders and Jill Stein—as a federal indictment against IRA agents shows. (21) justice.gov/file/1035477/d…

The IRA supported conservative groups such as the Tea Party, but also supported left-wing groups like Black Lives Matter, and even Muslim groups calling to “Support Hillary. Save American Muslims”. (22)

The Russian agents were also organizing protests through these channels, calling for members of the online groups to take to the streets. (23)

After the elections, these same agents started using these channels to oppose the Trump presidency. This included the Russian IRA on Nov. 12, 2016, organizing the “Trump is NOT my President” rally in New York. (24)

Again, the purpose was chaos. The purpose was to divide America. (25)

How many legacy outlets promoted the resistance rally that Russian agents organized? Using the same logic they pushed for two years that Russia allegedly helped Trump, and anyone that supports Trump is a “Russian bot,” does this mean these outlets are also “Russian bots”? (26)

The key takeaway from details on the IRA operations should be they were sowing chaos. Throughout the 2016 elections they acted to sharpen antagonisms between political groups on both sides. They encouraged public protests and marches meant to garner mainstream news coverage. (27)

And after the elections these Russian agents encouraged the anti-Trump “resistance.” (28)

The Russian active measures were designed to divide America and to sow chaos. And the American legacy news outlets have helped them the whole way through. (29)

/End/ of thread for now.

But this scandal has really only just now started to unfold. The real scandal now is Spygate, and unlike the "Russia collusion" narrative, this one has evidence.

You can follow our reporting on this ongoing investigation here: theepochtimes.com/whats-trending