Thread by @RoryCormac

Who wants to see a real British forgery from 1963?

This one was designed to “intensify indignation” of African students towards the Soviets

A #fakefriday thread 🧵 1/9

First, some context:

In early 1963, African students in Bulgaria violently clashed with police after authorities banned their attempts to establish and all-African Students’ Union.

How could 🇬🇧 exploit this??

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By forging a World Federation of Democratic Youth response obviously

(WFDY being a Soviet front)

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They posted it in English, French and Spanish from an unknown location to 275 addresses across Africa and South America.

These included newspapers, youth orgs, and influential personalities.

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The forged response professed to urge solidarity against “ultra-colonialist” (🇺🇸 🇬🇧) attempts to drive a wedge between European and African youth.

It was full of earnest statements about the scourge of racism and supporting African youth.

BUT…

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… at the same time it slipped in references to African students being primitive, morally weak, and uncivilised.

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It claimed: African students were “emerging from the jungle darkness of want” and so didn’t know how to behave in civilised society. ?!?!

So how did it go down?

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The forgery received press coverage across the continent, with many newspapers reacting violently.

At least one college directly protested to the WFDY

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It’s a fascinating example of western propaganda trying to inflame racial tension.

🚨 IMPORTANT CONTEXT 🚨

This took place on a much smaller, less aggressive, and less deceitful scale than concurrent Soviet activity

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