The Dirty Tricks Department: 11 Keys to Psychological Deception and Manipulation
By: A. W. Finnegan
Graphic Design by: A.W. Finnegan
In the many years I have been a researcher, there have been many things along the way that I’ve had to learn in order to be a better researcher, so that my information is accurate and as provable as possible to the non-informed. I have had to make many revisions to my approaches and even my worldviews along the way. I have traveled down many side-paths, gone through a bewildering amount of information, misinformation, and occasionally outright deceptions. As time went on, I got better at sifting the true information from the false. Because I have always had a vast imagination and in general an open mind, it was at first more difficult for me, but in the end this prevailed in favor of having looked at many areas others wouldn’t have bothered, and narrowed down to more realistic possibilities using critical thinking. That is to say, look into it all, even the extraordinary, and see it for yourself before dismissing it from a stance of ignorance of the details involved.
Misinformation is located throughout the sphere of information, this is not just on the side of mainstream media or alternative media, it proliferates both, to the extent that usually in order to figure the truth behind anything, you have to do considerable research for yourself, and that does not mean listening to one or two YouTube channels, this means going through all the documents and getting diverse records from different sources, yourself. It is always best to use official records and as much information from official sources, verifiable sources, otherwise it will be harder to prove to anyone else, and easier to fall for misinformation. It is best to lay out arguments that are substantiated across many different but official sources of information, this is sometimes referred to as mosaic intelligence.
I have been researching for more than 10 years, and my abilities have become more fine-tuned over the years. Much of this has been learned or crafted through self-awareness, catching myself when ego or emotion was causing me to give something or other too much credence, due to wanting it to be true, so to speak. Then there was the having to admit my own mistakes. I’ve said in other videos and articles, if you cannot do these things, you will continue to fall for all the tricks. This has as much to do with the inner work, as it does the outer work. This is why I’ve put so much emphasis on doing that inner work, knowing yourself, having it down before going too deeply into the outer work of research, that is, getting to know the world for yourself.
The methodologies used by criminal organizations, governments (foreign and domestic), and the corporate sector in coverups, psychological operations (PSYOP), and propaganda, is a lot heavier and more well-orchestrated than most people understand. There are many tricks and angles they can take in maintaining lies and keeping truth covered, and sometimes the way these are rolled out and thrown over the truth can be layered by several different components or participants, keeping it very compartmentalized. I liken it to the magic of David Blaine, but this is much more well-orchestrated by agencies and carried out on reality and perception about the world itself. It is carried out on the ability to perceive the truth underlying any given current or past events, and those coming in the future.
Its easy to get baited down side paths in this research, its even more likely to happen when one doesn't go and do their own research, but instead listens to one or two select channels, decides to get all their information from one or two sources. If you do the research for yourself, that is, cultivate a far reaching view of the world by reading and researching far and wide, checking citations and the source of information, you will get a seasoned understanding of the world, using a Trivium Method approach, you can start to see where the stated contradictions reside.
There are also things about our own composure one should keep in mind. The individual has to keep themselves in a balanced, fair composure, to be built for this kind of work, so that they don't lose themselves in the process. For instance, we cannot go around throwing accusations on people without significant evidence to back it up. We also cannot get baited into everything we find that cannot be verified. Also, we cannot live our lives in fear, paranoia, or obsessing about the research all day and night so that it is all we think or talk about. That will take a heavy toll on ourselves and our personal relationships. Trust me, I know from experience.
Balance is yet again a factor in all we do. This research is no exception. This kind of research takes a kind of person who is self-aware and can let go of their ego when and where they need to, while using it for other areas they need it for. Self-awareness and discipline is as much a part of this research as learning how to sift through information. That is why I say, in order to do the 'outer work,' you need to have the 'inner work' down, or at least well underway and self-aware enough to understand its primary importance.
Pen & Ink drawing by A. W. Finnegan
However, I don't want to give my audience the impression that you have to be perfect right off the bat, to understand all the tricks and have everything down right away, that's an unfair and unrealistic expectation. I went through the process by making the mistakes and catching on. You likely will too. Its part of the process, the only thing that counts is that when it happens, you can catch it, admit you made a mistake, and keep going, all the wiser as you do, instead of letting the ego take over and deciding not to catch on for the simple reason that you don't want to admit it when you are wrong or don't wanna let go of a certain idea for ego's sake. No one is perfect, and this research can be very tricky. You are going to make mistakes, get used to that. The truth is usually covered up and spun a million ways to Sunday, so don't take it overly personal when you do make mistakes. It is my hope that some of my mistakes may help others catch on quicker, or be in a better position than I, because I was never given any kind of blueprint like this.
Now that we've covered that, let's begin to look into some of the tactics, that is, some of the clever tricks used to coverup, deflect, sideline, and obscure the truth, as well as those used in attacking the researcher and overall research community. This list is by no means exhaustive, I'm sure there are more, but this will get the researcher started. Overall, the beginning researcher will start to see the complexities that arise in tactics used to obscure or coverup the truth. Some of these will overlap and blend into each other, but I've tried to separate them to the best of my ability on their core, essential qualities. They are:
Dirty Trick #001: Spin
Spin is a term already in use, to describe exactly what it sounds like, to spin the truth in a different light, to take elements of it that are true up to a certain point, then spin it off in a different direction to send everyone down side paths or the wrong direction. The other way to spin, is to keep most of the story true but to only spin certain key elements of the story. So, to reiterate, Spin takes a story, keeps the details true up to a certain point, then begins misleading in key directions or false avenues, or, it takes a story, and there are only certain details that are spun into falsities. Either can be the case, or both at once.
Dirty Trick #002: False Dichotomy
False dichotomies are the propagation of two false or misleading narratives in the hopes that you don't find the true, relevant parts of the truth behind a given focus. False dichotomies are set up so that if you don't agree with one side of the phony narrative, you'll automatically gravitate to the opposing phony or misleading narrative, without looking into it and seeing the details with a fresh set of eyes and critical analysis. One good example of this, is the mainstream media, they oftentimes put a phony narrative in place. People see the lies, and automatically gravitate to the side put out by the alternative media. They can oppose each other, yet both be wrong in order to obscure a truth. Its not to say that everything mainstream media says is wrong. The same is also the case for alternative media channels are wrong, but they usually have many angles of both controlled to bait those looking elsewhere, backed and secretly controlled by the opposition, which gets to my next example of dirty tricks...
Dirty Trick #003: Controlled Opposition
As I've stated in other articles, controlled opposition is where the opposition secretly backs an opponent of their argument to promote a false dichotomy. The two are very much intertwined. Usually, you won't have a false dichotomy without controlled opposition, but controlled opposition can be utilized in additional ways too. They can be used to bridge a gap between agendas, stall the audience for a certain period of time, and much more. It is for this reason that it is good to do your own research and not stay focused on one source of information.
Dirty Trick #004: Surface-Dwelling
This trick employs the outward appearances to appear contrary to the opposition, but is in reality 'wolf in sheep's clothing.' In many ways, this can employ the former two tricks like false dichotomy or controlled opposition, on the outset will appear to be on your side, blends in with others who oppose any given opposition, and just on the outset, looks like something other than it is, but then once you get into the depth of what is being conveyed, you might realize that they are actually promoting the opposition's argument. Sometimes it is cleverly hidden, not very easy to spot. That is one way to bait some people, because some people only pay attention to what is on the surface, in name or appearance only, so they don't seek out what it actually is in substance. Critical analysis is necessary to root out the inner-depth of any given thing.
Dirty Trick #005: The Limited Hangout
A limited hangout is setup when the whole truth is at risk of being found or exposed, so they setup these straw-man situations or limited exposures of the truth by giving some of the truth away in the hopes to compartmentalize the more important aspects from being discovered. They will blame the lower players or participants and make the situation look like that was the extent of it.
So lets say, a large drug trafficking ring run by large corporations and government agencies is discovered after smugglers confess to working alongside a corporate-government operation, and instead of the larger networks within the corporate and high-level government taking the hit, they blame it on some of their lower officials, as though they were rogues, and admit that "yes this took place under our name, through officers x and y, but they were running this on their own, we didn't know they were trafficking drugs." So they burn their lower participants, shielding the higher ups from being exposed, and keep everyone focused on these lesser participants, to give the impression that was the extent of it, and no more than that.
Dirty Trick #006: 'The Honey Trap', also called 'Honey Pot'
Honeypots, Honey Traps, are when an operative or agent of controlled opposition sets others up to go down the wrong paths, to divert them from the truth. This is usually the kind of thing where the informing agent will say all true things to a certain point, when they realize they have the trust of the researcher or journalist. They will then give them misleading information to send them in the wrong direction, and the one receiving the information will not find out until it is too late, given that the researcher gives it all his or her trust. That is why, sources first should be known, and never go all the way in on any one source of information. Anonymous sources should also always be taken with a grain of salt, if taken at all. My rule is, I don't use anonymous sources ever, because it is too much of a risk for this kind of thing, especially in an age of artificial intelligence, because it knows how to use very clever deception drawing from the wide net of digital information it has access to, and can use very advanced processing.
Dirty Trick #007: Emotional Appeal
This trick appeals to your emotions and hooks you with an emotional angle, sometimes a charismatic operative who can be very likeable. It targets an emotional angle which people are not self-aware enough to separate themselves from. Also, if they are a charismatic kind of individual, it will bait with their likeability, so that when they start putting out bad information, some will overlook it because they have subconsciously decided they like the person too much, and don't want them to be working for the enemy. Never underestimate this process, and this is the reason why I say, you must be self-aware to do this kind of work effectively.
Dirty Trick #008: Layered Reinforcement
This is seen with large-scale psychological operations and oftentimes takes diverse testimony for some who play into the operation, sometimes unwittingly, which reinforce the larger argument used to mislead. For instance, if an event happens in which many people are involved, in some cases military personnel, they could have many credible witnesses describing something that may reinforce the psychological operations being run in which people witnessed something they could not fully explain.
The personnel describe what they see in a limited light, and its important to understand this, because the larger argument may be that the origin of what they see has some kind of supernatural or extraterrestrial component, when in fact it may be of terrestrial or advanced technologies humans made that no one has ever seen before. So you may see a handful of military personnel testify to seeing what they thought was an extraterrestrial craft, when it may have been human in origin, but this having been used as proof of 'extraterrestrial interference,' when it may have been human in origin. many of those involved will be truthful in what they see and understand it to be, but could in actuality be an ultra-secret military craft. If no one had ever seen it before, or understood what it is or how it worked, it could very well be described in a way that sounded beyond human ability to make or operate. This brings us to the next trick:
Dirty Trick #009: Extraordinary Angles
As a way to discredit some of the researchers and aspects of real events, there will be paranormal or extraterrestrial elements used to make something sound 'out of this world,' to discredit those looking into it, or the events themselves. That is not to say that paranormal or other phenomena that could be extraterrestrial are not real, there are many unexplained things about this universe, but at least that the topics have served as a good channel for those looking to cover their tracks, to obscure some of the more down-to-earth happenings, whether criminal or top-secret in nature.
One example, I believe to be deliberate misinformation, is the so-called Montauk monster, which in my opinion was a PSYOP used to discredit those looking into the Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC) as a facility that works on animal disease and biological research, possibly as dual-use research (used for both weapons and defense purposes). They probably wanted to bury some of the earlier activities that had more to do with biological weapons and testing, so they either took some animal with a rare deformity or was just very badly decayed, and made it look like it was some animal humanoid creature or something they created. Another aspect of the extraordinary is the way it leaves some feeling powerless or beyond their realm to effect. If others think supernatural or extraterrestrial forces are at work, they will think they are up against something they cannot change, much like some religions used the mystical angle to make others feel powerless and subservient.
The important part of using this would be to reinforce a false idea that they were doing much more extraordinary research than they actually were, but perhaps the implications of the actual research was much worse in its effects on human health, such as germs that carelessly escaped, when they never told anyone they were testing anything to begin with, but did and lots of really bad germs escaped. That is a nightmare they don't want to deal with. In this light, an extraordinary bizarre creature would serve as a good way to sidetrack other researchers from the actual event, and have them focused on this, such as was the case with Jesse Ventura's Conspiracy Theory episode regarding Plum Island. It gets people talking about this supposed creature rather than the germs that may have escaped and infected civilians with incurable diseases.
Dirty Trick #010: Phrase-Association and Ridicule
The idea of this is to come up with words to be used in one's research that are associated with ideas that other people associate with unrelated or false topics and ideas. Or they throw accusations that lump you up with other things that are not the same. For instance, to consider those who have very legitimate concerns over vaccine safety, backed by factual research showing the dangers not being addressed, are oftentimes ridiculed as 'conspiracy theorists' or lumped up with 'flat-earthers.' They want people who question the safety of vaccines to be brought up with flat-earthers as much as possible, or called conspiracy theorists, because other people will oftentimes just repeat an argument or accusation they hear, rather than thinking for themselves and coming up with something they thought based on actually thinking for themselves.
Also, they will try to throw on unfavorable words that cast you as something you are not. For instance, since they have already lumped those who question vaccine safety as conspiracy theorists, another might decide to call you a crazy, right-winger, even though you may not be political at all, perhaps even less a conservative. If it is repeated enough times, others begin to start automatically associating the word vaccine safety with 'crazy, right-winger,' and then it more or less weaponizes a term against you, to the point where you may want to consider dropping the word vaccine and using immunization instead, because those who lack self-awareness probably won't get triggered by it like they do hearing the word vaccine.
Dirty Trick #011: Subjects of No Consequence
I put this in to conclude some of the primary tactics used to sideline or mislead researchers, in order to cover or obscure the truth. The concept behind "subjects of no consequence" are areas of research to sideline or preoccupy researchers to focus on things that generally do not affect us or harm us in any immediate or direct sense. This is where subjects like the moon-landing or the shape of the planet fall under. As I'm sure many have found, there was debate from people saying we faked the moon landing, or that the earth is flat rather than round.
I believe the Earth to be round, and probably went to the moon, but to those caught up in trying to debate this, I have only this to say: when it really comes down to it, what difference does it make anyway, what the shape of the Earth. The same goes for whether or not we landed on the moon, who really cares, because the amount of other things that directly affect us in a clear and more immediate sense are so numerous that most of us cannot even keep up with how fast things are moving on these other fronts. It is accelerating so quickly, that every second focused on insignificant things, is more time these entrenched powers are able to force their power grabs in place and take away more and more freedom. There are far too many areas of research to be discovered and focused on, things that are a much more immediate threat to us, and this is probably going to get much worse, before it gets better. We need to assess our realms of research accordingly, and understand that the immediate threats like forced vaccinations and the divide & conquer taking place within society is of a much more dire nature and will have serious consequences on everyone if not dismantled or understood sooner than later.
Conclusion: A Point of Reference
I hope I have covered adequately at least some of these primary tactics used to sideline and mislead other researchers, especially those new to the game. We need as many good researchers out there as possible who can chip away at the phony or intricate web of misleading narratives circulating society. The corruption in high places spends most if not all its time making sure their criminal behaviors and actions of their groups are not discovered. This can be in the corporate, governmental, academic, scientific, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and all in between. Its much harder to fool those of us who understand how their deceptions operate. If everyone knew how these things worked, it would be easy to dismantle and keep this world more balanced and sovereign, rather than enslaved using deception.
I hope I have covered adequately at least some of these primary tactics used to sideline and mislead other researchers, especially those new to the game. We need as many good researchers out there as possible who can chip away at the phony or intricate web of misleading narratives circulating society. The corruption in high places spends most if not all its time making sure their criminal behaviors and actions of their groups are not discovered. This can be in the corporate, governmental, academic, scientific, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and all in between. Its much harder to fool those of us who understand how their deceptions operate. If everyone knew how these things worked, it would be easy to dismantle and keep this world more balanced and sovereign, rather than enslaved using deception.
The Silver Lining
The purpose of this research is to do our part in keeping the greater world from having to keep repeating history. Otherwise, these things would just be hobbies that do not demand much of our attention. But we are now starting to see very quickly how what is taking place in the world has very immediate effects on all of us, because the chains keep getting tighter and tighter, and sooner or later it will be apparent to everyone if nothing is done to counter it. From internet censorship to forced vaccinations, to many other areas, especially scientific research that is done in open-air without our permission, these are all areas that are beginning to be major problems and will affect us all. We have a duty to protect the world we live in, and ignorance is no longer a valid argument...