A Call to Awareness
It is crucial for the American People to wake up and recognize the tactics being employed in the political landscape. Politics, much like warfare, involves strategy, deception, and manipulation. The very essence of democracy relies on an informed and engaged citizenry. When we fail to educate ourselves and pay attention to what’s happening, we become vulnerable to the very tactics designed to divide and control us. Understanding these strategies is the first step in reclaiming our power and ensuring that our political process remains fair and just.
Phase 1: Incident Planning and Strategy Development (2018)
Backstory: The Fracturing of the Q Movement and Strategic Calculations
By 2018, the Q movement, which had initially unified a large segment of Trump’s base around the idea of exposing deep-seated corruption within the government, began to show signs of fracturing. As this movement gained momentum, it attracted not only genuine followers but also the attention of various entities that saw its potential to disrupt and destabilize. The movement was eventually infiltrated, leading to internal divisions and a loss of direction. This fragmentation left many followers disillusioned, providing a fertile ground for new, divisive narratives.
Simultaneously, the Democratic Party and its allied entities were strategically positioning themselves for the upcoming 2020 election, anticipating the need for strong and effective tactics. While many of these tactics were viewed as morally questionable, the question still remains if they operated within the bounds of the law. For instance, the use of mail-in voting, drop boxes, and other methods introduced vulnerabilities that, when combined, provided a strategic advantage.
They understood how to navigate these systems and capitalized on every opportunity presented by the existing legal framework. This wasn’t necessarily about cheating in the traditional sense; rather, it was about leveraging the current flawed laws in place that put us at a disadvantage. The key takeaway here is the importance of recognizing these vulnerabilities within our electoral system and advocating for stronger safeguards to ensure fairness and security in future elections.
Recognizing the success of their approach, the Democratic-aligned Super PACs, committees, and advocacy groups realized that sustaining the disruption and division within Trump’s base would be crucial. Thus, they began planning an operation to ensure that Trump’s base remained divided, demoralized, and disengaged from the political process. This operation was carefully crafted, utilizing a range of assets to develop and disseminate competing narratives that would further fracture the MAGA movement.
Plan Strategy
Objective:
The primary goal was to fragment Trump’s base by creating and disseminating competing narratives that would sow division within the MAGA movement, ensuring that no unified resurgence of support could occur.
Target Theories:
Devolution: This theory suggests that Trump initiated a secret Continuity of Government (COG) plan, leaving him in control of the military and the government even after leaving office.
Military Occupancy: Propagated by Derek Johnson, this theory posits that the U.S. is under covert military control, with Trump still serving as Commander-in-Chief.
U.S. as a Corporation: This older theory, popular among followers of the Sovereign Citizen movement, argues that the U.S. government is a corporate entity controlled by foreign powers, rendering the electoral process illegitimate.
Target Audience: The operation focused on Trump supporters, particularly those who were previously aligned with the Q movement and those disillusioned with traditional government structures, such as followers of the Sovereign Citizen movement.
Tactics and Techniques
Amplification of Deceptive Content:
Implementation: Digital platforms were used to create and spread content that mixed truth with speculation, making it difficult for the audience to discern fact from fiction. The narratives were carefully crafted to resonate with the emotional and psychological triggers of the target audience.
Key Players Involved:
Priorities USA Action: This Super PAC, known for its digital advertising capabilities, could have been involved in amplifying these narratives across social media and other digital platforms.
American Bridge 21st Century: With its expertise in opposition research, this PAC could have provided the foundational research that supported the creation of these narratives.
Manipulation of Algorithmic Trends:
Implementation: Content related to these theories was strategically pushed on social media platforms to ensure it trended, drawing more attention and engagement. Coordinated posts and engagements helped boost the visibility of these narratives.
Key Players Involved:
Future Forward USA Action: This Super PAC’s data-driven approach would have been critical in manipulating social media algorithms to ensure the content reached the right audiences.
Badlands Media (Post-2021): While not initially part of the plan, the success of this operation eventually led to the creation of Badlands Media, a platform dedicated to amplifying and controlling these narratives.
Use of Disinformation Influencers:
Implementation: Theories like devolution and military occupancy were initially disseminated by unknown individuals such as Patel Patriot and Derek Johnson. These narratives quickly gained traction, leading to a massive increase in their followings. As these theories spread, they organically transformed these once-unknown figures into influential voices within the community. The credibility they gained through their association with these narratives provided them with a platform that significantly expanded their reach and influence.
Key Players Involved:
MoveOn.org: This advocacy group, with its grassroots mobilization expertise, could have played a role in identifying and supporting these influencers, ensuring their messages were amplified within key communities.
Indivisible: This group could have provided resources and training to local activists and influencers to help spread the narratives more effectively.
Exploitation of Societal Divisions:
Implementation: Existing distrust in government and media was emphasized to make these theories more appealing to the target audience. By playing on these pre-existing sentiments, the narratives were able to gain traction more quickly.
Key Players Involved:
Center for American Progress (CAP): Known for its policy research, CAP could have been involved in framing the narratives in a way that resonated with societal divisions, particularly around issues of government distrust.
Plan Objectives
Primary Objective:
To keep Trump’s base divided by fostering competing narratives that prevent any unified resurgence of support.
Secondary Objective:
To reduce voter turnout and civic engagement among Trump supporters by convincing them that either the situation is hopeless (U.S. as a Corporation) or that everything is under control and they don’t need to act (devolution, military occupancy).
Tactics and Techniques
Dissuasion through Disinformation:
Implementation: Narratives were crafted to dissuade people from voting or convince them that their civic actions were unnecessary. This was achieved by promoting the idea that either the system was beyond repair or that there was no need for action because Trump was still in control.
Key Players Involved:
Priorities USA Action: Could have been involved in crafting and disseminating these dissuasive narratives through targeted digital campaigns.
American Bridge 21st Century: Likely provided research support to ensure the narratives were grounded in enough factual elements to appear credible.
False Hope Induction:
Implementation: The devolution and military occupancy theories were used to create a sense of false security, leading to apathy among Trump supporters. By convincing them that Trump had everything under control, the operation aimed to reduce their motivation to engage in the electoral process.
Key Players Involved:
MoveOn.org and Indivisible: These groups could have been involved in disseminating content that reinforced the idea of false hope, using their grassroots networks to spread the message effectively.
Futility Messaging:
Implementation: The U.S. as a Corporation theory was emphasized to instill a sense of hopelessness, leading to disengagement. By promoting the idea that the government was illegitimate and beyond repair, the operation aimed to demoralize Trump supporters and reduce their participation in civic duties.
Key Players Involved:
Center for American Progress (CAP): Could have been involved in framing the futility messaging in a way that resonated with the target audience’s pre-existing beliefs about government corruption.
With the strategic groundwork laid in Phase 1, the operation was poised to move from planning to action. The next step was to take these carefully crafted narratives and disseminate them across platforms where they could gain traction and influence. In Phase 2 (Part 4), the focus shifted from strategy development to the execution of content creation and dissemination, ensuring that these narratives reached the intended audiences and began to shape public perception as planned.
"Plans laid in the shadows can shape the world around you without your consent. If you’re not watching the chessboard, you might not even realize you're the pawn being sacrificed.”
Operational Preparation of the Environment. Recognizing this is why everyone cannot get emotionally attached to these things but rather pick out the truthful clues within their controlled narratives that are predictors. Question and examine everything.