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“It’s the artillery of cognitive warfare. What started out as internet espionage — as hacks, leaks, rumor mongering, and conspiracy theory distribution — has turned into a full-scale cognitive war, where American minds are being lost to our enemies, both foreign and domestic.”—High Fidelity on Bette Dangerous
While doing a post-show debrief with High Fidelity of my Assange interview on The Thom Hartmann Program, HiFi said: “What we’re really talking about is internet espionage.” As he began to give me a year by year accounting, I realized it was important to get it on wax and do a proper interview documenting the last two decades.
He jotted down the notes below, and we began recording.
2004-
Peter Thiel becomes first outside investor in Facebook
2005-
Steve Bannon secures Goldman Sachs loans of 60 million to take over IGE
2008-
4chan/420chan, Anonymous runs Chanology (trolls on the streets)
2009-
Yuri Milner invests 200m in Russian $$ in Facebook
2010-
Assange, Chelsea Manning, Adrian Llamo (died in 2018)
Operation Payback- Anonymous against Paypal, Mastercards, Visa
Assange Rape Charges, Ecuadorian Embassy 2012-2019
2011-
HBGary/Stratfor hacks: Palantir targeted Assange
Lulzsec arrests, Occupy Wall Street- infiltrated by Lisa Clapier,
later involved in Qanon
2012-
Andrew Aurenhemier arrested - Daily Stormer, Charlottesville
Michael Hastings interviews Assange over rape allegations and NatSec leaks
2013- A
urenhemier Sentenced, then overturned
Snowden Leaks through Assange, NSA contractor leaks DIA documents,
Mike Flynn visited GRU HQ
Hastings Dies
Facebook Data Hack begins,
2014-
Gamergate, Fred Brennan, wizard chan, 8chan, Aurenhemier released,
tweets about meeting Geisea "Thiel's Right Hand Man", Cernovich enters
the Gamergate fray as a 1st Amendment lawyer
2015-
Alt Right Meme machine forms, Peter Thiel MAGA3X Cernovich Yiannopolis,
2016- Aurenheimer hacks 50,000 printers to send antisemitic flyers.
Thiel speaks at RNC, Russia hacks DNC, Podesta emails released on
Wikileaks lead directly to Pizzagate, DNC-emails hack fuels, Redpill
on Reddit, Qanon beginnings - Roger Stone, Guccifer, Jerome Corsi (who
promoted Q), Brian McCauley, paid by Flynn, leads to opening by Comey
of Hillary's Emails case, Douglass Mackey voter fraud, w/ Andrew
Aurenheimer running botnets and Trump personalities, along w/ Russia
2017- Qanon, Unite the Right Rally organized on Daily Stormer (andrew
aurenhemier again)
Chuck Johnson and Dana Rohrabacher meet with Assange
2018-
Tucson Cement Plant Incident, Hoover Dam Qanon related
2019- Murder of James Wolf, Christchurch, Poway synagogue, El Paso
shooters post on 8chan
Roger Stone indicted and Arrested
2020-
Trump has fully integrated the Qanon messaging machine
Jan 6 2021 - Qanon adherents, along with other victims of internet
espionage and cognitive warfare storm the Capitol
The radicalization and manipulation of the cults of personalities
continues to this day.
I included his notes above to help you follow along, because it’s a lot to take in. We get through twenty years in 70 minutes, and he methodically shows the build up to the foot soldiers we saw on J6.
As we discussed internet espionage and the birth of the alt right meme machine, I kept searching for solutions. And we end on solutions — holding high-level criminals accountable, regulations, privacy protections, wrestling platforms away from nefarious oligarchs and turning them into public utilities.
Just as we have protections for the water we drink and the air we breathe, we need protections for our infosphere — we need to ensure people are not ingesting high-levels of digital poison. It’s not enough to ban RT. We have to mean it.
I’m of the mind that people are wearying of the nihilism they’ve been sold and that a return to decency is imminent and urgent.
Content Warning: This podcast contains disturbing content.
I believe we have to face the darkness in order to get to the light.
We can beat technofascism, we just have to know what we’re fighting.
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20 YEARS OF INTERNET ESPIONAGE: A Timeline