In another thread about gangs in the military we were exchanging links to “information” as we frequently do in the SWJ Council. One of the links was to a paranoid blog that predicted the coming culture war, thus everyone needed to prepare for war, etc. We all know the type, build a bomb shelter, get your guns boys, them other folks is coming… The site, like so many others, points to a relatively new phenomenon, which is internet facilitated networks of like minded people. Communities are no longer refined to geographical areas, and on line communities in some cases may be stronger than communities defined by geography. This really came to the forefront for me during my son’s high school graduation last year, and the people sitting to the left and right of us (prior to the ceremony starting) were on their cell phones in rather intense conversations. My wife and I obviously didn’t exist in their world, we never had a chance to say hello. We were in their physical space, but not their community. Then it hit me that all this information technology has disconnected us at the local level, and instead allowed us to plug in to the global community where we see fit. To top it off the principle’s opening remarks for the graduation quoted Thomas Friedman’s book “The World is Flat”.

What does have to do with psychological operations? In general people with strong points of view do not pursue dissenting points of view on the internet or on the numerous cable news stations they can “choose” from. They simply search for information that supports their point of view. Hey this guy thinks the way I do, he sure is smart, and all the links on his site link to other smart folks like me. Doesn’t matter if you’re on the far left or far right or a religious zealot or animal rights activist, you’ll find your community on the internet. It is niche marketing, but with an ugly twist, because these blogs for bias and unbalanced, the option to select the information you want and the angle you want that information presented in (the spin) is in effect dumbing down society, and I believe further fragmenting it.

This phenomenon is being used unintentionally and intentionally to prepare the battlefield by shaping perceptions of the populace by various groups (almost all, if not all are non State actors). These websites, blogs, niche news stations, talk radio, etc. shape perceptions of select audiences (many in the audience simply opt in, you don't even have to reach out to them, and you put links on your site that link to like minded sites to further pull the audience into your collective group think not unlike a cult). What is interesting is that this is a distributed community, so no telling what group your neighbor is in. Idiots no longer have to put white sheets on and go out and burn crosses, they can do it on line.

This PSYOP of effect of training people to perceive the world in a certain way is “strategic” and critical for undermining governments or other groups. Once the audience has been trained, when a certain event happens it can be turned into a catalyst for action. One example is the FBI raid on WACO, which led Tim McVeigh's attack on Federal Building (a lone wolf or small pack of wolves). Another example, painting a perception of globalism as threat to numerous interests, then using the World Trade Talks as a catalyst to rally mass action in Seattle. Another example, use the photos from Abu Ghrab on numerous media outlets and websites to build up a base of hate against the U.S., that may have led to numerous actions. The attack on the Madrid Subway was largely spurned by the internet. The list goes on and on. This is where we’re losing the PSYOP war. We’re still focused on dropping leaflets and making local broadcasts (which still have a function), but we’re not going to shape the numerous niche markets out globally unless we inject our messages in the right mediums.