• For decades, the U.S. government has used psyops to manipulate public perception domestically, originally a tool for foreign adversaries, now used to control citizens and shape narratives.
• The rise of skepticism began with “anti-government kooks” in the 1990s and accelerated during the Trump presidency, exposing how media, experts, and crises are tools of manipulation.
• The CIA’s playbook involves controlling narratives, creating crises to induce fear, and silencing dissent, as seen in events like JFK’s assassination, 9/11, COVID-19, and others.
• U.S. psyops date back to the Revolutionary War, evolving through World War I, II, and Korea, becoming a formalized military capability and later transitioning to domestic use.
• The challenge lies in transforming skepticism into meaningful reform, fostering active resistance, and demanding accountability to dismantle the machinery of manipulation and restore government accountability.

In the shadows of history, a silent war has been waged – not with bullets or bombs, but with words, images, and carefully crafted narratives. For decades, the United States government has employed psychological operations, or “psyops,” to shape public perception, manipulate emotions, and control the collective consciousness of the American people. What was once a tool reserved for foreign adversaries has now become a domestic playbook, used to herd citizens toward predetermined conclusions. The result? A nation increasingly skeptical of its own institutions, yet still ensnared in a web of manipulation.

The awakening to this reality didn’t happen overnight. It began with the so-called “anti-government kooks” of the 1990s—those who dared to question the official narratives and were dismissed as “weirdos” and “conspiracy theorists.” Little did the majority know, these individuals were the canaries in the coal mine, warning of a system designed to deceive. It wasn’t until the rise of President Donald Trump and his America First movement that the veil was lifted, exposing the machinery of manipulation that had been operating for decades.

Trump’s disruptive presence in the political arena forced the curtain back, revealing a system where “experts” were often political pawns, the media was a mouthpiece for CIA psyops, and the government’s true agenda was one of control, not service. His presidency was a catalyst for a broader awakening, prompting Americans to question not just the policies of the government, but the very narratives it peddled.

The playbook of manipulation

The CIA’s playbook for psychological operations is deceptively simple: control the story, shape the message, and silence dissent. By flooding the media with carefully crafted “crises,” the government triggers fear and confusion, making the populace easier to control. Whether it’s hyping a foreign threat to justify military spending, vilifying a political opponent to discredit them, or pushing a manufactured pandemic to enforce control, the strategy remains the same.

Consider the litany of events that have left Americans questioning the truth: the assassination of JFK, the drug cartels’ unchecked operations, the Waco tragedy, 9/11, the Iraq War, the housing market collapse, Russian collusion, COVID-19, Hunter Biden’s laptop, and the NordStream pipeline sabotage. Each of these events has one thing in common: the U.S. government was likely behind it, lying to the public to cover its tracks. As Sean Davis of The Federalist succinctly put it, “The U.S. government was behind it and is lying to you to cover it up.” This simple assumption, when applied, reveals the truth behind countless major news events.

The roots of psyops in America

The history of psychological operations in the United States is as old as the nation itself. From Thomas Jefferson’s call to “do with your pen what was done with the sword” during the Revolutionary War to the yellow journalism of the Spanish-American War, propaganda has always been a tool of American governance. The modern concept of psyops, however, didn’t fully develop until World War I, when the U.S. Army established the Psychologic Subsection to wage “leaflet warfare” against enemy forces.

By World War II and the Korean War, psyops had become a formalized military capability, evolving into the sophisticated system we see today. The U.S. Army’s Psychological Operations Regiment, established in 1998, has since been deployed in conflicts around the world, influencing foreign populations to serve American interests. But as the lines between foreign and domestic operations blurred, so too did the boundaries of psyops.

Domestic psyops: the Great Awakening

The transition from foreign to domestic psyops was gradual but unmistakable. With the rise of mass media and the internet, the government found new avenues to plant narratives and manipulate public opinion. The result was a populace increasingly distrustful of government, media, and “experts,” yet still unable to fully break free from the cycle of manipulation.

The great awakening, as it’s been called, is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it represents a triumph of critical thinking over blind obedience. On the other, it underscores the extent to which the government has been willing to deceive its own people. The realization that the government doesn’t care about your well-being, but is instead herding you toward its agenda, is a bitter pill to swallow.

The future of the Awakening

The question now is where do we go from here? The ‘toothpaste is out of the tube’, and there’s no putting it back in. The awakening has exposed the cracks in the system, but it has yet to deliver meaningful reform. For change to occur, it must be accompanied by a reprogramming of the collective consciousness—a shift from passive acceptance to active resistance.

The government’s psyops have been effective because they exploit our fears and insecurities. To counter them, we must cultivate a mindset of skepticism and resilience. We must question every narrative, scrutinize every claim, and demand accountability from those in power. Only then can we hope to dismantle the machinery of manipulation and reclaim our autonomy.

In the end, the battle for truth is not just a fight against the government, but a fight for the soul of the nation. The government’s psyops are a symptom of a deeper problem—a system that prioritizes control over freedom, and manipulation over truth. The great awakening is our opportunity to rewrite the script, to demand a government that serves the people, not the other way around. The question is, will we seize it?

Sources include:

Revolver.news

Sofrep.com

Army.mil