You've just been fucked by psyops [video]
A CCC talk by artist Trevor Paglen on psychological operations and “psyop capitalism” prompts wide-ranging reactions, from enthusiasm to accusations of paranoia and shallow conspiracy-thinking. Commenters trade examples of historic and contemporary information warfare — from MKULTRA and Operation Gladio to Russian troll farms, US foreign policy, targeted social media, and AI-generated propaganda — while arguing over how much of modern media and politics is shaped by deliberate manipulation versus ordinary chaos and self-interest. Many see better media literacy, education about influence techniques, and skepticism toward all power centers (state and corporate alike) as the only realistic defenses.
Overall reaction to the talk
- Many found the talk engaging, creative, and in line with the speaker’s earlier CCC work, coining “psyop capitalism” as an extension of “surveillance capitalism.”
- Others thought it shallow or incoherent: lots of striking imagery, historical vignettes (MKULTRA, UFOs, brain warfare) and speculative links, but few hard facts or tight arguments.
- Several compared it to Adam Curtis–style “emotional journalism”: powerful montage, but potentially encouraging conspiratorial thinking rather than careful analysis.
- A minority viewed the video itself as a kind of meta‑psyop or paranoia‑fuel, and some stopped watching early because of this.
Transcripts, tooling, and ML debates
- Multiple commenters just wanted a text version; one provided an auto‑generated transcript.
- Discussion of using Whisper and similar tools for near‑real‑time transcription; some see lack of transcripts for tech talks as “inexcusable” now.
- Debate over whether models like Whisper are truly “open source” if the training data is proprietary; some call such projects “toxic candy.”
Psyops, fifth‑generation warfare, and real‑world examples
- Broad agreement that psychological and information operations are real, widespread, and often documented (Cold War programs, Gladio, modern troll farms, targeted social media campaigns).
- Repeated theme: everyone does propaganda—US, Russia, China, EU states, corporations—though commenters disagree sharply on who is “worst” or most effective.
- Many cite Russian disinformation and troll factories as well-evidenced; others emphasize decades of US covert ops, coups, and media influence.
- Some argue modern operations aim less to persuade and more to flood the environment with noise, division, and cynicism.
Media, platforms, and “dead internet” concerns
- Widespread distrust of mainstream media and fact‑checkers; concern over media concentration and underfunded investigative journalism.
- Claims that big platforms (Google, Reddit, etc.) are polluted by bots, astroturfing, and low‑quality or AI‑generated content; some think this is deliberate terrain for psyops.
- Others caution against assuming every consensus is manufactured; they highlight that people can oppose wars or narratives even amid heavy messaging.
Influence, education, and “good psyops”
- Several note that “influence” is everywhere: education, UX design, advertising, public‑health nudges.
- Some argue the key distinction is intent and transparency: influence can be benevolent (safety campaigns, anti‑racism norms) or manipulative (hidden state or corporate agendas).
- Others are skeptical that mass publics can ever fully defend against elite psychological techniques, and instead focus on choosing more trustworthy institutions.