Sputnik: The documents released by the Anonymous hacktivist group say that Institute for Statecraft head Christopher Donnelly was engaged in the selection of a group of military intelligence specialists. It was reported that the main goal of the organised group was to influence Western politicians and push them into conflicts with Russia and China. Judging by such actions, the Integrity Initiative is expanding its activities abroad. Could such actions be considered a form of hybrid warfare?
"Hybrid warfare is a military strategy that employs political warfare and blends conventional warfare, irregular warfare and cyber warfare with other influencing methods, such as fake news, diplomacy, lawfare and foreign electoral intervention."
You can see evidence of the above strategy being employed right now by the Integrity Initiative. The political warfare is glaringly obvious with their rhetoric against anything even slightly "Russian" in particular, and with the constant smearing of journalists who work for Russian media outlets. Cyberwarfare is evident in their whole operation, especially with their constant warnings of "fake news", which seems to be entirely designed to constrict traffic to independent journalists on the internet and social media who are telling inconvenient truths about the West's foreign policy failings, whilst boosting views for MSM outlets on platforms like YouTube.
Diplomacy can be seen as being weaponized with the multiple rounds of sanctions against Russia in the last 2 years, which in most cases were in response to accusations devoid of any actual evidence at all. Lawfare is being used in attempting to silence RT and your own media agency, with the Integrity Initiative known to be the originators of complaints of "bias" against Russian media outlets. And as for foreign electoral intervention, look no further than their actions in Spain, where the Spanish II "cluster" was responsible for stopping socialist politician Pedro Baños from becoming Spain's Director of National Security.
In conclusion, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it's probably a duck. And the Integrity Initiative sure does look and sound like a Duck of Hybrid Warfare in action.
Gordon Dimmack: When you consider how many mainstream journalists and media outlets have been shown to be aiding and abetting the Integrity Initiative, the implications of their silence on this story speak volumes. This is one of the biggest stories on the planet right now, if not the biggest. It is right up there with the Pentagon Papers, and in many people's view who have in-depth knowledge of the story, it's bigger than Watergate. So, the media's silence on this scandal can only point to their complicity in it. It's also worth noting, there's also a handful of Labour politicians talking loudly about this (Chris Williamson the loudest), both in the House and with reporters, but they can never seem to get an interview about it on UK MSM or them to cover his questioning — which does indicate the MSM are up to their necks in a Mockingbird-like operation on a larger scale than we currently understand.
Our 4th estate, it seems, is dead. An operating, functional and independent media is vital to Democracy. Without it, we run the risk of living in a dystopian future, where truth is lies and war is peace. I fear that if we don't put a stop to operations like II, that dystopian future is not far off.
READ MORE: How Integrity Initiative's German Cluster Aims to End Berlin's Ties with Moscow
Gordon Dimmack: One of the most concerning revelations in the Integrity Initiative files is their seemingly laser-focused mission to get the UK on a war footing with Russia. The people at the head of the IoS are the very same people who oversaw the destruction of Iraq and the transition of Libya from the richest country in Africa to a failed state with open slave markets and outlined the case that the British armed forces should be out of governmental control. However, although this is obviously deeply concerning, these are a handful of powerful neocons. They do not represent the feelings of the average Brit. Your average Brit is not fearful of Russia — but they are fearful of their own government making life ever more difficult for them. Russia has shown restraint in the face of a barrage of insults and hostility from the West in the last 12 months, and I hope this trend continues.
That is not to say there should be no response, though. We need to all keep the pressure on, and all be shouting about the Integrity Initiative in unison. All people and nations that oppose this assault on democracy should be as loud as possible in their condemnation of it.
READ MORE: Integrity Initiative Irrelevant Amid Ample Anti-Russia Propaganda — AfD Member
Gordon Dimmack: Read the article, in full, especially if the mainstream media is reporting it.
Often, fake news in the media is in the form of a misleading headline. I have honestly lost count of the amount of "bombshell" headlines which when I went on to read the article, debunked itself in a chapter buried near the bottom of it. All mainstream outlets do this, including state outlets like the BBC. If there's one piece of advice I can give, especially with regards to our mainstream media, it's read the article in full and ignore the headline.
Additionally, if any article says it's a "smoking gun" in the Trump/Putin collusion conspiracy, wait a day before you comment on it. History tells us it will be debunked as lies within 24 hours, and you'll save yourself the embarrassment of being wrong.
The views expressed in this article are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.
