New Secret Docs: UK's Cold War-Era 'Black Propaganda' is at Play Today in Ukraine, Scholars Say

"Perhaps they are audacious and want to brag about their black propaganda capabilities to wink at Russians and show that they are employing it in Ukraine to wind them up", says Adriel Kasonta, a London-based foreign affairs analyst and former chairman of the International Affairs Committee at the Bow Group think tank. "On the other hand, maybe some attempts are being made to end the conflict in Ukraine by telling the people: 'Look, we have been doing this before, and we are doing it again. Do not believe everything that you hear, see or read. Start questioning the narrative around the conflict in Ukraine'".

At the same time, however, it is no secret to anyone familiar with the history of World War II or media and communications studies that the UK carried propaganda campaigns in the past, according to Kasonta.

The documents pertaining to the UK propaganda campaign and the West's current information operations against Russia show that the goal has always been "the expansion of British and Western control over as much of the world as possible", argues political analyst Joe Quinn.

"The timing of this declassification of the documents is interesting insomuch as it may serve, for some, as confirmation that the West's geopolitical war against the Soviet Union never really ended, it just continued as a war against the Russian Federation, but without the justification of fighting against Communism", Quinn says.

According to the trove, Britain kicked off hundreds of costly operations using reports from fake sources, encouraging racial tensions, sowing discord, inciting violence, and reinforcing anti-communist ideas in various parts of the world. In particular, the campaign sought to mobilise Muslims against Moscow, promoting not only greater religious conservatism, but also radical ideas. "To appear authentic, documents encouraged hatred of Israel", The Guardian remarked. The documents also revealed another tactic, which was deliberately forging statements by official Soviet institutions and agencies.

One of the entities in charge of propaganda campaigns was the Information Research Department (IRD), which de facto mirrored the US CIA’s Cold War propaganda operations, according to the newspaper.

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Ukraine as the UK's New Propaganda Battlefield

Kasonta points out that the UK has applied the same technique today: "The collective West is in the state of proxy war with Russia, and the UK (along with the US) is at the forefront of this war", he says.

"Propaganda as a psychological tool, in general, can be defined as the planned use of any means of communication to impose one’s will", the foreign analyst explains. "It occurs during peace and war times alike, yet it is significantly intensified during the latter. Importantly, propaganda does not have to be false to achieve its goal(s). It can be accurate, but it has to achieve the desired outcome. And the ultimate choice of its form is solely driven by practical rationality".

A distorted coverage of the Russian special operation in Ukraine in British media outlets like Reuters is a glaring example of the UK's propaganda campaign which serves "a particular purpose", according to Kasonta.

"It aims to mislead the domestic audience by convincing them that the 'special operation' is not going according to plan and to persuade them that sending lethal weapons to the front by NATO allies contributes to the alleged victories and successful resistance of the Ukrainian side", the analyst says. "It is a psychological game, and nothing persuades the naturally peaceful population to support a war in a distant land [more] than the opponent’s alleged low morale and military losses".

In addition to propaganda, the UK and its ally, the US, "have a long track record of carrying out 'false flag' operations (staged, fake or real attacks) in order to demonise those they perceive as their enemies", according to Quinn.

"The reality of such operations was recognised by Pentagon spokesman John Kirby at the beginning of February", the political analyst says. "Of course, Kirby accused Russia of plotting to carry out such an operation in Ukraine. No such operation occurred, however. What did occur was that five weeks later, Western media and government announced the discovery of a 'massacre of civilians' in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, and immediately placed the blame at the door of the Russian military".

The evidence, however, suggests that the Bucha massacre was just such a "false flag" operation, and likely carried out by Ukrainian operatives with the direct assistance of British and American personnel, according to Quinn.

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London Demonstrates Its Loyalty to the US

Before the release of The Guardian's bombshell, the National Security Archive (NSA), a non-profit research and archival institution located at George Washington University, on 11 May published materials about the CIA's aggressive efforts to undermine East Germany's morale during the Cold War.

"Those activities included supporting and advising certain anti-communist activist groups, particularly in Berlin – a fact long denied in public – which were effective enough to prompt the Soviets to make them a subject of diplomacy with Washington, in addition to implementing their own propaganda and security measures", the NSA's summary reads.

According to Kasonta, the UK's mirroring of the CIA's techniques in the past and participation in propaganda warfare against Russia today, indicates that London "wants to show its loyalty to the US".

"After the fall of the British Empire, the UK finds its self-worth as a global player by being a part of a much broader Anglospheric family", the foreign affairs analyst says. "It likes to perceive itself as a second to none among the US allies and partners within that family. The whole 'special relationship' concept is built around this thinking, and its foundation is based on their shared history, shared culture and common language. Without the hegemonic superiority of the US (which can be considered as heir to the British Empire), the UK would lose its prestige. This is something the elites in this country worry about the most".