Rolling Deep

by wjw on April 6, 2014

More proof, if one were needed, that reality is taking Deep State as a template.

USAID— a branch of government that normally gives humanitarian aid— tried to undermine the Cuban government by setting up an social media project funded by the US government, but routed through third parties in Spain, Nicaragua, and elsewhere.   They intended to build a a subscription base by concentrating on non-controversial content like baseball or music, and then eventually start creating flash mobs that could, as their mission statement had it, “renegotiate the balance of power between the state and society.”

This was, of course, illegal under U.S. law, which requires covert programs intended to overthrow a foreign regime to be approved by the President, and for Congress to be informed.  Obama’s spokesman claimed the program wasn’t covert, and therefore the law didn’t apply.  Which is an interesting point: how covert is a social media platform with thousands of subscribers?

The program, called ZunZuneo, came to an end in June of 2012 when the Cuban security services managed to block it.  Not because they sniffed out the State Department connection, apparently, but just because it was a form of media the Cuban government didn’t control.

TRX April 6, 2014 at 1:09 pm

> how covert is a social media platform with thousands of subscribers?

Which part is “covert”? The platform or its purpose?

Consider: what if we found out that MySpace, Frienster, and FaceBook were all NSA operations?

Granted most people expect that NSA has thoroughly infiltrated them, there’s a difference between infiltration and a false front.

wjw April 8, 2014 at 4:04 am

Good point, but on the other hand, do we actually know what the agendas of FaceBook and Myspace actually were? I mean, we =assume= they wanted to make money, but what if that were only their =cover story.=

S.M. Stirling April 9, 2014 at 5:32 am

That’s not “overthrowing”, that’s just “providing alternative media sources”.

Comments on this entry are closed.

Previous post:

Next post:

Contact Us | Terms of User | Trademarks | Privacy Statement

Copyright © 2010 WJW. All Rights Reserved.