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As a journalist for 25 years, the speaker admits to being educated to lie and manipulate the public. They express their concern about the German and American media's efforts to provoke war with Russia. The speaker reveals that journalists are bribed to betray the people and push for war. They discuss their experiences documenting the use of German poison gas in Iraq and how it was not widely reported. The speaker admits to being a non-official cover for intelligence agencies and feeling ashamed for working for a newspaper that was bribed by billionaires and the CIA. They discuss the influence of transatlantic organizations in shaping journalists' pro-American views. The speaker believes that Germany is still a colony of the United States and that journalists from various countries are manipulated by intelligence agencies. They share an example of being asked to write an article by the German foreign intelligence agency without having any secret information. The speaker emphasizes the importance of journalism being independent and not controlled by intelligence agencies. They mention facing house searches and legal accusations but are determined to reveal the truth.

The CIA, initially created to combat communism, evolved under Allen Dulles into a group of assassins and a tool for American corporate power. They began using coups and disinformation campaigns within the US. The intelligence community has significant power to retaliate against those who challenge them, as Chuck Schumer warns. The media often unknowingly assists the CIA by publishing leaked information, a tactic employed since the 1970s. The CIA's major function is to disseminate propaganda and influence public opinion. They recruit journalists, including well-known figures, to control the stories that are introduced into the press.

During my time at the CIA, I was responsible for briefing the press and circulating disinformation. Disinformation is not necessarily a lie, but rather a half truth. We would select influential journalists and provide them with information that we wanted to convey to the American public. We targeted respected journalists like Robert Chaplin, Kais Beach, Bud Merrick, Malcolm Brown, and Maynard Parker. I would cultivate their trust by sharing valid information and then slip in the data we wanted to spread, which may not have been true. We would also create an environment where journalists couldn't fact-check by briefing diplomats who would confirm our false information. Personally, I am opposed to these disinformation activities as they serve no useful purpose for the CIA.

I'm here to ask Anderson Cooper about Operation Mockingbird and the CIA's influence on mainstream media. A German reporter claimed the CIA bribed and extorted him to publish stories. Why is there a pro-government slant in Western media, like biased coverage of Putin and Assad compared to Saudi Arabia? Cooper is surrounded by security, preventing conversation on important issues like government manipulation of news. Is he avoiding the question because of his CIA past during college? A prominent German journalist recently revealed that the CIA is still manipulating the media, writing scripts for them. The media is just another branch of the government, a mouthpiece for propaganda, unable to face real questions. Cooper is hiding behind his security.

The CIA's main function is gathering intelligence, but it also engages in covert actions and propaganda. We disseminate propaganda to influence public opinion, sometimes working with journalists. This involves planting false stories, sometimes by using compromised journalists or even creating false narratives with fabricated evidence. This practice isn't limited to foreign countries; we've also planted false stories in the US press. For example, during the Angolan war, we used false stories about Cuban atrocities, including fake photos, which were then spread internationally. We've also sponsored the publication of numerous propaganda books in English, influencing public opinion about Vietnam. While the CIA admits to some propaganda efforts abroad, they deny similar activities within the United States. However, this is untrue, as we planted false stories in the Washington Post.

The CIA has various functions, including running secret wars and spreading propaganda to influence people's minds. They manipulate journalists by providing them with both true and false stories, exploiting their vulnerabilities to control their actions. The Church Committee in 1975 revealed that around 400 journalists, including prominent names, cooperated with the CIA to introduce stories into the press. In the Angola war, a third of the speaker's staff was dedicated to propaganda. They would write stories, publish them in the Zambia Times, and then send them to journalists on their payroll in Europe, who would pretend to have received them from their own sources. The goal was to create false narratives about Cuban atrocities to demonize communists.

There are functions of the CIA that include running secret wars and disseminating propaganda to influence people's minds, a major function that overlaps with information gathering. You have contact with a journalist; you will give him true stories and you’ll get information from him, and you will also give him false stories. You also work on human vulnerabilities to recruit journalists as agents to control what they do, so you don’t have to set them up by deception. You can tell them to plant stories on a schedule. Concrete evidence of using the press this way was highlighted by the church committee in 1975, and later by Woodward and Bernstein in Rolling Stone, noting that about 400 journalists cooperated with the CIA to consciously introduce stories in the press. A concrete example from Angola: one third of the staff was propaganda. There were propagandists around the world, principally in London, Kinshasa, and Zambia. They would take stories they wrote and put them in the Zambia Times, then pull them out and send them to a journalist on payroll in Europe. But the cover story was that the journalist had gotten them from his stringer in Lusaka who had gotten them from the Zambia Times, and after that point, the journalists, Reuters, and AFP, the management was not witting of it. The contact man in Europe was used to pump dozens of stories about Cuban atrocities, Cuban rapists, but there was not a single atrocity committed by the Cubans. It was pure, raw false propaganda to create an illusion of communists, you know, eating babies for breakfast.

The speaker, a journalist of 25 years, admits to being educated to lie and manipulate the public. They express their concern about the German and American media pushing for war with Russia and betraying the people. The speaker reveals being bribed by the CIA to write pro-American articles and being a nonofficial cover for intelligence agencies. They discuss how journalists are approached and corrupted through transatlantic organizations. The speaker shares an example of being asked to write an article by the German foreign intelligence agency. They emphasize that this is not how journalism should work and mention the consequences of refusing to cooperate with intelligence services. Despite facing house searches and health issues, the speaker is determined to reveal the truth.

I was concerned that planted stories meant for foreign audiences were being circulated and believed here at home. This would mean that the CIA could manipulate the news in the United States by channeling it through another country. We are looking into this very carefully. We do have people who submit pieces to American journals. I think that getting into the details of whether we have people paid by the CIA who are working for television networks should be handled in a closed session. By 1954, relationships with the CIA had been established at CBS. I was told about them and asked if I'd carry on with them. We will evaluate the information we have, and we will include any evidence of wrongdoing in our final report and make recommendations. Whether we name the news organizations in our final report remains to be decided.

Speaker 0 says he briefed the press to circulate disinformation. 'Disinformation is not necessarily not necessarily a lie, it may be a half truth.' He targeted correspondents and cultivated them at the Caravelle to gain their confidence, doling out valid information and then introducing data 'which might not be true.' An example involved a supposed 1973 North Vietnamese effort to develop border airfields, aimed at persuading Congress that Saigon should continue to receive aid and that 'the North Vietnamese were the chief violators of the ceasefire accord.' If he planted information, he would create an environment where it could not be checked, briefing the British ambassador so the reporter would get false confirmation, 'I've got proof that Frank Snapp told me the truth.' He concludes: 'I am an ex CI agent opposed to these disinformation activities and admit I was involved; it served no useful purpose. Propagandizing the American public or Congress is not the CIA's job.'

John Stockwell says he is among the highest case officers to go public about what the CIA has been doing, and claims that U.S. leaders lie to the public “systematically” and “with a purpose.” He argues people can be programmed and conditioned, comparing it to Marine Corps boot camp that teaches recruits to charge without asking why, and he urges viewers to read extensive documentation rather than treat his words as “the gospel.” Stockwell describes how CIA activities left “permanent” marks on U.S. society, focusing first on MKUltra. He says MKUltra is the part the CIA admits to, with “175 different projects” reported in one program and “about five” known. He claims these projects included experimentation with swine fever, “dinghy fever,” deadly diseases, and psychedelic drugs on American population groupings “without their permission.” He cites an October 1988 newspaper settlement between the CIA and victims at McGill University in Canada, describing work with “a mad psychiatrist” who allegedly administered hallucinogenic drugs to patients, for which damages were paid using “tax dollars.” He also asserts the program “is still going on today,” citing books and documentary sources such as The Agency and Clouds of Secrecy, along with CIA documents disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act. Stockwell says a CIA founder, Colonel White, wrote a letter from retirement that was later published and explains what Stockwell claims reveals the character of the people running such programs. Stockwell quotes White’s letter describing “toil” as “fun,” and mentions alleged permission to harm in the name of the “all-highest.” He adds other CIA and FBI programs including “MH Chaos” and COINTELPRO, describing them as manipulating student and labor organizations and civic groups to redirect them. He says the Church Committee found cooperation between the CIA and up to “about 200 journalists,” claiming journalists were used to insert CIA propaganda into U.S. media to influence public understanding of events in places like Southeast Asia, Korea, China, and Central America. He then describes what he presents as deeper mechanisms beyond narrative shaping: co-opting professors to work with the CIA, building files on students, and publishing “1,200 books” with payments to professors, scholars, and journalists in their names. He claims these books remain in libraries because the CIA did not reveal titles, so researchers must “guess” which works are CIA propaganda. Stockwell connects these practices to alleged FBI targeting. He cites FBI Director William Sessions disciplining officers for improperly targeting “CSPES and 160 other civic organizations,” and a congressional committee reporting “1,600 groups” targeted improperly by the FBI, while claiming the CIA did similar work in the same period without comparable disclosure. He argues that conditioning extends into education and entertainment, saying war is “began” in early childhood through repeated viewing of shows with “good guys” and “evil forces.” He says people spend more time watching violence on television than classroom time, and he lists military-themed movies from the 1980s (including Rambo, Top Gun, and Red Dawn). He claims the producer of Red Dawn publicly said the purpose was to draw people back to war and that it was shown in Marine boot camps and National Guard units preparing for potential invasion of Nicaragua. Stockwell also claims the film’s choice of enemy groups was because the U.S. was targeting Nicaragua, and argues the story is designed to reach young people who would later fight wars. He then describes recruiting advertising, including “Join the army” messaging, and a specific television ad in which a soldier returning home is forgiven by a father after joining. Stockwell frames this ad as encouraging defiance of fathers who oppose military service, contrasting it with reported experiences of Vietnam and Korean War cynicism. Stockwell shifts to drugs, claiming that every major CIA operational area left behind a “major functioning drug cartel.” He alleges links between OSS/CIA predecessors and Lucky Luciano, claims the Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia grew from covert policies and Air America flights carrying arms and returning with heroin, and says the Golden Crescent in Afghanistan became a major heroin source after time. He points viewers to various published works about heroin and CIA involvement. He summarizes the operational logic as routes for planes, weapons, and money that can be repurposed, arguing the networks remain in place after the original operation ends and emphasizing the importance of who ensures they do not “come out.” Stockwell describes an episode involving George Bush when Bush was CIA director in 1976, saying Stockwell’s group (Henry Kissinger and Bill Colby, with Stockwell in a staff role) had “broken the law” and “perjured” themselves to cover it up, and that Bush went to congressional committees and directed a young attorney to purge Stockwell’s files of documents that would prove what was alleged, leading to dismissal. He then connects alleged covert activity and war incentives to arms spending, citing claims about arms profits, a large arms buildup, and the “military-industrial complex.” Stockwell says social services were cut as military spending increased and claims social security funds were used to cover deficits related to arms expenditure. He asserts that to justify sacrifices, the world must be framed as hostile and dangerous. Concluding on action, Stockwell says people feel disempowered against power structures but offers examples of stopping wars through political effort. He highlights UC San Diego professor Jerry Bender calling Senator Tunney about Angola, asserting CIA deception and danger; Stockwell says the senator found the claims and that the “Tony Amendment” to the FY 76 Defense Appropriation Act stopped Stockwell’s Angola war. He also recounts advice from Admiral LaRock: write, organize, travel to see firsthand, and keep acting daily rather than waiting for future personal milestones.

I've spent my whole life in the media, but now I realize that the media is part of the control apparatus. I regret defending the Iraq war and not being more skeptical. When someone makes a claim, the important question is whether it's true or not. I participated in a culture that dismissed anyone who thought outside the prescribed lanes as crazy or a conspiracy theorist, and I'm ashamed of that. The media's purpose is not to inform, but to serve the small group of people who run the world. We should treat them with contempt because they have earned it.

Planted stories intended for foreign countries were circulated in the US, raising concerns about CIA manipulation of news. CIA involvement with American journals and TV networks was discussed, with details kept confidential. CBS had contacts with the CIA, and the investigation will assess any wrongdoing. The use of CIA sources by reporters was considered acceptable in the past but requires caution now due to public scrutiny.

The CIA has various functions, some more legitimate than others. One function is to run secret wars, while another is to disseminate propaganda to influence people's minds. They use journalists to spread both true and false stories, exploiting their vulnerabilities to control them. In the past, the CIA had around 400 journalists cooperating with them, including well-known names. An example of their manipulation is seen in the Angola war, where they planted false stories about Cuban atrocities to create an illusion of communist brutality. This shows how the CIA uses the press to further their agenda.

For 9 years, I was a Communist Party member working as an FBI agent. The Communist conspiracy planned a violent revolution in America, disguising it as a Civil Rights movement. They exploited racial differences to divide us, creating chaos and violence. Their goal was to sow discord and weaken our society.

The CIA has been known to plant inaccurate and fabricated news reports. In Angola, the CIA manipulated the media to push the narrative of Russian and Cuban aggression. They created stories and used propaganda to support their agenda. The CIA's efforts were successful, as newspapers around the world unknowingly published their fabricated stories. Similar tactics were used in Central America, particularly in the campaign against the Sandinistas in Nicaragua. The CIA spread disinformation about arms flow and Soviet bases in Nicaragua, despite evidence to the contrary. The media played a role in perpetuating these false narratives. It is important for readers to be critical of the news they consume and not believe everything they read.

When I was a cadet at West Point, we had a motto: "You will not lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those who do." However, as the former CIA director, I must admit that we did engage in lying, cheating, and stealing. It was a part of our training and it made me reflect on the essence of the American experiment.

I was the CIA's chief of disguise, like James Bond's Q. We created bugs, secret writing, microdots, and more. A memorable moment was briefing President George H.W. Bush at the White House while wearing a lifelike mask. He was amazed when I revealed it. The disguise was so convincing, he couldn't tell it was a mask. I could walk around as someone else with it.

Many people misunderstand the CIA's role, believing it primarily gathers intelligence. In reality, it functions as a covert action agency, focusing on overthrowing or supporting foreign governments and conducting disinformation campaigns, particularly targeting the American public. The CIA develops relationships with the press through various means, including direct contacts and planting propaganda. While some journalists may knowingly publish CIA-favored articles, others may do so unknowingly. In Vietnam, the CIA created the Diem regime and used the press to promote an illusion of its legitimacy. During that time, the press and government often cooperated closely, viewing the CIA as a trustworthy entity. The CIA also established a system, referred to as Wiesner's Wurlitzer, to influence media narratives globally, with current efforts focused on rebuilding its covert operations and penetrating various institutions.

Intel agencies have a significant influence on television broadcasts, Facebook, and Google. Many anchors, including a national security reporter, act as mouthpieces for the Pentagon and the CIA, knowingly spreading lies. This is a common practice, even at CNN. These reporters read government propaganda from intel agencies, and it's frustrating and offensive, regardless of whether one agrees with the lies or not. For instance, when the CIA and Pentagon claimed that Bashar al Assad used poison gas, there was no evidence to support it. Despite this, many people were killed in response.

In 1948, I was a special agent with CIC (counterintelligence corps) in occupied Germany, stationed in Augsburg, handling a network of German informants, among them Klaus Barbie. I later discovered that he was wanted for murder by the French, and I reported this to my superiors; they told me to keep nice and quiet, saying he was still valuable, and that when he was no longer valuable, we’d turn him over to the French. I thought I would get a promotion for reporting Barbie, but they told me to keep quiet. Colonel Gunther Bernal was an agent informant working for military intelligence in Stuttgart. We provided him a home, a safe house in Ludwigsburg, and I met him three times a week; he brought us information about communists and whatever we wanted to hear. He was certainly a very strong Nazi. I sat in his office one day and opened his album of pictures from the war; in the middle of the album, there was a nice picture of Adolf Hitler. Several other high ranking SS officers came to visit him at the safe house we provided. He told me that if for any reason he needed help, by one telephone call he could contact 200 former SS leaders from Hamburg to Munich. I remember him taking me to a particular spot we uncovered and dug out; there were rifles, small arms, grenades, all nicely wrapped in cosmoline. He said he had thousands of these all over the country, and that sort of made me a little suspicious, and I reported it. They said, well, we know this—they're all working for us in case the communist come across the Iron Curtain. A former SS general, Paul Houser, was a frequent visitor at Bernhaus House, and they worked together hand in glove on certain programs which we didn’t know anything about, and I wasn’t even asked to find out more about it. Somebody above me must have been running this network already at that time.

The CIA's disinformation efforts aim to create an international anti-communist ideology to justify actions like overthrowing governments, such as in Nicaragua. This narrative links local conflicts to larger threats, making intervention seem necessary. While high-level officials may be aware of these operations, many in the State Department are often unaware. Examples include the controversial white paper on El Salvador, based on dubious documents, and various propaganda techniques. Although the CIA's covert actions are reportedly being rebuilt, manipulating the press today is more challenging due to increased skepticism among the public. While it might be possible to sell another war like Vietnam, it would require a more extensive and sustained effort.

The CIA is not just an intelligence agency, but also a covert action agency involved in overthrowing or supporting foreign governments and spreading disinformation, primarily targeting the American people. This disinformation is disseminated through the press to create an international anti-communist ideology. The goal is to justify actions like overthrowing the government of Nicaragua by linking it to a larger threat in order to gain public support.

In Saigon, I operated under various covers, but those I interacted with knew I was with the CIA. I was there from 1969 to 1975, involved in analysis and press briefings, sometimes disseminating disinformation. Our success rate in planting information was about 70-80%. I targeted respected journalists to gain their trust and share data, which often included half-truths. While independent reporting was strong, many journalists were wary of CIA contacts. The CIA's primary objective is intelligence gathering, but disinformation can be counterproductive. After publishing my book, "Decent Interval," I faced a lawsuit for not submitting it for government censorship, leading to a Supreme Court ruling that imposed restrictions on government employees regarding their writings. The court's decision expanded the conditions for prior restraint, impacting First Amendment rights.

The interviewee describes a long career in journalism spanning about 25 years and asserts that he was educated to lie, betray, and not tell the truth to the public. He claims that German and American media have been pushing war in Europe and toward Russia, and he states that he is leaving behind past practices of manipulating readers and promoting propaganda. He says he is fed up with propaganda and asserts that journalists are bribed to betray people, not only in Germany but across Europe. He emphasizes that war does not come from itself and that there are people behind it, including journalists. The interviewee explains that he wrote a book to reveal what goes on behind closed doors and to warn against another war in Europe. He recounts a history of misrepresentation and suppression of atrocity stories, noting that in 1988 he witnessed the Kurdish gas attack in Iraq and was sent to Zubaydad near the Iraqi-Iranian border to photograph Iranians allegedly gassed with German-made poison gas (mustard gas, Zyklon-like agents). Upon returning to Germany, he says only a small photo and a minimal article appeared in the Frankfurter Allgemeine, with little emphasis on the brutality and the long-term suffering caused by German poison gas, making him feel misused. He discusses his role with intelligence agencies, describing himself as non-official cover (a journalist who also works for intelligence agencies). He claims that many foreign journalists are in the same situation and that the process is more prevalent among British journalists, and to a broader extent among Israelis, French, Australians, New Zealanders, and journalists from Arab countries, who may be intellectual puppets for the CIA. He provides an example with the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND), stating that the BND once asked him to write an article about Libya and Muammar Gaddafi, providing him secret information to publish under his own byline. He says the article claimed that Libya and Gaddafi secretly tried to build a poison gas factory, a story he printed that originated with the intelligence agency and appeared worldwide two days later. The interviewee recounts consequences of resisting intelligence services, such as a colleague who refused to cooperate with the BND and was dismissed from his job as a Yellow Angels helicopter pilot. He recalls multiple police searches of his home—six times—on accusations of leaking state secrets, and he notes that these pressures would intensify if he continued to resist. He claims that he has had three heart attacks, has no children, and suggests that if the authorities jail him, it would be worse for the truth he seeks to reveal. He asserts that Germany remains a colony of the United States, with American nukes on German soil, and that transatlantic organizations influence media to push pro-American and anti-Russian narratives, steering journalists toward compliance.