The Truth About Fake News

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PROTOCOL No. 12

1. The word "freedom," which can be interpreted in various ways, is defined by us
as follows -

2. Freedom is the right to do what which the law allows. This interpretation of the
word will at the proper time be of service to us, because all freedom will thus be in our
hands, since the laws will abolish or create only that which is desirable for us
according to the aforesaid program.

3. We shall deal with the press in the following way: what is the part played by the
press to-day? It serves to excite and inflame those passions which are needed for our
purpose or else it serves selfish ends of parties. It is often vapid, unjust, mendacious,
and the majority of the public have not the slightest idea what ends the press really
serves. We shall saddle and bridle it with a tight curb: we shall do the same also with
all productions of the printing press, for where would be the sense of getting rid of the
attacks of the press if we remain targets for pamphlets and books? The produce of
publicity, which nowadays is a source of heavy expense owing to the necessity of
censoring it, will be turned by us into a very lucrative source of income to our State:
we shall law on it a special stamp tax and require deposits of caution-money before
permitting the establishment of any organ of the press or of printing offices; these will
then have to guarantee our government against any kind of attack on the part of the
press. For any attempt to attack us, if such still be possible, we shall inflict fines
without mercy. Such measures as stamp tax, deposit of caution-money and fines
secured by these deposits, will bring in a huge income to the government. It is true
that party organs might not spare money for the sake of publicity, but these we shall
shut up at the second attack upon us. No one shall with impunity lay a finger on the
aureole of our government infallibility. The pretext for stopping any publication will be
the alleged plea that it is agitating the public mind without occasion or justification. I
BEG YOU TO NOTE THAT AMONG THOSE MAKING ATTACKS UPON US WILL ALSO BE
ORGANS ESTABLISHED BY US, BUT THEY WILL ATTACK EXCLUSIVELY POINTS THAT
WE HAVE PRE-DETERMINED TO ALTER.


WE CONTROL THE PRESS

4. NOT A SINGLE ANNOUNCEMENT WILL REACH THE PUBLIC WITHOUT OUR CONTROL.
Even now this is already being attained by us inasmuch as all news items
are received by a few agencies, in whose offices they are focused from all parts of the
world. These agencies will then be already entirely ours and will give publicity only to
what we dictate to them.

5. If already now we have contrived to possess ourselves of the minds of the GOY
communities to such an extent the they all come near looking upon the events of the
world through the colored glasses of those spectacles we are setting astride their
noses; if already now there is not a single State where there exist for us any barriers
to admittance into what GOY stupidity calls State secrets: what will our positions be
then, when we shall be acknowledged supreme lords of the world in the person of our
king of all the world ....

6. Let us turn again to the FUTURE OF THE PRINTING PRESS. Every one desirous of
being a publisher, librarian, or printer, will be obliged to provide himself with the
diploma instituted therefore, which, in case of any fault, will be immediately
impounded. With such measures THE INSTRUMENT OF THOUGHT WILL BECOME AN
EDUCATIVE MEANS ON THE HANDS OF OUR GOVERNMENT, WHICH WILL NO LONGER
ALLOW THE MASS OF THE NATION TO BE LED ASTRAY IN BY-WAYS AND FANTASIES
ABOUT THE BLESSINGS OF PROGRESS. Is there any one of us who does not know that
these phantom blessings are the direct roads to foolish imaginings which give birth to
anarchical relations of men among themselves and towards authority, because
progress, or rather the idea of progress, has introduced the conception of every kind
of emancipation, but has failed to establish its limits .... All the so-called liberals are
anarchists, if not in fact, at any rate in thought. Every one of them in hunting after
phantoms of freedom, and falling exclusively into license, that is, into the anarchy of
protest for the sake of protest ....


FREE PRESS DESTROYED

7. We turn to the periodical press. We shall impose on it, as on all printed matter,
stamp taxes per sheet and deposits of caution- money, and books of less than 30
sheets will pay double. We shall reckon them as pamphlets in order, on the one hand,
to reduce the number of magazines, which are the worst form of printed poison, and,
on the other, in order that this measure may force writers into such lengthy
productions that they will be little read, especially as they will be costly. At the same
time what we shall publish ourselves to influence mental development in the direction
laid down for our profit will be cheap and will be read voraciously. The tax will bring
vapid literary ambitions within bounds and the liability to penalties will make literary
men dependent upon us. And if there should be any found who are desirous of writing
against us, they will not find any person eager to print their productions in print the
publisher or printer will have to apply to the authorities for permission to do so. Thus
we shall know beforehand of all tricks preparing against us and shall nullify them by
getting ahead with explanations on the subject treated of.

8. Literature and journalism are two of the most important educative forces, and
therefore our government will become proprietor of the majority of the journals. This
will neutralize the injurious influence of the privately-owned press and will put us in
possession of a tremendous influence upon the public mind .... If we give permits for
ten journals, we shall ourselves found thirty, and so on in the same proportion. This,
however, must in no wise be suspected by the public. For which reason all journals
published by us will be of the most opposite, in appearance, tendencies and opinions,
thereby creating confidence in us and bringing over to us quite unsuspicious
opponents, who will thus fall into our trap and be rendered harmless.

9. In the front rank will stand organs of an official character. They will always stand
guard over our interests, and therefore their influence will be comparatively
insignificant.

10. In the second rank will be the semi-official organs, whose part it will be to
attack the tepid and indifferent.

11. In the third rank we shall set up our own, to all appearance, off position, which,
in at least one of its organs, will present what looks like the very antipodes to us. Our
real opponents at heart will accept this simulated opposition as their own and will
show us their cards.

12. All our newspapers will be of all possible complexions - aristocratic, republican,
revolutionary, even anarchical - for so long, of course, as the constitution exists ....
Like the Indian idol "Vishnu" they will have a hundred hands, and every one of them
will have a finger on any one of the public opinions as required. When a pulse quickens
these hands will lead opinion in the direction of our aims, for an excited patient loses
all power of judgment and easily yields to suggestion. Those fools who will think they
are repeating the opinion of a newspaper of their own camp will be repeating our
opinion or any opinion that seems desirable for us. In the vain belief that they are
following the organ of their party they will, in fact, follow the flag which we hang out
for them.

13. In order to direct our newspaper militia in this sense we must take special and
minute care in organizing this matter. Under the title of central department of the
press we shall institute literary gatherings at which our agents will without attracting
attention issue the orders and watchwords of the day. By discussing and
controverting, but always superficially, without touching the essence of the matter,
our organs will carry on a sham fight fusillade with the official newspapers solely for
the purpose of giving occasion for us to express ourselves more fully than could well
be done from the outset in official announcements, whenever, of course, that is to our
advantage.


14. THESE ATTACKS UPON US WILL ALSO SERVE ANOTHER PURPOSE, NAMELY,
THAT OUR SUBJECTS WILL BE CONVINCED TO THE EXISTENCE OF FULL FREEDOM OF
SPEECH AND SO GIVE OUR AGENTS AN OCCASION TO AFFIRM THAT ALL ORGANS
WHICH OPPOSE US ARE EMPTY BABBLERS, since they are incapable of finding any
substantial objections to our orders.


ONLY LIES PRINTED

15. Methods of organization like these, imperceptible to the public eye but
absolutely sure, are the best calculated to succeed in bringing the attention and the
confidence of the public to the side of our government. Thanks to such methods we
shall be in a position as from time to time may be required, to excite or to tranquilize
the public mind on political questions, to persuade or to confuse, printing now truth,
now lies, facts or their contradictions, according as they may be well or ill received,
always very cautiously feeling our ground before stepping upon it .... WE SHALL HAVE
A SURE TRIUMPH OVER OUR OPPONENTS SINCE THEY WILL NOT HAVE AT THEIR
DISPOSITION ORGANS OF THE PRESS IN WHICH THEY CAN GIVE FULL AND FINAL
EXPRESSION TO THEIR VIEWS owing to the aforesaid methods of dealing with the
press. We shall not even need to refute them except very superficially.

16. Trial shots like these, fired by us in the third rank of our press, in case of need,
will be energetically refuted by us in our semi-official organs.

17. Even nowadays, already, to take only the French press, there are forms which
reveal masonic solidarity in acting on the watchword: all organs of the press are
bound together by professional secrecy; like the augurs of old, not one of their
numbers will give away the secret of his sources of information unless it be resolved to
make announcement of them. Not one journalist will venture to betray this secret, for
not one of them is ever admitted to practice literature unless his whole past has some
disgraceful sore or other .... These sores would be immediately revealed. So long as
they remain the secret of a few the prestige of the journalist attacks the majority of
the country - the mob follow after him with enthusiasm.

18. Our calculations are especially extended to the provinces. It is indispensable for
us to inflame there those hopes and impulses with which we could at any moment fall
upon the capital, and we shall represent to the capitals that these expressions are the
independent hopes and impulses of the provinces. Naturally, the source of them will
be always one and the same - ours. WHAT WE NEED IS THAT, UNTIL SUCH TIME AS
WE ARE IN THE PLENITUDE POWER, THE CAPITALS SHOULD FIND THEMSELVES
STIFLED BY THE PROVINCIAL OPINION OF THE NATIONS, I.E., OF A MAJORITY
ARRANGED BY OUR AGENTUR. What we need is that at the psychological moment the
capitals should not be in a position to discuss an accomplished fact for the simple
reason, if for no other, that it has been accepted by the public opinion of a majority in
the provinces. 19. WHEN WE ARE IN THE PERIOD OF THE NEW REGIME
TRANSITIONAL TO THAT OF OUR ASSUMPTION OF FULL SOVEREIGNTY WE MUST NOT
ADMIT ANY REVELATION BY THE PRESS OF ANY FORM OF PUBLIC DISHONESTY; IT IS
NECESSARY THAT THE NEW REGIME SHOULD BE THOUGHT TO HAVE SO PERFECTLY
CONTENDED EVERYBODY THAT EVEN CRIMINALITY HAS DISAPPEARED ... Cases of
the manifestation of criminality should remain known only to their victims and to
chance witnesses - no more.

SOURCE: Protocols of the Learned Pigs of Zion