Bonum Certa Men Certa

Leaked Government Document Shows Investigative Journalists Classed Among “Terrorists”

Summary: The great enemy of authority turns out to be truth seekers

WIKILEAKS has a fantastic new addition, which is 2,389 pages of this manual [PDF, 39MB] from the UK Ministry of Defence.



For those who lack time to study this large volume of leaked material, here are some of the damning parts that prove we're supposed to be obedient, lacking curiosity, only to repeat conventional thoughts. Watch how the manual daemonises "investigative journalists" for example:

"The main threats of this type are posed by investigative journalists, pressure groups, investigation agencies, criminal elements, disaffected staff, dishonest staff and computer hackers. The types of threat from these sources can be categorized in six broad groups: a. Confidentiality. Compromise of politically sensitive information. This threat is presented by: (1) Pressure groups and investigative journalists attempting to obtain sensitive information. (2) Unauthorized disclosure of official information (leaks)..."

"Investigative journalists have exploited personal tax information; they also target commercial and financial information as do criminal elements seeking financial advantage. "

[..]

"The threat to operations against these targets is less likely to arise from positive acts of counter-espionage, than from leakage of information through disaffected members of staff, or as a result of the at tentions of an investigative journalist, or simply by accident or carelessness. 1706. In this wider definition of Threat, the "enemy" is unwelcome publicity of any kind, and through any medium. The most effective safeguard is to reinforce those aspects of security that minimise the risk of leakage of sensitive intelligence operations or product into the public domain - whether by accidental exposure or deliberate intent. The STRAP System aims to achieve this."

[..]

"The security measures in this chapter are aimed primarily to cover contacts made in CSSRAs and have been drawn up to protect the individual from action by FISs, extremist groups, investigative journalists and criminals."

[..]

"An Annual Threat Assessment (ATA) is issued to all Government Departments giving generic statements as to the main sources of Threat. This will include personnel who may be from or influenced by Foreign Intelligence Services (FIS), authorized users who, for whatever motive, may seek to gain access to official information they have no 'need to know', subversive or terrorist organizations, and investigative journalists."

[..]

"The threat from subversive or terrorist organisations, investigative journalists and others must also be considered."

"Experience has shown that at least half the attempts to hack into systems arise from this group and that external hackers use "social engineering" techniques to trick authorised users into revealing information which may aid an external penetration. 7. The Media. Investigative journalists are increasingly interested in State IT systems, particularly those operated by the police and the Security and Intelligence agencies. There has been evidence of premeditated attempts to acquire protectively marked information from IT systems. 8. Members of the Public. The fact that inform ation held electronically may be open to novel forms of surreptitious attack provides a special attraction to certain individuals, commonly known as 'hackers'. Whilst the efforts of hackers are unlikely to be directed specifically against protectively marked information, there is added kudos in breaking into Defence systems, so much information might be discovered fortuitously. "

"..The threat from subversive and terrorist organizations, criminal activity, investigative journalists, and members of the public cannot be discounted..."

"..Malicious software can originate from many sources such as disaffected staff, foreign intelligence services, investigative journalists or terrorists..."

[..]

"..The main elements of the Audio security threat are: a. The threat from deliberate attempts to overhear conversations posed by FIS (especially at locations overseas), sophisticated terrorist and subversive organisations and in particular from criminals, investigative journalists, private investigators and some members of the public..."

[..]

"..Identify possible threats to your site, such as from: Foreign Intelligence Services. Terrorist groups. Disaffected staff. Criminals. Investigative journalists."


It is all quite telling, is it not?

"[E]xtremist groups, investigative journalists and criminals..."

“The "enemy" is unwelcome publicity of any kind...”
      --Fewa
It's as though the above are all more or less the same. People who dare to investigate and form an independent opinion are almost like criminals. They are supposed to just parrot what large media sources say, even if it is misleading propaganda from the corporations that control this media (and other high interests, not necessarily financial).

"Free speech not allowed," remarks Fewa, "and the trend-setting media only acts after there is public outcry over something or someone with real power raises it [...] or unless it serves a state purpose. I wonder what type of person leaked it -- an insider or outsider."

"The "enemy" is unwelcome publicity of any kind," he continues, "and through any medium (aka the "enemy" is the truth) [...] or the public having any idea what their tax dollars are doing."

There is another great new addition to Wikileaks. David Gerard remarks on it as follows: "Someone's been selling the Orwellian aspirants in the EU some *seriously* strong snake oil."

This file, marked "confidential", describes development of an EU-funded intelligence gathering system ("INDECT work package 4") designed to comb webblogs, chat sites, newsreports, and social-networking sites to inorder to build up automatic dossiers on individuals, organizations and their relationships.


"Automatic dossiers..."

Yay!

Well, Microsoft still uses its PR agencies to do this, some of which (like Visible Technologies) found ways to automate the process.

Lo and behold -- Microsoft's lists are exposed.

It is probably an appropriate time to repost the following old skit from Carlin. ⬆



Ogg Theora





Recent Techrights' Posts

Intercontinental Brigading - Part XXXXV - The Brand (and Reputation)
"Russell Brand sentenced to 10 years and six months for rape and sexual assault"
Protestants at the EPO Fight On, Rising in Opposition to and Against Corruption, Also Against GAFAM
Don't say we didn't warn you...
When Some Footage Causes Your 'Company' to Lose Almost Half a Trillion Dollars in 'Value' in a Few Minutes Your Company is Fictionally Valued
stock slips 8% because the CEO cheats on the wife
Links 09/11/2026: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Cheats on Wife With A Suspected Chinese Spy, "400,000 Russians Killed in Battle Since 2022 Invasion"
Links for the day
 
“Losing Huang Would Introduce a Lot of Uncertainty"
Huang won't last much longer
GNU/Linux Rose to 6% as Laptop/Desktop Operating System in Azerbaijan
In the past two weeks the average measure as seen by Clownflare is 5.7%
Microsoft Will Pay $11,742 USD for Workers to Leave
11 lakh Indian Rupees
Since Records Began 18 Months Ago, statCounter Saw Chatbot Usage Falling Sharply
Chatbots are not becoming more popular and the commercial world is having second thoughts
Losing Their 'Faith' in Slop
Are leather jackets becoming a "signal" of "cheating on the wife"?
Boosters of Non-reciprocal Licensing Are Just Trying to Cancel Richard Stallman (RMS) and His Baby, GNU
If only they liked freedom as much as they love Microsoft (or Microsoft's GitHub, which is proprietary and unsafe)
Gemini Links 09/11/2026: Zephyr, Wireless Planet, and Old E-mail
Links for the day
IBM: From Illegal NDAs to Illegal Secret Settlements (Money in Exchange for Promise Not to Sue)
Insiders also explain why RAs may come weeks from now [...] IBM has marked 40,000 workers it wishes to get rid of
Links 09/11/2026: 'Humanitarian' Putin Knocks 600,000 Civilians Off the Grid, Eminem’s Publisher Sues Suno
Links for the day
Like Crooked Politicians, The Register MS is Selling "Dinners" (Access, Sponsors)
Talk about "hey hi".
The Register MS is Not Objective Regarding "AI", It's Paid by Pushers of the Pyramid Scheme (including Nvidia)
Some time soon we'll name some companies that pay millions to The Register MS in order to cement their role in the house of cards (while it lasts)
GAFAM Moribund
A lot of what we say about Microsoft in respect to debt is equally applicable to the rest of GAFAM
NVIDIA as a Scam Company Run by Scammers Who Fake Demand for Their Waste of Energy (Subsidising GPU Sales for Use Cases That Don't Exist)
First they targeted gamers, then fake 'currencies' (which turned out to be a bust), now it's slop (obfuscation of plagiarism using brute force and fusion) [...] We're quite glad that Huang publicly broadcasts how untrustworthy he is
Zero Tolerance for Slop
very few sites that dabbled in slop ended up well off (for it)
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, November 08, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, November 08, 2026
Gemini Links 09/11/2026: "The Blue Wave Won't Save Us" and "Discoverability Is Only Solved If You Can Be Discovered"
Links for the day
IBM 'Robbery': No More Car Allowance in the UK, Severance Shredded, CEO Pay Up 51% in One Year While Thousands Laid Off in Secret
Why does a CEO reward himself so much when the company does so badly?
Digitalisation Is Not Inevitable or Unavoidable
Nor inescapable
Gemini Links 08/11/2026: "Back", Zot, and Information Overload
Links for the day
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XXXXIV - Why the Swatting Failed
After that we only ever heard from or spoke to cops when we invited them to our home to collect evidence
“Concerned Microsoft Workers” Say “Working at Microsoft Has Become Joyless and Demoralizing.” (That's What Microsoft Wants, More Will Leave That Way)
Many Microsoft employees are going to leave
The Register MS is Losing Hundreds of Thousands of Pounds a Year While Directors Pay Themselves Hundreds of Thousands of Pounds a Year in Dividends
they take money from slop pushers and have clearly compromised some journalistic standards in the process
GNU/Linux Measured at 7.4% in the UK This Weekend: Clownflare Radar
I hope that one day GNU/Linux will be everywhere here
Never a One-Person Project
Just because I'm the main "public face" of the site (who takes all the insults and SLAPPs) doesn't mean I deserve all the credit
“I Always Expect to Lose. I Fight Anyway, and Sometimes I Win.” — Richard Stallman
To change the world meaningfully people must think big
Stop Looking for News About "Layoffs", Layoffs Are Over (They've Been Rebranded)
To properly assess the status quo we need other yardsticks
Links 08/11/2026: Bosses Who Were Forcing Their Workers to Use Slop Change Mind, "Rapper RBX Files Ninth Circuit Appeal in Fraud-Focused Class Action Lawsuit Against Spotify"
Links for the day
Links 08/11/2026: Why Vikings Stayed in Iceland and "TikTok Accused Of Promoting Sex Industry To Young Girls"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 08/11/2026: "Before Sunrise" and LLM Scrapers Versus Self-Hosting (or Web in General)
Links for the day
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XXXXIII - Weaponising Cops in Another Continent (Europe), Knowing They Cannot Come to Your Home in America, While Threatening Women
This year it culminated in death threats
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, November 07, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, November 07, 2026
The Decade Ahead, a Decade of Suppressed Stories
Our stories aren't discouraged or considered taboo because of racism or "toxic politics" or anything like that; they just hurt powerful people and corporations
Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Inaction and Incompetence - Part V - "Reports Closed Without the Evidence Being Examined."
Totally what the SRA did regarding Brett Wilson LLP
Gemini Links 07/11/2026: Illusion Garden and Lagrange 2
Links for the day
Complexity is the Tyrant's Friend
Slop is for feeble minds and cheaters
IBM Firings (or Silent Layoffs) After Bluewashing; "IBM’s Employment History is More Troubling Than its Patriotic Marketing Suggests"
"It has zip to do with race but everything to do with the greed of the 1% who have been doing all they can to destroy the middle class..."
“Week van de Werkstress” and Work-Related Stress at the EPO, Where Staff is Bullied Into Granting Illegal Patents for Foreign Monopolists
"poor working environments, including discrimination and inequality, excessive workloads, low job control and job insecurity pose a risk to mental health"
Czech Republic: GNU/Linux Rises Above 5% in Desktops and Laptops
A year ago it was somewhere around 4%
EPO's Local Staff Committee The Hague Says Almost or About a Third of Staff Assembled to Organise at "a Time of Continued Social Unrest"
They speak of "circa 850 staff members in attendance" (in The Netherlands there are about a couple thousand)
Suggestions That XBox Will be Offloaded by Microsoft, Rather Than Shut Down, Make the False Assumption XBox is Profitable (It's Not, It's a Liability)
Microsoft has serious financial troubles
Which "Smart" "Phone", Which "Social" "Media", and Which "Cloud" "Storage"?
Let's take back control of the language
State of the (Linux) Slop, Late 2026 Edition
Google News (Gulag Noise) is a plagiarism booster
Year 21
It's 5PM here
Links 07/11/2026: "Flock Cameras Got Eviscerated by the Midterms" and Joshua Wong Shows China is Highly Repressive and Fully Controls Hong Kong
Links for the day
At The Register MS the Net Liabilities Doubled in One Year, Tangible Assets Down About 35% in One Year
signed off in 2026
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XXXXII - Running One's Mouth
British Police told me "making a false complaint to police is a crime" in relation to Lozza
Another 20 Years of Exposing Corruption
We'll focus on carrying on what we do
EPO Budget and Finance Committee (in Very Recent Meeting) Increases Bribes to People Who Vote on Campinos Reappointment ("Cooperation Activities")
Buying 'elections' to protect the cocaine-stained regime in Europe's second-largest institution
Links 07/11/2026: London's SLAPP Industry Now Targets Kirkenes (Northern Norway) at the Behest of Corrupt Thieves in Russia and Microsoft’s 'Buyout' Offer Crashes Microsoft Systems
Links for the day
Links 07/11/2026: "The Moon is Waning Crescent", Homeworlds, and "Can't Handle The AVIF!"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, November 06, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, November 06, 2026