China’s military is developing advanced psychological warfare and brain-influencing weapons as part of a new warfighting strategy, according to a think tank report on People’s Liberation Army cognitive warfare.

The new arms include biological weapons designed to induce sleep or sleep-related disturbances in enemy troops. The goal is to impair cognition and alertness.

…

will seek cognitive manipulation and control of enemies.

Other weapons it is working on include “genetic drugs” — pharmaceuticals designed to modify the genetic and physiological makeup of people and seek to impact cognitive, emotional, and behavioral traits.

Source? A think tank said so.

  • emizeko [they/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    45·
    5 months ago

    The concept of brainwashing was invented— by a CIA agent posing as a journalist— precisely because Westerners needed a way to reflexively dismiss the phenomenon whereby their own troops were being persuaded of communist ideas during communist captivity:

    The idea of “brain-washing” can be credited to Edward Hunter, a CIA-funded writer and editor, who in 1950 started writing articles and books on the subject. His thesis was that Red China and the Soviet Union could control the minds of their respective citizenry— which explained how susceptible Americans captured on foreign soil would be. [11]

    This new category, supposedly qualitatively different from normal ideology acquisition, itself turns out to be simply an ideological distinction without a difference.

    from https://redsails.org/brainwashing/

    • SacredExcrement [any, comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
      25·
      5 months ago

      which explained how susceptible Americans captured on foreign soil would be

      “Could it be that our butchery is morally bankrupt, and that our adversary has good ideas? No, they must be mind controlling our people”

      • ForkBombRaja [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
        24·
        5 months ago

        I like how American propaganda is more likely to be like “the reds are evil wizards” than aknowledging that socialism is a good idea.

        • fox [comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
          23·
          5 months ago

          “They have universal healthcare, 100% literacy, no homeless, better nutrition, and all their children are educated for free through university. They might be on to something.”

          “You’ve just been brainwashed, shut up” how-much-could-it-cost

    • Hello_Kitty_enjoyer [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
      14·
      5 months ago

      His thesis was that Red China and the Soviet Union could control the minds of their respective citizenry

      It’s true–even at the dissolution of the USSR, a whopping 70% of its citizenry wanted it to stay together

      thankfully Pizza Hut got involved and Russia’s better for it now