‘Former Trump aide approved ‘black ops’ to help Ukraine president’…
Paul Manafort authorised secret media operation that sought to discredit key opponent of then Ukrainian president
I find it ridiculous to refer to a media campaign as “black ops.”
Psy-op then?
To the extent any political campaign is, sure. Getting stories run doesnt strike me as terrible.
Depending on how much is done to hide the sources and methods behind a psy-op, I’d say it could be classified as a black op. Black ops don’t all involve helicopters, IMO the term just marks an certain level of compartmentalized secrecy.
The trouble is that it is common for entities to leverage media sources. Things like briefing favorable media sources, rewriting Wiki entries, and using social media are practically unremarkable. Manafort’s failure to register under FARA is mind-bogglingly dumb. And of course there are the allegations about his money management.
People should be wary of the media, whether or not obviously partisan. Maybe this story was itself planted. Pretty soon you’ll be seeing black helicopters everywhere, or not at all.