Brendan O'Neill, editor of Spiked until 2021
Perhaps the main problem with the so-called "Dissident Right" is that it was simply not organic or authentic, even if parts of it were. In fact, it has become increasingly apparent that so much of the so-called "dissidence" in the West, whether from "the Right" or "the Left," has come out of the same spout of blatant psy-ops, aimed at polarising and destabilising open societies. Indeed, it could even be argued that Horseshoe Theory was simply evolved to cover up this rather glaring anomaly.
To discover the hidden hand of psy-ops, you don't even need to nail it down or find the smoking gun, because there is usually a distinct smell , tone, or taste in the air that gives it away. Let's look at an interesting example, Sp!ked online, which exists more in the shady interstices between the real dissident right and the increasingly distorted mainstream right, a much more useful zone for outside actors.
One of the chief hallmarks of the shill or op campaign is a radical switch from "left" to "right" that synchronises with the same change in Russia. Look at the trajectories of the people behind Zero Hedge, SubscribeStar, and the Unz Review as indicative examples. But there are few better examples of this than Sp!ked, an online magazine that claims to be funded by its donors and by "advertising," LOL. They would have you believe that their donors are just individuals like you, who believe in "truth, justice, and a better world." More likely they are KGB appointed operatives, funnelling money into London, or people like the Koch Brothers who just happen to push Russia-friendly US isolationism.
A little history...
One of the chief hallmarks of the shill or op campaign is a radical switch from "left" to "right" that synchronises with the same change in Russia. Look at the trajectories of the people behind Zero Hedge, SubscribeStar, and the Unz Review as indicative examples. But there are few better examples of this than Sp!ked, an online magazine that claims to be funded by its donors and by "advertising," LOL. They would have you believe that their donors are just individuals like you, who believe in "truth, justice, and a better world." More likely they are KGB appointed operatives, funnelling money into London, or people like the Koch Brothers who just happen to push Russia-friendly US isolationism.
A little history...
Sp!ked, to those who have been paying attention, was, believe it or not, formerly a journal called Living Marxism. Here is the Wikipedia entry:
Living Marxism was a British magazine originally launched in 1988 as the journal of the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP). The magazine attracted attention for denying both the Rwandan genocide and Bosnian genocide. Rebranded as LM in 1992, it ceased publication in March 2000 following a successful libel lawsuit brought by ITN over Living Marxism's criticism of ITN's coverage of the Bosnian war. It was promptly resurrected as Spiked, an Internet magazine.
Yes. They didn't even bother to take a bit of bush and tie it to their horses' tails when they suddenly changed direction. Also, note how Living Marxism got into trouble, namely by taking a bullet for Kremlin-aligned Serb militias happily killing Bosnians.
Back in the day, before it rebranded as a populist right-wing shit-stirring site, Living Marxism also supported other typical Soviet shill campaigns. In addition to soft-peddling Serbian genocide, it also sought to boost IRA extremists and unilateral Western disarmament.
It is of course significant that it was run by the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP). This was one of many extreme left-wing splinter groups that were to varying degrees controlled and manipulated by Moscow. But, more recently, the dregs of the RCP has been a fruitful recruiting ground for what may well be another partial Kremlin-op, namely Nigel Farage's Brexit Party. Wikipedia again:
The mechanics of Putin's grip on power have shown us that the Cold War never really ended, it just went into hibernation. Whatever one thinks of it, it is undeniable that the last few years has shown a great dusting off and repurposing of former assets in the Cold War against the open societies of the West.
Now Sp!ked exists as a marginally influential online publication attempting entryism into the mainstream media and trying to flag up divisive issues in British society and boost the signal of other major dubious operations like GB News.
It is of course significant that it was run by the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP). This was one of many extreme left-wing splinter groups that were to varying degrees controlled and manipulated by Moscow. But, more recently, the dregs of the RCP has been a fruitful recruiting ground for what may well be another partial Kremlin-op, namely Nigel Farage's Brexit Party. Wikipedia again:
In April 2019, three former members of the Revolutionary Communist Party, Claire Fox, James Heartfield and Alka Sehgal Cuthbert, were selected as candidates for Nigel Farage's Brexit Party in the 2019 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom. Stuart Waiton stood in Dundee West at the 2019 general election, also for the Brexit Party.
The mechanics of Putin's grip on power have shown us that the Cold War never really ended, it just went into hibernation. Whatever one thinks of it, it is undeniable that the last few years has shown a great dusting off and repurposing of former assets in the Cold War against the open societies of the West.
Now Sp!ked exists as a marginally influential online publication attempting entryism into the mainstream media and trying to flag up divisive issues in British society and boost the signal of other major dubious operations like GB News.
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