SCOOP EDITOR'S NOTE: The following article deals with a seldom discussed issue in the 21st Century internet media world,
the use of disinformation and misdirection within the self-proclaimed bastions of the new free internet media,
independent online news websites.
Scoop is a player of sorts in this area and spends considerable time and effort attempting to sort the wheat from the
chaff. That said sometimes we succeed and sometimes we fail. Doing otherwise would be almost impossible in this
environment.
Meanwhile the following article is written by one Internet news publisher about another. Add into the mix the fact that
from time to time Scoop has enjoyed the support of both publishers, and we have a real case of the public airing of
dirty laundry (internecine internet conflict) - and in normal circumstances Scoop would probably steer clear of this for
that reason.
At this point it is worth noting that I have no views on the allegations made by Mr Dunne about RumourMillNews. I am not
a regular reader of the site and never have been.
However the issues Fintan Dunne raises in this article are very real and deserve some airing. And as he says the news
environment if anything is getting more difficult to navigate as the Century gets older.
Therefore I have decided that it is worth sharing this article for the benefit of reader education.
As always it is important not to beleive everything you read on the Internet. But on the other hand, it would be tragic
if readers chose to believe nothing on the internet, as so many important new inquiries into matters of global
importance have begun and been pursued intensely on the internet. As always, discretion remains the better part of
valour, and the most important thing any truth seeker can do is to think for themselves.
- Alastair Thompson, Scoop Co-Editor
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Banned, At Last! by RumorMillNews.com - My Inside Story
by Fintan Dunne, Editor
6th May, '04 Update 12:00 ET
"Remember, RMN is NOT a democracy. It is a benevolent dictatorship and I am the ruling dictator!" - Rayelan Allen 14 April '04
As of today I am no longer a member of the Rumor Mill News forum, an alternative news site. My posting name there was
nFormedSources.
Of late, Rayelan Allen - the publisher of RMN has been on a spree of banning agents from her forum. The stated reasons
vary. But the real reason is that the imperial system is under pressure because of events in Iraq, and anyway Rumor Mill
News was past its sell-by date as a vehicle for spinning disinformation
All this may be news to you, although rumors about the Rumor Mill have been increasingly ventilated on the Internet
over the last year. If you ever visited the site you may have seen a lot of interesting anti-establishment material
posted there. Could it be a disinfo site?
Let me give those unfamiliar with these affairs, an outline of the disinformation tactics used to twist your
perceptions of what is going on in the world. A little background first.
To understand what is going on, you need to know the establishment's tactics for dealing with the flood of information
freely available on the Internet. It boils down to this: "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."
Fact is, there is no way to stop information coming out on the Internet. And they know it. The Net is too leaky, so any
attempt to squelch information would only draw attention to the very material in question.
And so they have invested heavily in the Internet. They own websites, activist groups, political commentators,
analysts, writers. The lot. The same tactics used to penetrate mainstream media have been used on alternative media
--and some. A small army of online con artists are deployed in this manner. It's a big budget enterprise which has
covered the Internet in pseudo alternative websites.
Here's their reasoning:
This way they can drown out legitimate investigation with a host of false trails, dead ends and fabrication. And, their
fingers are on the delete button for really sensitive information.
Operating the websites themselves offers the advantage of being able to highlight the tailings of rubbish and ignore
the nuggets of dangerous truth. Finally, throw in a generous dash of esoteric New Age mumbo-jumbo, which muddies the
waters still more; and before you know it, you can't tell the wood from the trees.
Rumor Mill News used to have some outstanding wood. Now it's mostly trees.
In the period immediately after 9/11, some talented researchers and journalists were posting there. Many stories broke
first on RMN. I even broke some of them there myself. For independent journalists like yours truly, RMN offered the
chance to bring an alternative take on world events to a large audience.
Small matter that there was a lot of disinformation packed around the truly insightful material. Independent
researchers were only too capable of putting their views and arguing their corner against naysayers. The forum thrived.
There was only one problem. The information coming out on RMN was often truly groundbreaking. For a website committed
to pumping out disinformation, this was a significant drawback.
Then, during 2002, there were a number of key occasions when the forum went off-line after sensitive information had
been posted. The site operators claimed on these occasions that hackers had done the damage. It's a common claim.
But independent researchers are a cynical and wary bunch with a lot of experience of detecting when they are on the
receiving end of BS. Many key individuals got so suspicious that they left. That was the beginning of the end.
As 2002 rolled into 2003, a new tranche of posters arrived on the site and the emphasis became much more new age and
far less geopolitical.
The editorial spin intensified. The angle being pushed was that G. W. Bush was a member of a "Faction 2" which was
going to save us all from NWO World Government. This view was increasingly promoted by Rayelan Allen and others. Another
tale to feature on RMN was the infamous Nesara alternative currencies scam.
But the rush to the exit was already on. More posters left. The traffic to the website dropped. We were entering the
final phase.
A new piece of software was added which allowed the site operators to edit the forum listings so some posts would not
appear. The listings have many examples of hanging posts --where the first and main post in a sequence is not listed
--instead the third or fourth post is shown. Click on that post and sure enough --you can see that there were prior
posts in the thread. But you only get to see them if you stumble across them by accident. Furthermore some posts were
quietly deleted altogether.
Then a "Lounge" was added, to which only forum posters, or "agents" had access. Regular visitors could not see the
content of the Lounge, where the flow of information to the main forum was controlled. Some "agents" actually ask in the
Lounge for permission to post certain material. Yep, that's how low things have sunk.
Why did I stick so long on RMN? Well, as I say, I mostly used it a channel for getting the truth out. I just ignored
the disinfo and the diversions.
But, to continue at this point would be simply lending credibility to the spin running on RMN. I'm not saying everyone
who posts there is knowingly spreading disinfo. But RMN is not a home for open investigative reporting. Which is why
they want me out. RMN is now a G. W. Bush political spin site.
At least, with... say, Free Republic forum, what you see --rabid Republicanism-- is what you get. They got strong views
there and that's just fine with me. Actually, "Freepers" gave me my best unknown tale of Bill Clinton and 9/11.
Free expression is fine. What bugs me is the plethora of subterfuge agents who pretend to be what they are not. It's
time to get a clearer view of who is, and is not, on the side of truth.
John Kaminsky in his latest article "Shadow of a hologram" hints at the need for the 9/11 movement to root out
pretenders. And Carol Valentine in her recent article "911 Lawsuit Is A Booby Trap" goes on record with grave doubts
about the direction of the Mariani 9/11 suit against the Bush administration.
Push is coming to shove. But, we need to proceed with care, because there is a confusion agenda the establishment is
trying to sow among its opponents.
This article was not meant to make a comprehensive case against RMN. It's not worth the effort. There are more
important tasks. I am only too happy to leave. And take this opportunity to thank the many readers of the site who have
corresponded with me. To get my news and analysis articles, visit my website www.BreakForNews.com. My material is unlikely to be on RMN.
So before inevitable allegations fly that I am a 'plant' trying to subvert freedom of expression, here below are a few
quotes and a summary of the establishment lies I have been exposing over the last few years. You decide what you
believe.
After all, that's what free speech is all about.
QUOTES:
"Arch conspiracy theorist Fintan Dunne"
-- Mail & Guardian "The Triumph of Unreason," April 19th, 2002
"[GuluFuture.com] suggestions of cover-up [are] false and even silly."
-- Space.com "NASA Cover-up of 'NEAT' Comet," 28 Feb, 2003
"There are reporters, and then there are reporters. Fintan Dunne is the real thing. In a sane world, he would have
collected a few heavy journalistic prizes by now. But in a sane world, he would be doing other things."
-- John Rappoport, 28 April, 2003
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