In an innovative attempt at recruiting the public, “spy-style,” the CIA openly encourages Russians to become informants against their government.
On Monday, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) posted a video to YouTube, Telegram, and Twitter that was approximately 2 minutes long. The movie has a ‘patriotic’ slant in that it encourages Russians to assist their country by providing the CIA with intelligence. It is professionally produced and delivered in Russian, and it invites Russian citizens to provide intelligence about their country at a time when the crisis in Ukraine is intensifying.
The video posted on the CIA’s official YouTube channel as well as the Telegram messaging app, which is widely used in Russia, shows a male voice musing on the nature of bravery and endurance while two isolated characters, a guy trudging through the snow and a lady peering out a window, debate their options.
A film translation reveals that the CIA is seeking reliable sources who can tell the truth about Russia.
The film informs us that it’s possible that what one knows is more valuable than one realizes.
It says that the people are swayed by misinformation. However, one is aware of their own reality. And we share the truth in whispers.
Two sequences close with a guy and a woman, both holding smartphones, with their fingers lingering over a “Contact CIA” link.
The last scene explains how to send in data using the anonymous dark web browser Tor and provides recommendations for secure communication software.
Questions regarding the asset recruiting activities of the CIA were posed to Dmitry Peskov, the official spokesman for the Kremlin, when he was participating in a routine briefing. He replied that he has complete confidence that their special services are carefully monitoring everything happening.
He explained that everyone knows that the CIA and other Western intelligence services do not limit their operations regarding Russia. He said that this was the next thing he said.
