Blog #9 - Awareness

 

False Flags

A false flag is a hostile or harmful action (such as an attack) that is designed to look like it was perpetrated by someone other than the person or group responsible for it.

The name, “false flag” was born from conflict among pirates in the 16th Century. The tactic was well thought out and successful- pirates would approach enemies waving friendly flags and tricking the enemy into thinking they were allies. Once they were close enough, they would reveal their real flag and attack. As time went on, this method was used continuously as nations blamed others for their own behavior in order to justify further violence.

When executed correctly, the false flag method is usually successful. False flags disguise violence, which is not necessarily a “good” thing. However, false flags are not happening as frequently as the media suggests. The most recent example of false flags involves the United States, Russia, and Ukraine. In 2022, United States officials suspected that Russia would conduct a false flag operation on Eastern Ukraine, because of the stationed soldiers near the border and claims of provoked conflict. In 2014, Russia invaded Ukraine through a false flag operation which resulted in Russia's occupation of Crimea. Officials claimed that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 involved false flags because the act was designed to look like Ukraine was provoking conflict.

False flag operations cause many issues for nations and societies, as they can serve as an excuse for partaking in violent behavior. For example, in 1965 false flags allowed President Lyndon B. Johnson to increase involvement in the Vietnam War. Additionally, false flags also justify wars, undermine opponents, and decrease the success of nations in conflict by risking their financial status.

Because of the increase in media use and the role it plays in war, I assume the number of false flags will decrease over time because it is hard to keep anything private. If an organization was planning a false flag operation it would take an immense amount of planning for it to be successful because of the lack of privacy through technology. Lawful interception puts false flag operations at a huge risk because the planning of them could be detected very quickly. Additionally, surveillance and monitoring are two methods government officials could use to "spy" on enemies.

It will be interesting to see how much technology plays a role in either the increase or decrease in false flag operations. Either way, this will have a huge impact on our society as we begin to see technology take part in higher operations.

Recently I was scrolling through TikTok and saw a video about a rival game between Yale and Harvard. At this game in 2004, Yale students played a prank on Harvard by giving them place cards and telling them they said "Go Harvard on them". Harvard students held up the cards during the game which resulted in them finding out the cards said "We Suck". After seeing this I was immediately reminded of false flag operations. I fully understand that a rival football game is not anything close to war, however, the concept is the same. Yale was deceitful. They came up with a plan to attack the enemy by pretending the operation was done by the other group. In the end, it seemed like Harvard was hurting themselves when in reality it was Yale all along. This example helped me understand the concept of false flag operations and really explained the purpose and methodology behind it.