10 Creepiest Government Secrets

6. Operation Mockingbird

An operation led by the CIA to attempt to influence the media (and therefore the public), Operation Mockingbird began in the 1950s and involved recruiting journalists and directing them to present CIA-backed viewpoints.

The spy outfit also launched dummy magazines and other publications in an attempt to control public perception, most often in regards to the dangers of communism. Without the "red scare" of communism alive today, you can see examples of this sort of government sanctioned brainwashing - multiple political parties and governments pay for online content, newspaper editorials, and most commonly, posts in online forums (think reader response sections on news sites) that promote their viewpoints.