1.
A psyop's first step is to hijack your focus. Repetition, shocking videos, fear inducing reports.
Ask yourself -- Why is this message being pushed so aggressively? Compare how much air time. For example I was listening to the news a few years ago to hear the results of the Mueller investigation. On one news channel it was 100% "orange man bad" and yet they didn't report the results. On the other channel they pretended it was "orange man good" but they also did not report the result. I had to search and find Warroom Pandemic by Steve Bannon to get the answer.
2.
Authority -- Expert panelists -- watch closely for them to shift their position.
For example Fauci and all the experts used to say the best vaccine was to recover from the virus and yet with the Pandemic they shifted that to everyone needed to get the vaccine whether or not they got Covid.
3.
Tribe -- messages that polarize opinions into tribes.
For example it seemed there was no middle ground anymore, either you were a left wing lunatic with liberal tears or you were in the MAGA cult. Labeling you as "patriot" vs "traitor" is an example. Another example is "scientific" vs "deniers".
4.
Emotions -- be skeptical of any news report designed to provoke fear, outrage or any strong emotion without any clear, verifiable evidence. Emotional responses suppress critical thinking.
This was done during the pandemic and anyone who was skeptical of the vaccine was asked for proof that it was dangerous. Think of how stupid that is. The drug companies are supposed to give us proof that it is safe, yet they flipped that on the head. We were supposed to take them at their word without any proof, and if we questioned that they demanded that we give them proof.
Question novelty
1.
Why is this new? For example sudden shift is poll data. Humans are hard wired to pay attention to change.
For example a damaging viral video comes out claiming to have evidence of a government coverup the same day that damaging evidence comes out on a government official. The idea is to move the damaging story off the front page and shift focus.
2.
Look for multiple sources. The government will use certain outlets to get their propaganda out. For example, the NY Times has been used. If you are hearing this from the NY Times but not from the NY Post that would be a red flag. Many news agencies, if not all, have an agenda. They have to report on real news otherwise they lose credibility.
For example, think of these videos showing many news agencies all presenting the same talking point in the same day. That is as close as you can hope to get that it is proof of a psyop.
3.
Identify cognitive dissonance weapons -- This is where the "new information" clashes with our beliefs or understanding. They will then present small arguments that we do agree with to help us try and reconcile the cognitive dissonance.
For example, Fauci saying that the vaccine would prevent the virus from being spread to others even if you already had Covid and were not going to get sick. This was something brand new I had never heard of before despite teaching about vaccines. Now a good citizen who was concerned with others health would therefore get the vaccine. I could agree with that premise, that if I could do something to help prevent others getting sick that was a valid reason even if it didn't help me.
4.
Look for those emotional scripts -- These are written in our DNA. A food shortage, an imminent invasion, these are things that we are hard wired to be on the lookout for. Survival script is a big one.
Tribal rejection is another one, the threat of becoming an outcast. Focus on the facts.
5.
Follow the money -- Who is profiting from this.
Suppose a charity is promoting clean energy, seems noble, but then you learn it is funded by a company that makes solar panels and wind turbines and they are lobbying for funding.
6.
Analyze the context boundary -- Manipulative people shift context to normalize extreme behavior.
For example, the Patriot Act was extreme surveillance but the US accepted it because of 911. The government has learned they can get just about anyone to do just about anything.
7.
Spot the use of archetypes. -- They are woven into our brain. Heroes, villains and saviors. Good vs Evil stories signal manipulation just about 100% of the time.
For example, thinking one President will be the sole solution to all our woes.
8.
Evaluate the frame -- What are you expected to do? What are they assuming are your beliefs? How is reality being shaped to impact your perception? What truth is being asserted as something completely unchallengeable? What you are looking for is information suppression. If someone needs to be silenced in order for an idea to be accepted then the idea is not good.
For example, if algorithms are suppressing certain searches. Think about whistleblowers always being labeled as disgruntled employees with a grudge.
9.
Be alert to rapid compliance shifts -- It seemed for the longest time we had boys and girls bathrooms and then almost overnight for some reason we needed a third bathroom or we needed to tell people they could choose whatever bathroom they preferred. A psyop wants rapid compliance and so they will drive urgency. Anyone in sales knows you want urgency, if the guy gets to sit back and think about it he will realize there is no reason to buy this thing, at least not now. You want people feeling they must make a decision immediately. Timing is everything.
Think about a Psyop as a political campaign. They are pumping a lot of money into this campaign, but if you just wait two months the whole thing will have blown over. Now if I am telling you the PC is the next big thing, two months later it will be an even bigger thing. If I am telling you that gold will take off after they took the US dollar off the gold standard in 1971 well I'll be able to confirm that years later. Sure enough gold hit 2,700 by 1980. That was however, when everyone else jumped on the bandwagon and gold was sold off to $486 in 2001. As terrible as that is for the sucker who bought it in 1980, it is still a 10x increase from when the dollar went off the gold standard. That is an 8% increase year over year since 1971 in an asset that is seen as being safe in the event of economic collapse. This means in 2001 you could have seen that the people telling you gold would take off after 1971 were telling you the truth. Since that point gold is up 7x. Removing the dollar from the gold standard was a structural shift that would enable the US government to print money freely and cause the US dollar to suffer massive inflation. That was the reasoning, it was true, and there was no need for rapid compliance because it was true ten years later, thirty years later and fifty years later.