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How to Spot a Public Figure Media Psyop: A Publicist’s Perspective

By Identity, Media Representation, Politics, Public Relations

First off, you’ll need to understand what a psyop actually is, so let’s start there and dive deeper.

The word psyop is short for psychological operation; a psyop is a highly coordinated campaign that is predominantly implemented by militaries, intel agencies, or political groups, which is designed to manipulate human behavior, emotions, and beliefs.

The goal of a psyop is to shape public perception to fit an agenda and influence a target’s strategic decision-making without engaging in direct physical conflict.

What is a Public Figure Psyop?

Public figures, including celebrities, reality TV personalities, social media influencers, and celebrity-adjacent entertainment service providers, are often planted in the mass media to shape public perception and opinions.

It’s someone who has essentially, purposefully built up a following to place themselves next to those who have amassed large followings to clout-chase off of, in a strategic, long-term effort to gain the public’s trust, only to shift their stance on issues related to their mission’s agenda.

Stances on topics of importance; politics, human rights, etc. and/or identity related matters for example a public figure psyop is often positioned to help influence anti-LGBTQIA+ views by stating that they hate something about their known public identity for example; there is a transgender self-hating former Olympian that many could say specifically has taken the route that they have as conservative commentator against the very community they say they sincerely feel that they are a part of all the way to becoming a publicly paid speaker speaking out against the very identity that they fought so hard to live for?

That’s a public figure psyop against the trans community. Clock it.

Another example of this we can see two gay men in Hollywood, who were married for a brief moment that was strategically positioned on a reality show only later to hear one of the men start to play up their bisexuality, saying they were suffering from mania during their involvement in said relationship and for the other to later appear within productions as talent when they’re entry into the entertainment world was made through being a trade service provider as opposed to the pursuit of on camera talent outside of their initial trade profession of which they claim to be an expert in.

We will be seeing both of these men in the very near future denounce their gay sexuality altogether in an effort to do, again, what a psyop’s mission is: to manipulate human emotions in an effort to influence the general public that the gay community should consider heteronormativity because of what they see reflected after the mission of this public figure couple’s psyop.

That’s a public figure psyop against the gay community. Clock it.

Best Ways To Spot a Public Figure Psyop

In the beginning stages, it’s important to know that public figure psyops are deeply trying to infiltrate the tribe that is Hollywood, so you’ll see people like this acting in these ways:

  • They’ll take on high-visibility jobs for little to no money so they can gain access to celebrity and throne exposure.
  • You’ll start to see these individuals pop up and attempt to frame themselves as industry thought leaders. At the same time, their work is being shredded online by actual working professionals in the space they are attempting to gain influence in and appear to be experts in. You’ll notice that when this happens, the public figure psyop in question will immediately pivot their career course into another high-visibility adjacent role so as not to be called out further by the true experts of their industry for not really being who they say they are professionally, because they do not effectively accomplish the servitude they are now expected to be known for providing to celebrity clientele.
  • Increasingly, they’ll keep getting snowballing opportunities, one after the other; however, their professional talent doesn’t match the level of opportunity they are now so often provided (this is the easiest way to spot them). If you stop and think about it, when your conscience thinks something is weird in that regard, go with your gut because that’s weird, isn’t it?

How a Public Figure Psyop Does What They Do

Celebrity Influence. Most often, the general public is trusting when they see a famous face. Do not be fooled; half of the people in Hollywood are bad actors positioned in the mass media to make certain ideas and topics seem normal or true.

Distraction. Major news stories involving public figures are often used to hide serious political and/or economic issues and/or agendas.

Repetition. When the public repeatedly sees the same narrative across TV, social media, podcasts, etc., it creates a sense of familiarity that psychologically makes them much more likely to accept whatever claim is being pushed. Public-figure psyops are in the business of gaining public trust, intending to pull the rug out from under the public later.

Goals of a Public Figure Psyop

Shifting Public Focus. Redirecting public attention away from government, religious, or corporate actions.

Manufacturing Consent. Gradually building broad public support for specific cultural changes- anti-LGBTQIA+ anti-transgender agendas, specific laws and/or policies.

Dividing The Public. Controversial public figures are positioned to spark arguments, keeping the public exhausted, occupied, and talking. A great many of a TikTok personality can and absolutely should be looked at with scrutiny in this regard, as it is highly within the realm of possibility that the implementation and advancement of social media itself could potentially be looked at as the largest-scale public figure psyop network of all time.

Think about it: how much of your life’s time is now eaten up concerning social media? Why is that? Now that you think about it, it’s highly plausible, isn’t it?

There are a great many influencers on these social media platforms that claim expertise but are not truly who they say they are; think about why that is in terms of government tracking, control, and distraction.

In Conclusion

If in this lifetime you see a known gay couple who have been positioned in highly visible roles that are public-facing and are intersectional with the entertainment industry start to denounce their sexualities after having been a married gay couple, start talking about bisexuality here and there. Then you later see both of these known gay men denounce their gay sexualities, saying they’ve had a change of heart; I’d call that a psyop right out of a conservative government’s anti-gay agenda, and I wouldn’t be surprised.

I’m actually waiting to see it go down on a large-scale television show shortly because, of course, the world is a stage for some.

While others of us just keep it fucking real 24/7 because we’ve got no agenda and because we are actually gay and would never misrepresent our authentic identities because we almost died trying to become who we are today.

Read between the lines, people. Question everything and everyone.

True queer people who’ve struggled through life to live to be able to come out and enjoy their LGBTQIA+ sexualities and/or gender identities would never denounce our journeys and true identities, and go back to heterosexuality; and encourage others to do so. That’s just nonsensical.

That would be a calculated public-figure psyop, and anyone would be an idiot not to see right through it and call it out for what it is now that they see it.

For additional supporting information, read the following article :

Sexuality Trends Do Not Exist

ABOUT DYLAN THOMAS COTTER:

Rebel with a cause, driven by authenticity, self-expression, and liberation for all.

Dylan Thomas Cotter is a strategist, public relations leader, and brand communications executive with more than fifteen years of experience at the intersection of entertainment, media, and technology.

Cotter is known for securing numerous Tier 1 (top-tier) and Tier 2 media placements across key markets including but not limited to GQ, Rolling Stone, Out Magazine, The Advocate, Pride, Inked Magazine, Real Simple, VICE, KTLA, Reader’s Digest, Mashable, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Life UK, Newsweek, Men’s Health, Parade Magazine, Betches, U.S. News & World Report, Women’s Health Magazine, NursingColleges.com, Women.com, South China Morning Post, Truthout, MIC, The Manual, Curl Magazine, International Business Times UK, TechRound, GB News, The Irish Star US, The Mirror, MSN and AOL.

Cotter is an advisor to founders, artists, and executives on brand positioning, reputation, corporate social responsibility, and strategic communications. As an openly gay transgender professional, Dylan Thomas Cotter is committed to fostering inclusive, respectful, and affirming work environments.

His latest book, THINK LIKE A TRANSGENDER THOUGHT LEADER, is out now, and his memoir, TRANSGENDER & TRIGGERING THE LIFE OF DYLAN THOMAS COTTER, is available now at Barnes & Noble, Harvard Book Store, Book Soup, and Skylight Books, amongst other fine retailers, and is distributed worldwide through IngramSpark.

Dylan Thomas Cotter