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Writing Initiative #6

1. Which piece did you present to the class today? How does it relate to the other pieces previously presented?

(I didn't come to class due to family reasons) If I was to represent something for this class, it would be my reflective piece. I created a informative zine called "PSYOPS 101: A fun guide for a whistleblower". The zine serves as both a breakdown and an extension of my 2D, 3D and 4D. While the other works actively showcase manipulation, censorship, and distortion of truth, the zine explicitly dissects these tactics, making them easier to recognize. It functions as both a deconstruction of psyops and a guide to understanding their impact.

My 2D piece focuses on selective censorship, presenting a redacted document where certain politically sensitive words are erased to control the narrative. Viewers can only uncover hidden messages using a Cardan grille, forcing them to interact with the deception firsthand. My zine expands on this by breaking down how language is weaponized in psyops, showing how words are redefined to align with political motives—how "censorship" becomes "content moderation" or how "propaganda" is reframed as "strategic communication." While my 2D project asks viewers to experience manipulation, my zine explains how and why it works, making it clear that information control isn't just about omission—it’s about shaping what people believe in the first place.

My 3D piece critiques how people engage with information on a surface level, using hollowed-out books as a metaphor for shallow understanding and curated narratives. I removed the contents of books about figures like Trump, Churchill, and Musk, leaving only their covers, symbolizing how their public images are often detached from their true histories. My zine connects to this by exploring the psychology behind why people accept manipulated narratives. It breaks down why misinformation sticks, how political figures are rebranded over time, and why truth becomes secondary to perception. Where my 3D piece is a physical representation of empty narratives, my zine analyzes how those narratives are constructed.

My 4D project puts the viewer inside a psyop, simulating how biased search engines and government-controlled media subtly alter perception. The website I designed censors politically charged words and reshapes search results to align with conservative, pro-Trump perspectives. The more someone searches, the more the system erases opposing views, reinforcing a controlled narrative. My zine expands on this by showing how real-world media, search engines, and social platforms use similar tactics to guide public beliefs. While my 4D project immerses the audience in the experience of being manipulated, my zine acts as a guidebook, revealing the strategies at play behind the scenes.

Traditional books on psyops tend to feel intimidating and militaristic, reinforcing the idea that psychological warfare is something distant or academic. I wanted to disrupt that expectation by designing my zine with bright, inviting visuals inspired by children’s books. The contrast between playful design and unsettling content mirrors the way psyops themselves operate—by making deception feel normal, comfortable, and even entertaining. In the end, my 2D, 3D, and 4D projects demonstrate psyops in action, while my zine exposes the trick, explaining how manipulation functions and why it’s so effective.

2. Describe 2–3 specific strengths your classmates found in your work and their reasons for identifying them.

When asking for advice later, a classmate pointed out that my reflective piece’s playful visuals contrast well with its dark subject matter, it makes the content more approachable while mirroring how propaganda disguises itself. They also liked how the structured sections break down psyops step by step, making complex ideas more tangible. Lastly, they appreciated how the zine expands on my 2D, 3D, and 4D projects, tying everything together without just summarizing.

3. Describe 1–2 specific ways your classmates thought you could improve this work going forward.

My classmate suggested making the visual style shift as the content gets darker to reflect the reader’s growing awareness. They also recommended adding real-world examples to ground the concepts in recognizable events.

4. Finally, you have now had a chance to present each of your projects (2D, 3D, 4D, Reflective) in process to the class. Produce an image of each one and describe how an aspect of your word is manifested

REFLECTIVE PIECE: The zine’s approachable aesthetic masks its unsettling message, mirroring how propaganda disguises manipulation as truth. It plays with Ackamarackus by drawing readers in with an inviting format, only to reveal the sinister underpinnings of mass influence.

2D PIECE: This piece embodies Ackamarackus by showcasing intentional deception—government-controlled narratives that manipulate public perception through selective censorship. The grille allows viewers to uncover concealed truths, mimicking the process of seeing through misinformation.

3D PIECE: These books symbolize the façade of historical and political narratives, where public figures are often glorified while their deeper, more controversial truths are erased. The hollowness represents how people consume surface-level information without questioning the reality beneath.

4D PIECE: This piece directly demonstrates Ackamarackus by warping reality through controlled information. It simulates how psyops manipulate public opinion, reinforcing a biased worldview while obscuring opposing perspectives.

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"Welcome to the Show" This section sets the stage by explaining how psyops operate as frameworks for shaping reality, drawing parallels to the illusionary nature of performance art. It details how governments, media, and corporations craft carefully constructed narratives that manipulate public perception without resorting to brute force or overt control. These narratives are woven into every aspect of society—from advertising to news reporting to political speeches—creating a consensus that feels organic, even though it's deliberately constructed to guide thought in a specific direction. The section lays the groundwork for understanding the hidden mechanisms at play in everyday life and how psyops are used to subtly influence public opinion and maintain control.

"The Setup: Fear as a Tool" Fear is one of the most powerful psychological tools in any operation, and this section delves into how it functions as the foundation of successful psyops. By putting individuals and communities into survival mode, emotions take over, pushing logic aside and making people more susceptible to manipulation. Fear—whether it’s the fear of terrorism, economic collapse, or social unrest—triggers a primal response that makes people more likely to accept drastic measures, from restrictions on personal freedom to increased surveillance. The section illustrates how psyops leverage fear to force decisions that may otherwise be seen as unreasonable or oppressive, ensuring compliance through a subconscious sense of danger.

"The Distraction: Controlled Opposition" This section explores how even dissent is managed and manipulated to maintain the status quo. Opposition is allowed to exist but only within pre-approved boundaries that ensure it does not threaten the larger power structures. The apparent existence of an alternative voice, often portrayed as radical or rebellious, serves only to reinforce the legitimacy of the dominant narrative. By controlling both sides of the argument, those in power ensure that no real challenge ever arises. The section explains how controlled opposition often strengthens the power of the system, creating the illusion of a balanced debate, while in reality, both sides are merely playing roles in a game designed to protect the same interests.

"The Language Game" Language is more than just a method of communication—it's a tool for control. In this section, the zine explores how psychological operations weaponize language to manipulate perception. Words are redefined, sanitized, and stripped of their original meanings to serve specific agendas. Terms like "censorship" become "content moderation," "war" becomes "peacekeeping," and "surveillance" transforms into "national security." By altering the meanings of these words, psyops subtly shift public perception and make what would normally be considered intrusive or oppressive feel acceptable or even necessary. This section includes real-world examples of how language is twisted in political discourse and media coverage to conceal hidden agendas and shape public opinion.

"The Final Trick" Here, the zine delves into one of the most insidious aspects of psyops: creating doubt about the very existence of truth. By flooding the public sphere with conflicting narratives—ranging from conspiracy theories to misinformation—those in power create an environment where certainty is impossible. When every piece of information is contested and every truth has multiple contradictory versions, people begin to question their ability to discern what’s real. This section explains how this overwhelming confusion leads to exhaustion and information fatigue, causing the public to disengage from critical thinking altogether. In this state of doubt, power becomes almost unchallengeable, as those in control no longer need to convince the public of a single truth—they only need to make truth itself feel unknowable.

"The Consequences of a Trick" In these pages, the zine highlights specific examples of how psychological operations manifest in real-world policies and their impact on marginalized groups. These examples include the crackdown on pro-Palestinian activists, the erosion of rights for LGBTQ+ individuals, the increasing difficulty for marginalized groups to seek asylum, and the proposed control over Gaza. Each example illustrates the direct consequences of psyops at work, showing how fear and manipulation create divisions in society and reinforce oppressive systems. The section also emphasizes how these policies contribute to the larger psyop strategy: making truth unclear, sowing confusion, and generating apathy. The final pages conclude by reiterating that the true power of psychological operations lies not in enforcing a singular truth, but in creating an environment of doubt and fatigue where people stop questioning and simply accept the reality presented to them.

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The zine uses bright colors, drawing influence from the children book, to create a visually inviting space. While the title is bold and impactful, directly revealing the book's focus, the visuals are designed to make the topic more approachable. The aim is to soften the intensity of the subject matter and provide a comfortable space for readers to engage with the complex ideas surrounding psyops and manipulation without feeling overwhelmed.

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REFLECTIVE PIECE: CONCEPT & APPROACH - BUILDING PSYOP 101

For my Reflective Piece, I'm going to create a zine called 'PSYOP 101'

I want Psyop 101 to be more than just a zine, it needs to function like a psyop itself. The goal isn't just to explain how psychological operations manipulate public perception but to make the reader feel like they’re experiencing one firsthand. That means playing with design, language, and structure in a way that mirrored the tactics I was analyzing.

Visually, I want Psyop 101 to look deceptively inviting. Bright colors, clean layouts, an approachable aesthetic—everything designed to disarm the reader before leading them into deeper, darker territory. Psyops don’t announce themselves as manipulation; they blend into the background, appearing as something ordinary. This is why I made the zine feel like a friendly, accessible piece of media rather than something overtly grim.

To create this, I plan to experiment with layered text, fragmented layouts, and misalignment—techniques that subtly mimic how disinformation warps reality. Some sections would feel intentionally overwhelming, mirroring the sensory overload that comes with media saturation.

The writing itself would balance factual analysis with a satirical, almost political standup tone. Like a show waiting to happen. Humor works as a tool for deconstruction, it makes manipulation easier to recognize. A big influence on the visuals is from Julius Lester’s Ackamarackus. His use of bold, playful illustrations and vibrant colors made the absurd feel tangible, turning nonsense into something that almost felt logical. I wanted to apply that same approach to Psyop 101. The pages wouldn’t look like the typical aesthetic associated with political critique. No muted tones, no bleak dystopian imagery. Instead, it would be loud, colorful, and full of movement, almost like a children’s book.

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PSYOP BOOKS (DESIGN)

Old books on psyops often appear intimidating and difficult to approach. My reflective piece, however, will tackle the topic through a zine that presents psyops in a more engaging and accessible way, using loud colors and an illustrative style. This approach contrasts with the usual somber, academic tone of psyops literature, making the content both visually striking and easier to digest, while still addressing the complex and dark themes of manipulation and control.

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Writing Initiative #5

Which piece did you present to the class today? How does it relate to the other pieces previously presented?

This week, I presented my 4D website, a secret psyops-driven platform designed to manipulate users into a conservative way of thinking. The concept reflects the tactics used by ICE, which has historically framed deportation as a tool for control. ICE has been known to recycle old footage of past raids, presenting them as new events to amplify fear and justify its actions. Inspired by this, my website functions as a rigged search engine—no matter what is entered, it only returns pro-American, pro-Trump results, reinforcing a singular ideological perspective and limiting access to alternative viewpoints.

My 2D piece focuses on censorship, particularly how news articles covering Palestine, LGBTQ+ rights, and immigration policies are often edited, redacted, or buried. While it directly addresses the mechanics of censorship, it also operates within the realm of psyops by exploring how information is curated to shape public opinion. The piece highlights how restricting access to information isn’t just about erasing facts—it’s about controlling the biases people form based on what they are and aren’t allowed to see.

The 3D piece examines the outcome of these tactics—the way people consume and process information without questioning its validity. A hollowed-out book represents the tendency to take things at face value, where the surface appearance of truth is often accepted without deeper investigation. This reflects how propaganda and misinformation succeed not just through suppression, but through the audience’s willingness to accept narratives that align with their pre-existing beliefs.

Together, these three pieces form a cycle. The 4D website demonstrates the active manipulation of information, the 2D piece exposes the mechanisms of censorship that control narratives, and the 3D piece represents the consequences—how easily people accept distorted or incomplete truths. Through these projects, I wanted to explore the full process of perception control, showing how psyops don’t just shape what we see, but how we internalize and act on that information.

2. Describe 2–3 specific strengths your classmates found in your work and their reasons for identifying them.

In my 4D project, my classmates highlighted a few strengths. First, they appreciated the website's concept and execution, particularly how it mimicked real-world search engines but manipulated results to reflect conservative, pro-Trump views. This effectively illustrated how media can be tailored to control public perception, drawing parallels to ICE’s narrative manipulation around immigration.

They also praised the minimalistic design, which subtly emphasized the hidden manipulation at play. By making the website look ordinary, it reinforced the idea that psyops work best when disguised as mundane tools.

Finally, the integration of censorship through the search bar was another strength. By blurring progressive terms like “immigrant” or “gay rights,” the website created a discomforting realization about the selective nature of information, showcasing how censorship can shape public opinion.

3. Describe 1–2 specific ways your classmates thought you could improve this work going forward.

Though the simple design of my website captivates, my classmates suggested that it could benefit from adopting a more 'liberal' aesthetic to better engage a specific audience. They pointed out that a more vibrant, progressive, or modern style could draw in viewers who are more aligned with liberal values, making them feel more comfortable engaging with the content. This contrast would highlight the underlying manipulation more effectively, as it would create a sharper divide between the visual style (which might appear welcoming or progressive) and the conservative, pro-Trump narrative subtly hidden within the site. By playing with these expectations, the website could challenge the audience’s assumptions even more powerfully, encouraging them to question the deeper biases at play.

4. Consider the remaining outcome you still need to present in the remaining classes; why have you put this one off to the last?

The last piece I need to cultivate is my reflective piece, which ties everything together. I intentionally left this project to the end because I wanted to first focus on developing and refining the concepts explored in my 2D, 3D, and 4D works. By doing this, I could fully immerse myself in the underlying themes of manipulation, censorship, and propaganda—critical elements of psyops that I wanted to address. Throughout the semester, my projects have delved into how fear tactics, from media control to narrative framing, shape public perception. This reflective piece will serve as a way for me to step back and consider the bigger picture: how all these smaller, seemingly isolated projects contribute to a larger conversation about power, control, and influence.

My goal for this reflective piece is to distill the journey of creating these works into a cohesive narrative, pulling together the recurring ideas and techniques that have been used across each project. I want to highlight the ways I’ve explored how psyops are employed in society, both on the surface and beneath, and how fear is manipulated to control behavior. By doing this, I’ll be able to show not just my process, but also the intellectual and emotional growth I experienced while diving into such complex topics. This piece will be a way to critically examine my artistic choices and connect them back to real-world political and social contexts. In essence, it will be a personal reflection on my entire process, while also acting as an extension of the larger conversation on the impact of psyops.

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In early 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) quietly updated old press releases about past immigration arrests, making them appear as recent events in search results. By altering publication dates and resurfacing outdated enforcement actions, ICE created the illusion of ongoing mass deportations.

For immigrant communities, this tactic was more than just misinformation—it was psychological warfare. Reports of past arrests, now appearing as breaking news, triggered widespread panic. Families feared sudden raids, legal aid groups scrambled to respond, and social media amplified the chaos. The fear wasn’t based on new policies, but on the perception that a crackdown was actively unfolding.

This is how psyops function. The goal isn’t just to spread propaganda but to create an emotional response that influences behavior. By making people believe that mass deportations were ramping up, ICE effectively discouraged immigrants from seeking legal assistance, reporting abuses, or challenging policies. The fear itself became a form of control.

The strategy also manipulated public perception. To the average person skimming headlines, the narrative of "surging immigration enforcement" seemed undeniable. Politicians and media outlets picked up the story, reinforcing the illusion. In reality, no new arrests were taking place—but the damage was already done.

This wasn’t an accident. It was a deliberate tactic designed to shape reality without ever having to change policy. When information can be distorted to create fear, those in power don’t need to pass new laws—they just need to manipulate the story.

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4D Website (Initial Look)

The website intentionally looks ordinary. Just a plain-old archive, nothing suspicious. At least, that’s how it presents itself.

But start searching the wrong words—gay, immigrant, transgender rights—and things change. The screen blurs. An error message pops up. “Unknown term.” It doesn’t say forbidden or restricted. Just unknown, as if the words never existed in the first place.

No matter what you search, the results always cater to conservative, pro-Trump sources. It’s not outright censorship. It’s something quieter. More effective. You can look up whatever you want, but the site makes sure you only ever find the answers it wants you to see. The illusion of choice is there, but your options have already been decided.

This is how a psyop works. Control what people see, and you control what they think. No need to ban information when you can erase it so completely that no one even remembers it was there.

It’s all just a game of Ackamarackus. Bluff, misdirection, and a little sleight of hand. The trick isn’t hiding the truth. It’s making sure you never even think to look for it.

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VSCODE (CSS)

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VSCODE (JAVASCRIPT)

^ Code for censored word, article generator, code for blur effect

^ Code to change search results every time. Created an Event Listener

^ Adjustments for Blur Effect on the screen

^ Shutdown error popup

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VSCODE (HTML)

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PSYOP Website Inspiration

I'm looking for websites that push a left-wing bias—almost like a trapped facade designed to draw people in and convince them to engage with the content. The goal is to find sites that appear balanced or factual on the surface but are actually curated to reinforce a specific ideological perspective, subtly influencing how users interpret information.

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4D Concept Building

For my 4D piece, I’m creating a psyop search engine designed to explore the manipulation of information and the way certain narratives are shaped by those in power. Psychological operations (PSYOPs) are methods used to convey selected information in order to influence the motives, reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of governments, organizations, and groups. With this in mind, my search engine will feature a prompt asking users about the most shocking policy they’ve recently seen in America. As users continue to search, words that don’t align with the U.S. government’s agenda will be progressively censored, causing the website to blur, forcing users to start over. On top of that, whatever is searched will lean increasingly toward a right-wing perspective, reinforcing a controlled, biased narrative.

This relates directly back to the concept of "Ackamarackus," as it embodies the manipulation and distortion of truth in a way that psyops aims to do. "Ackamarackus" represents the constructed, misleading narratives used to confuse or mislead the public, and in my piece, the search engine becomes a tool for demonstrating how censorship and bias work to control public perception. The more you search, the more the system filters out information that doesn’t conform to a specific agenda, reflecting how narratives are shaped to serve particular political motives, just as psyops and the manipulation of information do in real-world scenarios. The blurring and restarting symbolize how the truth is obscured and distorted, much like how information can be deliberately manipulated by those in power to maintain control and create a false sense of reality.

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Writing Initiative #4 

For this week, I brought in my 3D project to show. 

Describe 2–3 specific strengths your classmates found in your work and their reasons for identifying them. 

The 3D piece does a strong job of capturing the idea of "Don’t judge a book by its cover." The exterior is designed to deceive, drawing viewers in with its appearance, while the inside has potential but needs more refinement to achieve its full purpose. 

The books I’ve selected emphasize the theme of bias, contributing to the facade I’m creating. Each book either looks or is heavily biased toward politicians with dark histories, enhancing the illusion that this bookshelf is meant for someone who aligns with such figures. This creates an allure, suggesting that the contents inside reflect a specific, biased perspective. 

2. Describe 1–2 specific ways your classmates thought you might refine or improve your piece going forward. 

The inside needs to address the topic more powerfully. Initially, my idea was to simply crumple up pages from the book, but to truly delve into psyops and how "Ackamarackus" plays into this, I need to add more intent and depth to the inside of the box. It should go beyond just visual clutter and reflect the manipulation, confusion, and strategic control that are at the heart of psyops. The inside needs to embody the same sense of deception and hidden truths that the exterior suggests, making it a more impactful and meaningful representation of the concept. 

3. How might this feedback inform your thinking/making going forward? Describe 2–3 specific ways your classmates have informed how you might continue with one of the other assignments (3D, 4D, Reflective Piece) through Reading Week and to be presented next. 

One thing I’m struggling with is fully connecting my intent with "Ackamarackus" to the idea of psyops and the government’s control over the media. A classmate pointed out that I need to view my 3D structure from a different perspective. When they first saw it, they interpreted the deconstructed books as stripping away the pure content, leaving only the face value. The inside of the books, with all its real substance, is discarded due to the biases that have already been created. This speaks to how psyops operates—how the surface level is presented, while the deeper, more truthful content is hidden or distorted, much like the manipulation of media by those in power. 

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3D Final Look

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