The Most Insane CIA Brainwashing Story - John Kiriakou
John Kiriakou joins Chris Williamson to break down MK-Ultra, the CIA's 23-year brainwashing program that failed completely, and a real case where hypnosis helped crack an assassination investigation.
The gist
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MK-Ultra ran from 1952 to 1975, dosed employees and civilians with LSD, caused documented deaths, and produced zero usable intelligence.
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The whole program started because of one unverified Soviet source claiming the KGB had brainwashing capabilities that never actually existed.
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Kiriakou says hypnosis helped a witness recall a stolen police license plate that checked out, though reliability drops as subjects start fabricating over repeated sessions.
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Only 15% of MK-Ultra documents survived because the CIA director ordered them shredded immediately after being told not to destroy them.
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