There may be a more economical explanation for indulging some of the more insane stuff they got up to. Who cares what the narrative is so long as you control it

There may be a more economical explanation for indulging some of the more insane stuff they got up to. Who cares what the narrative is so long as you control it? If leaks got out, there was a short list of where they came from, the absurd stuff imposed costs on adversaries who had to verify it because they couldn’t afford not to, it provided freedom for some very smart people, was a way of distributing pork to favoured donors, and it harnessed the most diabolical elements of society and put them into service for national interests. There’s a simple idea that has some predictive power about these operations and programs. It’s that, the lie is the power, and each secures the other. If it’s believable and there are costs to believing it, and maybe you get some information out of it, that’s a powerful story. If you can leak a story about ESP, or even aliens as a way to regain narrative control at pivotal political moments, that’s a valuable service as well. People can flatter themselves by thinking you’re an idiot, and underestimate you too. The irony is the optimistic case for these programs is the one most unacceptably cynical.