SKIRMISHER

Famous author Bruce Sterling gives an interesting definition of the modern phenomenon he calls “centipede”:

Centipedes are covert conspiracies meant to drive politicians from power by creating moral panics. Centipedes have the same dynamics as modern globalized terror-groups, but they exploit sexual scandal instead of bloody mayhem. Centipedes are a cheap, highly effective, low-risk, highly-mediated method of political destabilization

Centipedes are new phenomena because the barriers-to-entry in media have crashed. This means that subversive efforts formerly isolated and punished as libel, slander and whispering campaigns can swiftly take on avalanche proportions.

While pretending to be about spontaneous indignation and moral values, centipedes are coolly calculated and all about power.

The garden-variety centipede, Bruce says, almost always has the following features:

A. a prominent, powerful victim.

B. an alleged sexual partner of the victim, who may or may not be disgruntled and going public willingly.

C. Leaked illegal sex wiretaps, leaked illegal sex videos; covertly acquired blackmail material. Hackers and private investigators often show up here. Political opposition research people and intelligence agencies are likely actors here, too.

D. Partisan Internet activists: mailing lists, bloggers, online video sites.

E. Actresses, singers or models. These women may or may not be the sexual partners, but they are very useful in attracting mainstream press attention. It helps a great deal in provoking moral panic if the women are (a) already famous (b) glamorous (c) rich (d) pretty. A politician having an affair with an ugly, overweight, middle-aged proletarian woman would be pretty much centipede-proof.

F. Opposition politicians willing to act all shocked, shocked and who can demand a swift purge of the victim.

For the fine checklist of how to know if there’s a centipede in your country right now, visit Bruce’s blog. I’m sure you’ll be able to quickly identify a centipede the moment it crawls out of the fissures of your own, nice society.

via WIRED

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