In England, the order came from high above. Start with the contract. In the fall of 2023, a “global advisory” firm called APCO was contacted by a party think tank calledLabour Together. They were asked to assemble a package of offensive information operations against journalists whoreportedon misdeedsof Labour figures like future Downing Street chief of staff Morgan McSweeney.
Racketjust received the contract, which leaves no doubt future cabinet ministerJosh Simonswas the point man:
Simons, inexplicably not yet fired, signed off on a program of reputational thuggery against theSunday Times(in the persons of Gabriel Pogrund and Harry Yorke), futureThe Fraudauthor andRacketcontributor Paul Holden, and me. Though only Holden and I were named, others eventually joined the unhappy list.
Simons first called the idea that he’d investigated journalists “nonsense” and said he was merely looking at a “suspected illegal hack,” but the contract clearly shows other goals. It lays out use of “human intelligence investigation (HUMINT)” (in English, deploying human beings to infiltrate our lives), along with “financial investigation” using “forensic accounting,” plus “media packaging” and scariest of all, “stakeholder outreach.”
“‘Stakeholder outreach’ is messing with clients, donors, advertisers,” explained one source. “Going after your business, your friends, your support network.”
Simons, who still refuses to answer queries, wasn’t just a name on a letter. He was involved in the process, asking APCO for updates, even contributing to research (in a maladroit way, as it turned out). For instance, in November, 2023, after the deal kicked in, he wrote a letter to APCO responding to early research into Holden:
APCO’s work produced immediate dividends, though the techniques rolled out against future reports were eccentric, if not downright crazy.
Labour Together was angry about revelations that McSweeney had failed to declare £730,000 in donations, which had already been reported by theSunday Times.ByJanuary 31st, Holden came out with a story here onRacketshowing that a Labour-affiliated “anti-disinformation” group, the Center for Countering Digital Hate, had falsely told the IRS it was a charity.
Holden then began work on a new story for theTelegraphabout Labour Together’s financial misdeeds. On February 6th, as he neared publication, he sent a right-of-reply letter to Labour Together, asking for comment on difficult questions, as all good reporters do. The group apparently didn’t view his letter on behalf of theTelegraphas ethical journalism.
“I think they went mad at that point,” is how Holden characterized things.
Source: Racket News
