The Importance of Perspective and Context in SHTF Scenarios BY SAMUEL CULPER

Do you remember a couple weeks ago when Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro burned humanitarian aid trucks coming into the country?

It was reported by American news outlets unanimously. The State Department even reported that Maduro personally ordered the attack.

But now the New York Times is reporting that it never happened.

Unpublished video evidence shows that the burning humanitarian aid truck was likely caused by a protestor who threw a Molotov cocktail towards police — maybe not Maduro ordering the trucks to be burned.

Maduro is very clearly a bad guy.

There’s also very clearly a deliberate information campaign against Maduro intended to promote regime change.

We have to recognize both of these facts and also see how information is being used to further an agenda.

We recently ran into a similar “fake news” instance with the Covington Catholic debacle, where major news outlets consistently got it wrong… because it furthered a specific agenda.

And that’s the inherent danger of “single-source reporting”…

Where one video clip shows something entirely different than what actually happened.

Where one eye witness describes an event that may not have even happened.

Where one reporter pushes hearsay as fact and then it becomes a major news story.

We see this happen ALL. THE. TIME.

And it’s a BIG problem for intelligence analysts. How do you know what to trust?

There’s an SHTF lesson to be learned here:

Be cautious about making major decisions based on single-source reporting.

Because there’s no way to confirm or deny a single-source report, trusting the information is inherently risky.

That’s why good intelligence analysts always work to confirm or deny single-source information.

Corroborating information may take time to develop, which is why I stress the importance of building intelligence sources and networks NOW.

It’s easy to build an intelligence network now. Do you have friends and family in the area? Talk to them about what they know. Do it frequently.

A routine call, text message, or face-to-face conversation can go a long way.

That way, when you REALLY need extra information, you’ve already developed these information-sharing relationships.

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I’m seriously failing my New Year’s Resolution of writing two articles per week on intelligence, security, and defense skills for navigating SHTF scenarios… but I’m getting back on track this week.

And be sure to check out Forward Observer TV and Forward Observer Radio (available on iTunes, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and other platforms) for more information on these skills and my perspective on what our SHTF future will look like.

Until next time, stay out front.

Always Out Front,
Samuel Culper