Podcast Summary:

The Why Files: Operation Podcast
Episode 617: “Psyops: From Dead Babies to UFOs – The Same Pattern Every Time”
Date: November 17, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, host AJ explores the methods and recurring patterns of psychological operations (psyops) that permeate government, media, and corporate messaging. Using the NCI (Narrative Credibility Index)—a 20-point system developed by military and intelligence trainer Chase Hughes—the episode demonstrates how to spot manipulation in real-world events, from wartime propaganda to social media-fueled violence and the current discourse around UFOs. By dissecting major public psyops, the show provides listeners with tools to critically assess the information they're fed and exposes how the same patterns of influence resurface across decades and diverse topics.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What Are Psyops and Why Do They Matter?

• Definition & Ubiquity: Psyops are coordinated efforts to shape public perception, behavior, or attitudes through manipulation, often unseen and continuous ([00:01] onward).

  • “These are psychological operations. Psyops designed to control what you buy, what you think, and how you live. We’re being programmed every minute of every day.” – AJ ([00:01])

• Purpose of the Episode:

  • To "show you a simple formula that can detect a psyop with scary accuracy" using Chase Hughes’ NCI scoring system.

2. Introducing the NCI (Narrative Credibility Index) Scoring System

• Origin: Developed by Chase Hughes, expert who trained military and intelligence figures.
• Function: 20 parameters (e.g., timing, emotional manipulation, tribalism). Each is scored 1–5 to a maximum of 100.

  • 70 = Clear psyop

  • <40 = Probably legitimate
  • 40–70 = Dangerous gray area (involving real truth manipulated for agenda).
• Key parameters include:
  • Timing, emotional manipulation, uniform messaging, authority overload, suppression of dissent, cherry-picked data, financial gain, missing information.

3. Historic Cases Dissected with NCI

A. The Nayirah “Dead Babies” Testimony (First Gulf War, 1990)

• Narrative: Nayirah claimed Iraqi soldiers removed babies from incubators in Kuwait.
  • “They took the babies out of the incubators… left the children to die on the cold floor. It was horrifying.” – Nayirah’s Testimony ([04:20])
• Scoring & Analysis:
  • Timing: 5/5
  • Emotional Manipulation: 5/5 (“It doesn’t get more emotional than dead babies. That’s psychological napalm.” – AJ ([07:10]))
  • Authority/Uniform Messaging/Missing Info: All 5/5
  • Result: 88/100 – Clearly a psyop
• Revelation:
  • Years later, it was revealed Nayirah was an ambassador’s daughter, not a hospital volunteer, and the incident never occurred. The story was crafted by PR firm Hill & Knowlton to manufacture consent for war.
  • “They had to cheat to win. The NCI system predicted the lie a decade before anyone admitted it.” – AJ ([08:20])

B. Big Tobacco’s Campaign of Doubt (1950s–1990s)

• Narrative: Tobacco companies created “debate” over smoking’s health risks.
• Tactics:
  • Formation of fake “research” committees, funding biased studies, cherry-picking data, suppressing dissent.
  • “Doubt is our product since it is the best means of competing with the body of fact that exists in the minds of the general public.” – Internal memo ([12:40])
• Scoring: 82/100 – Clear psyop
  • “They knew cigarettes killed people. They knew nicotine was addictive. And they lied for 40 years.” – AJ ([16:00]))

C. Facebook Amplifying Ethnic Violence in Ethiopia

• Narrative: Hate-posts targeting Professor Mayareg Amare led to his murder.
  • Facebook’s algorithm rewarded anger, fueling ethnic division.
  • “Posts that made people angry got more engagement. More engagement meant more ad revenue. So the algorithm promoted hate.” – AJ ([22:00])
• Scoring: 78/100 – Strong indication of psyop
• Insight: Unlike traditional state psyops, this was driven by an algorithm optimized for profit, not ideology.

D. COVID-19 Origins Debate

• Two Competing Narratives:

  1. Natural origin pushed by scientists, authorities, and media (suppression of lab-leak theory).

     • “The letter said anyone who claimed the virus was a lab leak was a conspiracy theorist. Debate shut down immediately.” ([29:10])
     • Scoring: 70/100 – Psyop-level manipulation

  2. Lab-leak origin supporters used emotional manipulation, tribalism, and echoed talking points without evidence.

     • “They made it a political issue. And by the way, that’s how I knew Covid was a psyop from the start.” ([31:10])
     • Scoring: 66/100 – Also a psyop
• Takeaway: Both sides used manipulation. “High scores on both sides of an issue mean you never get an honest debate. You get information warfare.” – AJ ([32:20])

E. Recent UFO Disclosure Whistleblowers

• Case Study: Jake Barber, ex-military, claims 30 years of UFO recoveries.
  • “Their stories always have high PSYOP scores… The story broke in January, right before Trump’s inauguration, during massive drone sightings.” ([39:10])
• Scoring: 63/100 – Likely manipulation
• Interpretation: High NCI score measures delivery and manipulation, not literal truth.
  • “A high score means manipulation, not true or false. The reality of UFOs comes down to one of three things…” ([42:00])
    • Actual disclosure, deliberate distraction using UFOs as cover, or a mix of truth and psyop.

4. Actionable Takeaways: How to Use the NCI Scoring System

• “It’s a 20 point test. That’s it. It’s just a number… Download it and start using it on news coverage, corporate messaging, Government statements, social media campaigns, anything.” – AJ ([47:20])
• Goal: Encourage listeners to recognize and resist manipulation.

5. The Meta-PSYOP: Division as a Weapon

• Key Point: Division is itself a psyop, paralyzing the public so power is not challenged.

  • “They want us suspicious of each other. They want us divided. Because that division creates paralysis. And that is a meta psyop.” – AJ ([48:30])
  • “Anger gets more clicks… Americans hating each other means we’re not watching the powerful and we’re not asking the real questions.” ([49:00])

• Memorable Closing Analogy:

  • Two neighbors (conservative & liberal) fight about differences but unite around the quest for truth on big issues: “That’s what unites us. The truth. Oh, all that and bacon.” – AJ & Hecklefish ([50:20])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Doubt is the duct tape of corporate crime.” – AJ ([12:00])
• “Cherry-picked data. Authority overload. Suppression of dissent. Financial gain. The industry made billions of dollars. So every year of delay meant billions of more dollars.” ([13:30])
• “Sometimes both sides of an argument use the same manipulation techniques. And that’s when things get really dangerous.” ([27:40])
• “If you have someone that has talking points from the government, that’s a spokesperson, not a whistleblower.” ([45:10])
• “We need to focus on the things that unite us, not divide us… everybody loves bacon. Let's start a Bacon Unites movement. Mmm, pork. Nature’s candy.” – AJ & Hecklefish ([50:40])

Important Timestamps

• 00:01–02:45: Introduction, definition of psyops, overview of narrative manipulation across history
• 04:20–08:20: The Nayirah testimony and its role in starting the Gulf War
• 09:00–16:30: Hill & Knowlton, Big Tobacco, and the “manufacturing of doubt”
• 22:00–26:20: Social media-driven psyops: the Ethiopian Facebook case
• 27:00–34:00: COVID-19 origin debate—analyzing both sides as potential psyops
• 39:10–43:00: Recent UFO disclosures and the recurring “pattern of manipulation”
• 47:20–49:00: Call to action—how to use the NCI system; division as “the real meta psyop”
• 50:20–51:10: Closing metaphor about unity, truth, and the Bacon Unites movement

Conclusion

This episode arms listeners with a practical, evidence-based checklist to identify manipulation in media, government, and corporate messaging. By applying the NCI system to historic and current psyops (war, public health, social media, UFOs), it demonstrates that the playbook of public persuasion relies on recognizable tactics, regardless of the subject. The call to action is clear: focus on what unites, think critically, and refuse to let division and deceit paralyze the pursuit of truth.

[End of Summary]