Mark Price

The Charlotte Observer

It’s a stretch to link the U.S. Army to witchery, but that’s happening in response to an eerie recruitment video shared on YouTube by Fort Bragg’s 4th Psychological Operations Group-Airborne.

Titled “Ghosts in the Machine,” the video feels like a movie trailer and comes with no explanation other than: “All the world’s a stage. Join us.”

The video, posted May 2, starts innocently, with benign clips of cartoons and images of empty city streets and subways. But the vibe grows increasingly disturbing, with footage of a shadowy man, anxious stares at dark skies, violent riot scenes and soldiers being deployed.

“Have you ever wondered who’s pulling the strings?” the video asks.

“You’ll find us in the shadows at the tip of the spear. … Anything we touch is a weapon. We can deceive, persuade, change, influence, inspire. We come in many forms. We are everywhere.”

As of May 16, the video has gotten more than 333,000 views and ignited a growing number articles debating its intent, including one headlined: “The Occult History of the U.S. Military’s PSYOPS and its Highly Symbolic Recruitment Video.”

The 4th Psychological Operations Group, also known as PSYOPS, defines itself as “Masters of Influence” and practitioners of “information warfare,” according to its website. That means the mere act of people debating its video is a sign of success.

“We conduct influence activities to target psychological vulnerabilities and create or intensify fissures, confusion, and doubt in adversary organizations,” the group says.

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