In the 1950s and 60s, the CIA launched a covert program called Project MKUltra to explore mind control techniques. Under the guise of science, they tested LSD, hypnosis, sleep deprivation, and psychological torture on unsuspecting people — often without their consent.

Victims included psychiatric patients, prisoners, and even soldiers. Some experiments took place in hospitals and military bases like Edgewood Arsenal. Much of the documentation was destroyed in the 1970s, and the full extent of the program is still unknown.

It’s a disturbing reminder of how science can be misused when oversight disappears.

  • Miles O'Brien@startrek.website
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    28 days ago

    The majority of people I’ve brought this up with believe MKULTRA is just a Conspiracy theory and never happened, or have never even heard of it.

    Like… This is stuff they are ADMITTING TO.

  • Goretantath@lemmy.world
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    28 days ago

    The lead up was project paperclip where they too all the nazi’s from germany and gave them new lives under witness protection for their info.

  • ragebutt@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    28 days ago

    It also included fucked up behavioral conditioning experiments (or at least these were adjacent to mkultra) to test people’s response under interrogation.

    One notable case from this was Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, who was subjected to extreme duress without informed consent. The study used students essays and interviews to then subject them to “vehement, sweeping, and personally abusive” interrogations designed to “break” them.

    Note that Kaczynski was by many reports brilliant at mathematics and as a result of this was accepted to Harvard at 15 years old, starting at 16. The study happened in his second year, sometime when he would’ve been 16-17. Further, while there are reports that while he was very academically gifted he was fairly emotionally unprepared for college though tbf most of these came to light after his infamy.

    https://behavior.org/unabomer-extreme-reaction-behavior-modification/

    https://www.history.com/articles/what-happened-to-the-unabomber-at-harvard

  • thisbenzingring@lemmy.sdf.org
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    28 days ago

    the video of British soldiers trying to take the hill while tripping ball on acid is so fun

    it’s horrible that people had to experience that drug unknowingly

    it’s such a mind fuck when you know you did it to yourself and there’s a little voice in you reminding you it’s a drug

  • peteyestee@feddit.org
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    28 days ago

    Now they run gangstalking and hide by blaming it on aliens and mind control implants.

  • Kickforce@lemmy.wtf
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    28 days ago

    If the current regime was in anyway interested in research, they would no doubt do much worse.

    They don’t seem to want to gain any kind of knowledge though…

  • BilboBargains@lemmy.world
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    27 days ago

    The Americans found an unfinished Nazi research project on LSD and took the obvious next step, added it to the list of crimes against humanity. No, wait, that’s not what happened.

    The history of LSD is tragic, given what we now know about its therapeutic properties. Tripped by Norman Ohler is an interesting text on the subject.

    • Doll_Tow_Jet-ski@fedia.io
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      28 days ago

      Why all the downvotes? OP is sharing his work with you all. Show some appreciation. Or do you only support content creators that advertise their work on the mainstream social platforms?

      • Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world
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        28 days ago

        I don’t like the misleading title. Today I Learned something that I created a video about weeks ago?

        I’m also getting sick of seeing all these MKULTRA posts in my feed. One or two would be fine.

        • 0_o7@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          28 days ago

          I’m also getting sick of seeing all these MKULTRA posts in my feed. One or two would be fine.

          Are you from the US? That’d explain the discontent with actual history.

          Also, it’s the first post I’ve encountered. Maybe lay off the internet once in a while?