Agent of influence
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An agent of influence is an agent provocateur whose task is to spread propaganda or disinformation. [1] An agent of influence may be trusted contact who actively and consciously serves a foreign interest or foreign intelligence services on some matters while retaining his integrity on others.[citation needed] Agent of influence might also refer to an unwitting contact that is manipulated to take actions that advanced interests on specific issues of common concern.[citation needed]
Foreign intelligence agencies take people who tend to agree with their positions on at least one significant issue, such as opposition to some element of a nation's foreign policy, and then seeks ways to motivate and help that person become a successful advocate on that issue within their own circle of influence.[citation needed]
The ultimate prize of an intelligence agency is to have someone sympathetic to their own goals and ambitions in a position of power in an opposing organisation or country, preferably as a sleeper agent.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ Nolan, Cathal (2002). The Greenwood Encyclopedia of International Relations. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 22. ISBN 0313307415. http://books.google.com/books?id=Zp_yNYA20rgC&pg=PA22&dq.
