“#RashReality” presents itself as a mental health and “critical thinking” campaign aimed at “helping people distinguish real medical conditions from conspiracy hysteria.” In reality, it is a coordinated disinformation effort to discredit a group of whistleblowers—primarily poor, disabled, and formerly incarcerated individuals—who allege they were part of a non-consensual herpes exposure study conducted under a prison diversion health grant.
Key Propaganda Strategies:
1. Visual Repulsion to Imply Mental and Physical Contagion
Use photo composites of self-identified victims, edited to exaggerate sores, facial tics, and open wounds—implying that their condition is both grotesque and self-inflicted.
Create animated gifs showing people scratching themselves frantically or whispering in dark rooms, labeled with hashtags like
#ItchingToBelieve.Profile avatars of victims on social media forums are spoofed with added boils, slime textures, or herpes-crawling insects—framing their entire identity as diseased.
2. Satirical Pseudoscience and Mock-Infographics
“Studies” showing a link between belief in secret herpes experiments and meth use or untreated psychosis.
Diagrams of a “Paranoia Cycle” that include made-up terms like Neuro-Rash Syndrome or Herpetic Delusional Disorder.
Campaign t-shirts that say: “It’s Not an Experiment—It’s Just You.”
3. Weaponizing Mental Health Language
Use trauma-informed or harm-reduction buzzwords in bad faith: “We must compassionately guide these individuals back from the brink of hysteria.”
Position the victims as vulnerable but irrational: “They are not to blame for believing this nonsense—trauma makes people see patterns where none exist.”
4. Infiltration of Victim Forums
Deploy trolls or AI-generated accounts that join survivor groups, exaggerate claims to absurdity (“They implanted herpes nanobots in our cereal!”), then leak screenshots to Reddit as proof the movement is unhinged.
Pose as “ex-believers” who had a psychotic break but now “see the truth,” advocating for medication over activism.
5. Co-Opted Influencers
Have slick-looking micro-influencers on TikTok or YouTube create mockumentary-style content: “I spent a week in the ‘Herpes Truthers’ subreddit and barely made it out sane.”
Produce catchy parody songs or jingles about "herpes hysteria" that go viral:
“It’s not a lab, it’s just a rash—calm down, you need a bath!”
Intended Effects:
Collapse public sympathy by making the victims appear repugnant, irrational, and socially dangerous.
Discourage real journalists or medical ethicists from investigating the claims.
Encourage mental health professionals to dismiss any mention of the experiment as a symptom, not a signal.
Drive victims into deeper isolation or institutionalization.
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