Let’s do this…

In the interest of time, I’m going to skip the introduction and truncate the recap. Suffice it to say there is a new narrative making the rounds, suggesting that Trump, Musk, and DOGE are facilitating an “authoritarian transformation” on behalf of the “tech elite” for the purpose of gaining total control over the whole of society.

I’ve called b******t and tackled this narrative head on in the last two reports:

I’m going to move forward today, making two assumptions: 1) that you are up to speed on the source materials (the origins of this new narrative); and 2) that you’ve been following along and have either read or listened to both of the last two reports.

We’ve covered a lot of ground and discussed a lot of details, drilling down on the language used, the obvious omissions, and what I believe to be the underlying intent of a pair of articles written by Erik Wikstrom.

On February 15th, Wikstrom wrote an article titled, “Checkmate: The Triumph of Technocracy — How Trump, Elon & the Tech Elite are paving the way for a Brave New World - And what it means for all of us.”

In just over a week, he has over 200 likes and comments:

Which is REALLY impressive, given that he only launched his Substack two weeks ago:

It turns out there are many Erik Wikstroms in the world, and some of them are PhDs, CPAs, and college professors — all of whom have a long and well documented online presence — which is why it struck me as odd to find this Erik Wikstrom’s substack sitting at #2 in the search results, linking to none other than his one-week-old article suggesting that Trump, Musk, and DOGE are facilitating an “authoritarian transformation” on behalf of the tech elite:

What a fascinating coincidence.

How does this guy seemingly come out of nowhere and skyrocket to the top of the search results with a two-week-old Substack? How does he get so much traction and engagement so quickly? Like I side yesterday, I smell a rat.

It’s also very curious to me that Wikstrom has gotten so much traction having only written three articles on Substack in English — plus his very first article, which was written in Swedish. Yet another curious coincidence, is it not?

It seems only fair to point out that I have been writing on Substack consistently since November 2022, publishing over 750 posts (including 677 Torch Reports), and my traction at this point is still nowhere near Wikstrom’s:

Maybe he’s just a much better writer than I am.

Maybe he’s great and I suck.

Maybe.

Or, maybe, like I said yesterday—maybe, just maybe—this guy is affiliated with, or working on behalf of, one of the groups that are feeling most threatened by DOGE.

The timing of his launch, the target audience and sophistication of the propaganda, the instant traction, the mysterious nature of the man himself, the occult symbolism in his profile picture, shooting to the top of the search results, his first post being in Swedish, all of it, seems to smack of something suspicious, doesn’t it?

But let’s not get lost in the weeds here.

I’ve said from the beginning that Wikstrom’s writing is thorough, and that it contains many elements of truth. I’ve used words like “provocative” and “seductive” to describe his style. I’ve gone line-by-line through sections of his essay, demonstrating how solid truths are being couched in false premise, which is classic misdirection.

He’s connecting “very real dots,” I said yesterday — nodding to the fact, again, that much of what he says is true — but he’s connecting them in an intentionally misleading way. Think about how in school different kids connect the dots differently.

Most kids did something like this:

But there was always that other kid who did something like this:

Same dots, different picture.

And so it is with the reality of our situation.

I heard from a good friend yesterday, whom I love and respect, who was adamant that I don’t “throw the baby out with the bath water” when it comes to Wikstrom’s articles. My friend made the point that he’s not all wrong, and that we’d all be wise to remain skeptical of what’s going on, to stay curious and open to opposing perspectives, instead of just getting sucked into the hype and hoopla of all the “winning.”

My friend is 100% correct, and I’d like to honor his exhortation by focusing for a moment on the elements of truth that make Wikstrom’s writing so compelling.

Rather than rehashing the first piece, I’ll start today with a section from his second article: The Triumph of Technocracy | Part 2: The Ultimate Deception — How the Pandemic Sorted, Profiled, and Set Up the Resistance for the Perfect Trap.

“In Part 1, we examined how Trump, Elon and the tech elite are orchestrating a transformation of society through strategic chaos, weaponized AI, and the dismantling of democratic institutions.…What we're about to explore might seem counterintuitive at first. After all, if you're implementing a system of total control, wouldn't you want to crush resistance? Silence dissent? Instead, we've witnessed the opposite – a strategy that deliberately awakens resistance, confirms suspicions, and appears to validate every conspiracy theory.

The truth about the pandemic – more accurately described as the plandemic – goes far beyond the usual narratives of totalitarian control or even depopulation. It served as something far more sophisticated: the most extensive psychological profiling operation in human history. Every lockdown, every mandate, every restriction was designed not just for control, but to identify, study, and ultimately co-opt those who would resist control.”

Sounds pretty good, right?

He called out the “plandemic” and said the lockdowns and mandates were all about control, right? He brings up totalitarian control and even depopulation. This guy is speaking my language man! — and not by accident.

But let’s back up… thoughts happen fast.

First, he says “we examined” how Trump, Elon and the tech elite are orchestrating an authoritarian transformation of society through strategic chaos, weaponized AI, and the dismantling of democratic institutions. NOT TRUE.

That is a false premise and a predetermined conclusion.

All he did was present a false narrative in a persuasive fashion. There was no critical examination of the underlying intent, assumptions, or omissions in that article. It was all intentionally glossed over. The real examination came in TR 675.

Moving on, he uses the classic “this might seem counterintuitive at first” schtick, followed by what seems like a straight forward question everyone can agree with:

“After all, if you're implementing a system of total control, wouldn't you want to crush resistance?”

Who would argue with that, right?

Forgive me, but allow me to try…

I’ve thought long and hard about exactly that question. What does it mean to crush the resistance? Think about it through the lens of the Art of War. It’s better to convince your enemies to join your side than it is to destroy them outright, better to capture their resources intact, rather than destroy everything in sight.

“Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.”—The Art of War

Thus, if you are a global evildoer looking for total control over a reduced population, the best thing to do is break up the resistance without any real fighting. This strategy is vastly different than “crushing the resistance,” as Wikstrom suggests.

This strategy, to infiltrate and break the resistance, has been on the books for eons. It is precisely the strategy that I’ve called out over and over again, by pointing out the Algorithmic Social Interventions, institutional indoctrination, social engineering, and subconscious taming of humanity—all of which has been happening for decades, and all of which has now been accelerated by weaponized AI.

For a good refresher on these strategies, consider reviewing these reports:

So no, I do not agree that the enemies of freedom are looking to crush the resistance. I believe they are looking to reprogram the resistance—and that they’ve been doing so for decades—and to that end, I believe Wikstrom is seeking to advance this cause.

Again, I think it’s a psyop that’s meant to confuse people, reshape perspective, and propagate bogus ideas that divide the liberty movement.

“Ah,” you say, “You must be one of those diehard MAGA freaks who think Donald Trump was ordained by God and is above reproach!”

FALSE.

Anyone who’s been with me for any length of time knows that is not true.

But let’s get back to the meat of the matter:

“…we've witnessed the opposite – a strategy that deliberately awakens resistance, confirms suspicions, and appears to validate every conspiracy theory.

The truth about the pandemic – more accurately described as the plandemic – goes far beyond the usual narratives of totalitarian control or even depopulation. It served as something far more sophisticated: the most extensive psychologic