The Janus Taxonomy

A classification framework for political and media psychological operations. Five analytical axes, thirty-eight named mechanisms, severity-graded. Cited to the scholarly lineage: Lippmann, Lasswell, Bernays, Ellul, Herman & Chomsky, Kahneman, Sunstein, Tufekci, Wardle & Derakhshan, Paul & Matthews (RAND), SSCI 2020.

Axes

Each axis answers a different analytical question. Mechanisms are grouped by mechanism-family; Purpose, Target, Origin, Severity, and Legal Status are browsed as cross-cutting views. Every entry is cited to its scholarly lineage and linked across axes.

Legal status varies by jurisdiction, fact-pattern, and evolving statute. Nothing here is legal advice — consult counsel.

Severity / Risk Scale

Severity grades the potential harm of a mechanism. It is intrinsic to the mechanism, not to the actor — an anonymous-source cascade is S-2 whether a journalist or a state actor uses it.

Diagnostic Protocol

Six questions to ask before accepting any frame. No single mechanism is determinative — look for patterns, co-occurrences, and structural context.

  1. Cui bono? — Who benefits if I adopt this frame, and who benefits if I don’t?
  2. Who was excluded? — Whose voices, data, or interpretations are structurally absent?
  3. What is the rhythm? — One shot or a drumbeat? Synchronised across platforms or organic?
  4. What affect is optimised for? — Fear, anger, tribal pride, nostalgia, apathy?
  5. Where does the sourcing terminate? — Trace every claim to an original document. When did you hit an anonymous reference?
  6. What would the absence of this message look like? — Is this information or manufactured attention?

Bibliography

Primary sources behind the taxonomy. Click a citation in any mechanism entry to jump here.

Chomsky, N., & Herman, E. S. (1988). Manufacturing Consent. Pantheon.

Five filters: ownership, advertising, sourcing, flak, anti-communism/terror. The structural foundation for gatekeeping and access journalism.

Lasswell, H. D. (1927). Propaganda Technique in the World War.

Mapped WWI state propaganda techniques: name-calling, glittering generalities, transfer, testimonial, plain folks, card-stacking, bandwagon.

Ellul, J. (1962). Propaganda: The Formation of Men’s Attitudes. Vintage.

Distinguished agitation vs. integration propaganda; structural conditions matter more than the message.

Paul, C., & Matthews, M. (2006). The Russian “Firehose of Falsehood” Propaganda Model. RAND.

Rapid, repetitive, contradictory claims with no pretence to consistency. Updated 2021.

Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1979). “Prospect Theory.” Econometrica, 47(2).

Anchoring, availability heuristic, loss aversion. Explains why fear amplification and news-dumping work.

Wardle, C., & Derakhshan, H. (2017). Information Disorder. Council of Europe.

Formal taxonomy of Misinformation / Disinformation / Malinformation crossed with Fact / Value / Authenticity axes.

U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (2020). Russian Activities, Vol. 5. S. Prt. 116-57.

Documented IRA operations: bot networks, troll farms, social-event manipulation, whataboutism as a tactic.

Zuboff, S. (2019). The Age of Surveillance Capitalism. PublicAffairs.

“Behavioural surplus,” prediction products. Underpins micro-targeting and algorithm gaming.