The phrase “Useful Idiots”, often attributed to Vladimir Lenin, described those in the Western world who voiced sympathy and support for the Soviet Union in the 20th century. A famous example would be Walter Duranty, the 1930s New York Times reporter that published false and misleading news stories about Stalin’s Russia, making it appear as a paradise society filled with happy citizens.

Instead, due to Communist policies and practice, the country was wracked with mass starvation, indiscriminate state killings, and other horrors that were used to control the people of Russia. Duranty went as far as stating, “Conditions are bad, but there is no famine, -But – to put it brutally – you can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs.” Mr. Duranty would go on to win a Pulitzer in 1932 for this deceptive publishing, a prize that the Pulitzer board has refused to withdraw to this day.

This technique of employing a Useful Idiot for messaging need not always involve covering up mass famines and brutal authoritarian regimes such as the former USSR.

Sometimes the editor of a far-left publication can help spread the communication of foreign policy goals.