IRD Special Operations: An Initial Survey of the Covert Propaganda Activities of the Information Research Department by Lee Richards

Over the last year, new operational files related to the covert propaganda activities of the Information Research Department (IRD) have been released to the National Archives. IRD was set up under the Foreign Office in 1948 to counter Soviet propaganda and to form the nucleus of a new Political Warfare Executive in the event of a global war.

A large part of IRD’s work centred around providing articles and unattributable background briefings to the press and other interested individuals and grey publishing activities to counter hostile Communist propaganda and expose Soviet front organisations. It maintained indirect control of, or had close relations, with a number of international press agencies. The department also analysed Communist disinformation and propaganda activities. Close liaison was maintained with the Ministry of Defence’s Directorate of Forward Plans on psychological warfare planning and training

The Special Operations Section (SOS) conducted what were described as black operations, the production of propaganda material which claims a false origin and can be disavowed by the Her Majesty’s Government. The recent releases to the IRD archive reveal details of these black propaganda activities, particularly those undertaken throughout the 1960’s and early 1970’s.