Blog 2: MK Ultra, Drug Experimentation, Thought Manipulation

 

MK Ultra was a secret CIA program that ran from the early 1950s to the mid 70s. Its main purpose was to research mind control, interrogation, and psychological manipulation, especially during the Cold War, when the U.S. feared that the Soviet Union, China, and North Korea were developing similar techniques. They tested LSD and other drugs, hypnosis, sensory deprivation, electroshock therapy, and various psychological techniques on both willing and unwilling participants. Some experiments explored how drugs and stress could weaken someone’s sense of self or make them more open to suggestion, which overlaps with cognitive psychology and behavioral conditioning. However, the program often ignored ethical standards. The belief that LSD or hypnosis could completely control someone’s mind was unsupported by evidence, yet experiments pursued it anyway. Some CIA documents reveal fascination with wild ideas like psychic powers, telepathy, and “truth serums”-- concepts with little to absolutely no scientific basis. The program was exposed in the 70s through the Church Committee hearings and later declassified documents. MK Ultra is now cited as an example of government overreach, unethical psychology, and how pseudoscience can be legitimized when wrapped in secrecy and fear.