In March 2025, the National Archives released document 206-10001-10017 — a CIA cable chain revealing a previously unknown Cold War propaganda campaign, run from Frankfurt, Germany, targeting European media coverage of President Kennedy’s assassination.
The objective was simple: discredit early conspiracy theories before they reached American shores.
📰 The Frankfurt Office That Rewrote the Headlines
The newly declassified file contains internal CIA cables from January–March 1964, routed from the Frankfurt station chief to Langley. The directive?
“Request deployment of vetted materials to neutralize ongoing press speculation in French, Italian, and Dutch publications.”
The file references coordinated contact with at least three European journalists who were supplied with tailored “talking points,” including early framing of Oswald as a “disaffected Marxist,” and warning against “false flag narratives gaining traction in post-Gaullist French circles.”
📣 Operation CAPRICORN
One cable reveals the internal codename: CAPRICORN — defined as a “limited European press guidance campaign” tied to “post-Dallas diplomatic stability.”
“Capricorn asset G-7N filed acceptable phrasing via Corriere della Sera weekend edition. Request same applied to Belgian market.”
A side note from a Langley handler suggests concern that Italian press had “veered toward Soviet implications,” and needed “course correction via diplomatic backchannel.”
🧾 Targeted Media Manipulation
CAPRICORN focused primarily on neutral or U.S.-aligned press outlets, especially in:
- Italy (Milan & Rome bureaus)
- The Netherlands (Dutch wire services)
- West Germany (Frankfurter Allgemeine and local broadcasters)
CIA cables show reimbursement records tied to stringers and “friendly editors,” though most names remain redacted.
One summary line from February 1964 stands out:
“Narrative stabilized in print. Continue monitoring radio.”
This aligns with a later, post-Watergate internal review noting:
“Legacy of CAPRICORN remains isolated to print. No repeat in radio archive suggests effective cordon.”
✉️ A Memo They Thought Was Lost
An attached note, found stapled to the back of one cable, appears to be an unsigned internal warning, typed in Courier:
“This project must be considered perishable. Any overt link to USIA or official embassy press releases risks escalation.”
“Destroy all CAPRICORN print dockets not already reduced to cable summary.”
Yet, somehow, this packet survived.
🔍 Why It Matters Now
This isn’t about whether Oswald acted alone.
This is about how fast the official story was exported — and how aggressively the CIA moved to control the global narrative.
CAPRICORN was never disclosed during the Church Committee hearings.
It was never cited in the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) records.
Its existence directly contradicts repeated CIA denials about post-assassination media influence outside the U.S.
And now it’s sitting in a government archive.
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