Let's be honest. If the public ever received real intelligence - not news, but actual intelligence - society would collapse into collective anxiety overnight.
And I am not exaggerating.
Because intelligence is NOT made for the public. It's made for decision-makers, by definition.
Intelligence work is essentially about managing asymmetry. Once an information becomes public, it stops being intelligence.
It becomes narrative.
And narratives serve a different function: they shape perception.
1. What the public receives is narrative
The public space is designed for stability.
So, it receives what can be safely digested: press releases, official statements, emotional frames that either calm or inflame depending on what's useful to maintain cohesion, or serve any kind of interests.
People say:
"they're hiding things from us."
...
Of course they are!
And that's structural. That is the very nature of the work of intelligence.
If raw intelligence reached the open, it would cause mass confusion, panic, or misinterpretation.
Because intelligence is not just data :
It's data → information → intelligence, filtered through context, risk, and probability... and the full intelligence cycle.
It's meant for trained minds that can interpret ambiguity without collapsing into fear.
If you want to understand how do we produce intelligence, please have a look at the course Introduction to Intelligence and its Mindset. It explains the fundamentals you need to understand about intelligence. This course is available for all Premium Members of the Grey Zone.
2. Intelligence exists to serve decision, not democracy
Intelligence isn't about truth. It's about choice. It exists to help leaders decide when nothing is clear, when every option carries risk, when waiting could cost lives.
That's why the flow of information is filtered by levels.
It varies according to the type of organizations, but to make it short, there are different levels of ACCESS depending on the strengtht of the compartimentalization and implementation of the need-to-know. Typically, we'll find 3 levels:
| Level | Audience | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Public | Everyone | Narrative control |
| Private | Selected institutions | Operational coordination. |
| Confidential | Decision circles | Context and scenario planning. |
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Once information crosses into the public sphere, it's no longer intelligence. It becomes performance. It stops serving the decision, and starts serving the illusion of control. Compartmentalisation is a living structure, and fundamental when you want to understand how the intelligence world works. It's not a system implemented to HIDE but really to maintain coherence. Each layer of access gets the truth it needs to function - nothing more.
All are true at their level... But none represent the whole. The full picture is reserved for the few who sit at the intersection of layers - the interpreters of asymmetry. 3. When intelligence becomes public, it's already failedPeople love the idea of leaks and transparency. But in the real world of intelligence, a leak is a system failure! |