Hunter Storm ™

The Internet’s Early Pranks Became Modern Psychological Warfare—Here’s How It Happened

 

From Internet Shenanigans to Strategic Tradecraft

In the mid-1990s, a handful of early internet users were just having fun. We weren’t thinking about intelligence, warfare, or large-scale influence campaigns. We were experimenting, messing around, and figuring out how digital spaces worked—often at the expense of our friends’ sanity.

What we didn’t realize at the time? The games we played—weaponized earworms, cursed imagery, social engineering tricks, and digital misdirection—would later become the foundation of modern psychological operations.

How early internet culture accidentally developed key psychological warfare (PsyOps) tactics.

• Why intelligence agencies, militaries, and corporations later adopted those tactics for real-world influence.
• What we can learn from the evolution of these methods.

 

Learn more about how early cybersecurity researchers and psyops pioneers crossed paths in my article, Ghosts of IRC.

 

Why This Article is Unique

My perspective on how early internet pranks evolved into modern psychological warfare tactics is unique. While there are discussions on psychological operations and the role of social media in modern warfare, the specific connection between early internet culture—such as message boards and IRC communities—and formal psychological operations remains underexplored.

This uniqueness stems from my firsthand experience during the formative years of the internet, providing insights that are not widely documented. By sharing this narrative, I’m offering a fresh perspective that bridges the gap between informal online behaviors and their evolution into recognized psychological tactics.

 

Why This Perspective Is Unique

In the mid-1990s, the internet was a frontier largely navigated by enthusiasts and early adopters. Communities on message boards and IRC channels engaged in activities that, at the time, were seen as harmless pranks or social experiments. These included:

• Weaponized Earworms: Sharing catchy tunes to playfully embed them in peers’ minds.
• Cursed Imagery: Posting unsettling images to elicit reactions.
• Social Engineering for Fun: Playfully tricking friends into revealing information or performing actions.
• Digital Misdirection: Creating deceptive online trails just to observe outcomes.

 

While these activities were conducted in jest, they inadvertently laid the groundwork for techniques now employed in psychological operations. The transition from innocent fun to strategic application in areas like cybersecurity and information warfare is a narrative that hasn’t been extensively covered in existing literature.

By highlighting this evolution, this article not only sheds light on an overlooked aspect of internet history but also emphasizes the value of unconventional skills in today’s cybersecurity landscape. This perspective can inspire individuals with similar backgrounds to recognize their potential contributions to critical fields, thereby addressing talent gaps and enhancing security measures.

 

The “Games” We Played on the Early Internet

In the days of message boards, IRC, and early web forums (circa 1994-2000), there were certain unspoken rules:

• If you could mess with your friends in a creative way, you did.
• If someone was too gullible, they got socially engineered.
• If you could break a system just to see if it was possible, you tested it.

Some of these “games” became legendary pranks. Others? They became serious psychological tools.

 

Weaponized Earworms

What We Did:

• We’d deliberately get songs stuck in each other’s heads (Frosty the Snowman in July, Mahna Mahna, etc.).
• It was funny because once the seed was planted, the person couldn’t stop thinking about it.

What It Became:

• Cognitive disruption tactics. Modern psyops use music loops, repetitive sound patterns, and familiar songs to embed ideas into people’s subconscious minds or break their focus.
• Social engineering triggers. Companies, advertisers, and even intelligence agencies now use repetitive patterns to reinforce memory loops and behavior.

 

Cursed Imagery & Psychological Shock

What We Did:

• We’d send each other disturbing, bizarre, or cursed images for the sole purpose of unsettling people.
• Images like Goatse, Tubgirl, and uncomfortably distorted faces became inside jokes among cybersecurity and internet culture groups.

What It Became:

• Propaganda and shock tactics. Governments and psychological warfare units use disturbing imagery to desensitize, influence emotional reactions, or create fear.
• Meme-based disinformation campaigns. The modern internet weaponizes viral images to spread narratives rapidly.

 

Social Engineering for Fun

What We Did:

• We’d call businesses just to see if we could get passwords, inside info, or make them believe something ridiculous.
• “Prank calls” weren’t just for fun—they were active tests of social vulnerabilities.

What It Became:

• Corporate & national security training. Companies now hire social engineers to test human vulnerabilities in their security systems.
• Nation-state intelligence operations. Spear-phishing, misinformation, and insider manipulation all stem from the same tactics we once used as jokes.

 

Learn about how to stop insider threats in my article, Identifying and Mitigating Insider Threats.

 

Digital Misdirection & Psychological Traps

What We Did:

• We created directories full of garbage files with misleading names just to mess with people digging through them.
• We’d send people on wild-goose chases, create fake login pages, or plant false information just to see if they’d fall for it.

What It Became:

• Counterintelligence tactics. Intelligence agencies plant false data to mislead adversaries.
• Corporate misinformation campaigns. Some companies intentionally leak misleading data to throw off competitors.

When the Military and Intelligence Agencies Started Paying Attention

By the mid-to-late 2000s, the tactics we had been using for fun started showing up in official military, intelligence, and corporate psychological operations. Some of these “pranks” stopped being underground. Governments, corporations, and intelligence agencies started recognizing how effective these psychological tactics were.

What changed? They realized these methods worked.

• They saw how easy it was to plant an idea in someone’s head (weaponized earworms).
• They saw how cursed imagery and repetition could manipulate emotions (shock tactics, viral memes).
• They saw how misinformation could be layered to create false realities (social engineering, digital misdirection).

Some of the earliest official applications of these tactics included:

 

The Rise of Meme-Based Warfare

• Intelligence and defense agencies began monitoring and using memes as tools of influence.
• Psychological operations (PSYOPs) groups realized that short-form, visual content could be used to push narratives without detection.
• Countries started using memes and viral imagery to control public perception.

 

Corporate and Government Disinformation Campaigns

• What started as pranks in hacker circles turned into multi-layered information warfare.
• Companies planted misleading stories online to manipulate stock prices or competitors.
• Governments seeded fake narratives through viral content, counting on cognitive biases and social reinforcement to spread them.

 

Social Engineering as an Industry

• Penetration testing firms started hiring social engineers to test security systems using the exact tactics we once used just for fun.
• Intelligence agencies built entire divisions dedicated to manipulating people online through false personas, social media engineering, and scripted narratives.

 

What This Means Today

If you were part of the OG internet culture, you weren’t just witnessing the evolution of digital influence—you were actively shaping it.

• The troll tactics, social engineering, and digital disruptions we played with for fun?
• The psychological pressure points we exploited just to see what would happen?
• The viral patterns we created before they had a name?

Those became the backbone of modern information warfare.

What We Can Learn From This

The Internet Was Weaponized Faster Than Anyone Predicted.

• What started as chaos and curiosity turned into methodical, structured influence operations.

We’re Still Playing in the Same System—But the Stakes Are Higher.

• The same tools that were used for pranks are now used for nation-state conflicts, corporate espionage, and large-scale psychological warfare.

If You Understand the Origins, You Can See the Patterns.

• The people who recognize how these tactics evolved aren’t just reacting to today’s digital landscape—they’re predicting the next phase.

 

How These Skills Can Be Used for Good

It’s easy to look at this and feel like the internet was weaponized against us. But here’s the thing:

If you recognize these tactics, you’re exactly the kind of person we need to protect critical infrastructure.

The cybersecurity world desperately needs people who:

• Think in patterns.
• Understand psychological vulnerabilities.
• See the game before it’s played.

If you were the kind of person who:

• Pulled off social engineering pranks for fun.
• Set up digital traps just to see if people would fall for them.
• Knew how to manipulate information flows before anyone was calling it that.

Then you already have the core skills needed to secure the systems that matter.

Cybersecurity, intelligence, and critical infrastructure security need unconventional minds. If you ever thought about applying these skills for good, now is the time.

If this resonates with you, check out these programs, communities, and resources to see how your skills can be applied to real-world security challenges:

 

Getting Started in Cybersecurity and Psychological Operations

Cybersecurity Certifications & Training:

• SANS CyberTalent Programs – Great for unconventional minds looking to break into cybersecurity.
• CyberWarrior Academy – Hands-on training, especially for non-traditional backgrounds.
• TryHackMe & Hack The Box – Gamified cybersecurity learning.

Psychological Warfare & Information Security Resources:

• “The Science of Influence” – Kevin Hogan (Deep dive into human manipulation).
• “Weapons of Mass Persuasion” – Paul Adams (How psychological tactics shape behavior).
• “Cyber Influence: Predicting Human Behavior” – James J.F. Forest (Analyzing digital influence strategies).
• CISA Cybersecurity Workforce Programs – U.S. government talent pipeline for cybersecurity.

Communities & Forums to Connect With Others in the Field:

• r/OSINT on Reddit – Open-source intelligence and digital forensics discussions.
• Def Con Groups – Local hacker meetups around the world.
• The Social Engineering Community – Resources on ethical social engineering & security.

If you’ve ever thought about using your skills for something bigger, these are the places to start. You’re not just “good at internet stuff”—you might be exactly the kind of person who can make a difference.