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A "burn notice" is an official statement issued by an intelligence agency to other agencies. It states that an asset or intelligence source is unreliable for one or several reasons, often fabrication, and must be officially disavowed. This is essentially a directive for the recipient to disregard or "burn" all information derived from that individual or group.

Examples

• Ahmed Chalabi
• Curveball—"The CIA has since issued an official 'burn notice' formally retracting more than 100 intelligence reports based on his information."
• Manucher Ghorbanifar—1984 and 1986. "The CIA considered Ghorbanifar a dangerous con man and had issued a 'burn notice' recommending that no U.S. agency have any dealings with him."
• Ali Abdel Saoud Mohamed, who was recruited by the CIA and immediately revealed himself to be a double agent. "The CIA issued a burn notice to U.S. and allied intelligence services that Mohamed was not to be trusted."

In popular culture

• The USA Network television series Burn Notice centers on Michael Westen (portrayed by Jeffrey Donovan), a former covert operative who has been burned and is trying to find those responsible.

Kill notice

The related term kill notice or kill notification is used by news and photo agencies to declare manipulated or faked documents as "not to be used". In March 2024, the term attracted considerable press commentary after news agencies issued kill notices on the Mother's day photograph of Catherine, Princess of Wales, which was found to have been digitally altered. Phil Chetwynd, AFP's global news director, said that the kill notices issued on the photograph were more typical for photographs from the state news agencies of North Korea and Iran.

See also

• Fabricator (intelligence)
• Kill file

References

1. Burn Notice Definition Archived 2008-06-10 at the Wayback Machine, Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms Archived 2016-10-10 at the Wayback Machine, accessed via dtic.mil April 9, 2008
2. West, Nigel (2006). Historical dictionary of international intelligence. Vol. 4. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-8108-5578-6.
3. Mahle, Melissa Boyle (2004). Denial and deception: an insider's view of the CIA from Iran-contra to 9/11. Nation Books. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-56025-649-6.
4. "Curveball: 'I Am Not To Blame' for U.S. War in Iraq". ABC News. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
5. Hosenball, Mark (January 17, 2006). "Whose Fault is CurveBall Mess?". Newsweek.
6. "They're Back". American Prospect. September 26, 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-04-29. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
7. Bamford, James (July 24, 2006). "Iran: The Next War". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 21, 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
8. "Niger Yellowcake and The Man Who Forged Too Much". uruknet.info. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
9. John M. Berger, Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam, pp 54, ISBN 1597976938, , Potomac Books Inc, May 15, 2011
10. ^ Kanter, Jake (14 March 2024). "Kate Middleton Doctored Photo: AFP Says Kensington Palace No Longer A "Trusted Source" & Kill Notices Usually Reserved For North Korea". Deadline. Archived from the original on 14 March 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
11. ^ Whitfill Roeloffs, Mary (14 March 2024). "Kensington Palace No Longer A 'Trusted Source' After Releasing Edited Kate Middleton Photo, AFP Says". Forbes. Archived from the original on 14 March 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
12. Harrison, Emma; Coughlan, Sean (11 March 2024). "Kate photo: Princess of Wales says she edited Mother's Day picture recalled by agencies". BBC News. Archived from the original on 11 March 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
13. Davies, Caroline (11 March 2024). "Palace dismay as attempt to dispel Princess of Wales rumours misfires". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 11 March 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
14. Rhoden-Paul, Andre; Cheetham, Joshua; Horton, Kate (11 March 2024). "Princess of Wales: How might have Kate's photo been altered?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 11 March 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
15. "The camera never lies? Here's what the data says about Kate's edited photo". Sky News. 15 March 2024. Archived from the original on 15 March 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
16. Atkins, Ros (13 March 2024). Is seeing still believing?. The Media Show. BBC Radio 4. Event occurs at 11m14s–14m23s. Archived from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.

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