The reason subliminal messaging tactics are seldom discussed in mainstream or legacy media is not because the tactics are ineffective and rarely used but because they are extremely effective, so effective that the advertising supported media considers subliminal tactics critical to the function of their industry. Subliminal advertising is illegal, though the laws are both feeble and likely unenforceable, having been openly transgressed for the entire term of their existence and since the business model of advertising supported media depends on their nullity. The manipulation of individuals, identity groups and national populations after world war 2 was held critical to “national security;” subliminals are key to that manipulation.
Advertising and media content targeting viewer unconscious has been augmented by techniques like hypnotic induction, subsonic “whisper” acoustics. The power of the exploits and the depth of their reach has been enhanced by the advent of networked media technologies. VR and Mixed Reality technologies present an acute threat to consciousness because the ease with which control can be imposed over the totality of perceptual inputs in virtual environments will allow complete control of human consciousness and over the future course of human development.
The only way to inhibit the function of overt disinformation and covert control tactics is to expose them. NSA, US Military intelligence and allies and partners worldwide are doing this now. Whatever the ultimate extent of the public revelations, the existing damage is real, and remedial measures are required to initiate recovery with the objective of restoring function and educating the public about our collective cognitive vulnerability.