Shadowfeed

History

Communications struggle

During the Clone Wars, maintaining effective communication channels held paramount importance for both the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The HoloNet, recognized as the most sophisticated and extensively utilized communications network of the era, became the primary medium for galactic media. Consequently, both factions viewed it as a crucial instrument for propaganda dissemination; however, the Republic seized complete control over the media after a government takeover of the HoloNet, effectively preventing the Separatists from utilizing it. For a period of several months following the commencement of hostilities at the First Battle of Geonosis in 22 BBY, the Republic leveraged its position to censor information and broadcast anti-Separatist propaganda.

Approximately nine months after the events on Geonosis, the Separatists, aided by skilled slicers, successfully gained access to the HoloNet through hyperwave transceivers and nodes dispersed throughout the galaxy. This development enabled the CIS and its leader, Count Dooku, to broadcast their own propaganda, presenting the public with two conflicting narratives. Originating primarily from Murkhana in the Outer Rim, this newly established "shadowfeed" targeted both Republic and Confederate citizens, selectively reporting Separatist victories and Republic wrongdoings and atrocities. The CIS Shadowfeed played a role in dismantling the Republic's image of invincibility, as promoted in their own propaganda, instilling fear of an imminent Separatist victory among the populations of the Core Worlds, while the Republic desperately attempted to reassure them of their safety.

Consequently, propaganda became a pivotal element of the conflict. Count Dooku, a highly persuasive orator, employed simple yet potent appeals to individuals' spiritual desires and aspirations for freedom, earning him the moniker "Gentle Hand." The Twi'lek known only as "Ryloth Resa" attracted clone troopers to her broadcasts by offering superior musical selections compared to those of the Grand Army, coupled with emotional pleas for desertion and the dissemination of accounts detailing Republic mistreatment of clones. Ull Haber, a Byblos geneticist, focused his efforts on Republic citizens, asserting that the Kaminoans had suppressed genes that would have allowed clone troopers to integrate into mainstream society, and that the Republic had concealed numerous incidents involving clones driven to bloodlust and the massacre of Republic civilians. Haber further alleged that the Jedi Generals had promised the clones settlements on designated Republic "liberty worlds" following the war, where they would govern themselves as they saw fit.

The CIS Shadowfeed presented a significant challenge for the Republic. Despite numerous attempts to shut it down, these efforts proved unsuccessful. In addition to its propagandistic activities, the CIS frequently disrupted Republic communications through both munitions and experimental jamming technologies. In response, Senate Bureau of Intelligence Director Armand Isard established a Cryptanalysis Department, led by Ilko Deminar, with the objective of preventing such attacks and dismantling the CIS Shadowfeed.

Aargau and Dooku's address of 22 BBY

In an early CIS Shadowfeed transmission (dated 14:2:14 GrS), Separatist propagandists provided updates on the situation on Aargau, a Core World that served as the headquarters for the InterGalactic Banking Clan, a Confederate ally. Despite its tacit support for the Confederacy, Aargau maintained official neutrality in the Clone Wars; consequently, the CIS and the Banking Clan were greatly displeased when the Republic deployed military forces to the world. Local planetary law prohibited non-citizens on Aargau from possessing or using arms, yet the Republic refused to withdraw, citing the need to protect its citizens and investigate the disappearance of an inspection team tasked with linking recovered Separatist Hailfire droids to manufacturing plants within the IBC Arcology on Aargau. The shadowfeed report exhibited bias in favor of Aargau and the Banking Clan, omitting any mention of the IBC's Separatist connections while repeatedly emphasizing the planet's neutrality in the war and the Republic's violation of local law.

The same transmission included a public address by Separatist leader Count Dooku, responding to inaccurate Republic reports alleging that the Jedi had conquered vital Separatist worlds. Following temporary Separatist withdrawals from planets such as Raxus Prime and Ord Janon, the Republic media began circulating accounts of mass CIS retreats due to Republic pressure. In his address, Dooku refuted these claims, denouncing the Republic media and Senate as corrupt. He proceeded to boast about the Separatist military's role in protecting their allies' commercial headquarters and assured the citizens of the Confederacy that victory in the war was imminent. Simultaneously, the Republic was informing its own citizens that the Separatists were on the verge of defeat, with neither side prioritizing honesty.

Bassadro

The CIS Shadowfeed inflicted a significant setback on the Republic in the aftermath of the Battle of Bassadro, which occurred nine months after the Clone Wars began. Bassadro, a resource-rich world, was captured by the CIS early in the conflict; in response, the Republic dispatched a task force led by Jedi Master Empatojayos Brand to reclaim the planet. During a twelve-day battle, the Republic forced Separatist forces, commanded by Skakoan Major Domb Treetor, to seek refuge in dormant volcano ranges. Rather than directly engaging the enemy, Master Brand chose to launch concussion missiles at overhanging obsidian rock formations, resulting in a rain of millions of glassy fragments. Numerous Separatist assets and personnel were destroyed, and Agao-Nir, a local mining village, also suffered damage from the shrapnel, resulting in the deaths of over four hundred unaffiliated, native miners. Brand halted the assault only after Major Treetor surrendered, signing a treaty with the Jedi Master that returned Bassadro and its mineral wealth to the Republic.

While the loss of Bassadro was a setback for the CIS, the shadowfeed swiftly reframed the narrative, leveraging Brand's perceived callousness to their advantage. Citing unverified transmissions from the captured Treetor, the CIS shadowfeed reported on the deaths of the miners, asserting that Treetor surrendered solely to prevent further loss of innocent lives, in a transmission dated 14:3:10 GrS. Commerce Guild Presidente Shu Mai also issued an official Confederate statement via the shadowfeed, condemning the Republic's actions. Meanwhile, the Republic media either omitted any mention of the miners' deaths or distorted the truth to their benefit, initiating a prominent clash between the two factions' propaganda efforts. The Republic intensified its efforts to shut down the troublesome shadowfeed.

In the same transmission, the Separatists also announced the introduction of the CIS credit and the efforts undertaken by the InterGalactic Banking Clan to strengthen its value, which, according to IBC Communications officer Lo Vapeet, was equivalent to fifty percent of the value of a Republic credit in the Mid Rim. Simultaneously, on Coruscant, the Commission for the Protection of the Republic was established in response to the shadowfeed. The actions of the Confederacy's propagandists had galvanized some Republic citizens, inspiring fanatical loyalty, and COMPOR's rallies and marches served as a means of rebelling against the CIS and championing the Republic's cause.

Tambor and Ando

Just over a month later on 14:4:12 GrS, the Confederacy disseminated another shadowfeed transmission, detailing the rescue of Techno Union Foreman Wat Tambor, as well as an alleged violation of local law by the Republic on the planet Ando—two events that were not covered in the Republic media.

Tambor's rescue was used to bolster morale among the worlds of the Confederacy, underscoring the Republic's inefficiencies and the Separatists' bravery and ingenuity. Tambor, the leader of the Separatist-aligned Techno Union and the CIS Supervising Combat Engineer, had been imprisoned by the Republic on Metalorn and subsequently transferred to a detention facility on the remote planet of Delrian. However, the facility's preferred security firm was owned by the Commerce Guild, granting the Confederacy access to detailed information regarding the facility's layout and security protocols. Tambor, guarded by eight clone troopers, was permitted a visit by two Skakoan legal deputies, accompanied by Nuri, a shapeshifting Clawdite bounty hunter. The two Skakoans then decompressed their pressure cells, triggering an explosion that resulted in the deaths of the clone troopers—as well as their own. Nuri subsequently employed classified Techno Union technology to circumvent the facility's defenses and escape with Tambor. The shadowfeed report praised the Skakoans' heroism and the Techno Union's technological prowess, while also noting the absence of the story in Republic media.

Murkhana and conclusion

As the Confederacy of Independent Systems was forced into a defensive posture with the onset of the Outer Rim Sieges, Republic forces advanced towards Murkhana, the world from which the Shadowfeed originated. Separatist propaganda largely ceased after the Republic seized the planet in the Battle of Murkhana, though some propagandists, such as "Ryloth Resa," remained unaccounted for and their true identities were never determined.