Agent of influence

[1] The term is used both to describe conscious agents operating under the control of an intelligence service and political opponents who may be classed as "useful idiots" that is, someone, completely unaware of how their actions further the interests of a foreign power.

[3] As described by users of the concept the primary characteristic that distinguishes agents of influence from spies is the absence of involvement in espionage or other criminal activities.

According to Angelo Codevilla, using these agents is an act of war "in the same sense that armies crashing across border or airplanes dropping bombs are acts of war because their results can be as intrusive or conclusive as the results of armies or bombs.

With its vague and rather sinister undertones of manipulation and deceit such a hybrid expression lends itself easily to innuendo and abuse.

It is not surprising, therefore, that the prejudiced or the merely careless should characterise those whose political views they dislike, not as agents of a foreign power (for the allegation lacks any concrete proof), but as 'agents of influence' working wittingly or unwittingly either for the American CIA or the Soviet KGB