Hijacking Your Mind
The signals teaching your children what to believe
Children’s television is tightly controlled.
The approval process to get a show greenlit is exhaustive, largely due to the responsibility networks have toward young audiences.
Both educational and general entertainment shows must follow a strict set of guidelines to be deemed appropriate for children. From Sesame Street to Hannah Montana to Chowder, these programs were carefully selected before being aired to millions of young viewers.
Because of this, all of these channels maintain firm broadcasting standards. Dialogue, clothing, and even advertising breaks must all be presented in very specific ways to comply with the network’s rules.
So, what happens when somebody decides to break that authority?
That is where The Archive began to dig.
The rabbit hole surrounding the hijacking of children’s networks is disturbing, and we at The Archive wonder why these attacks often target young viewers at the expense of their so-called “message” toward the networks.
So, what do these hijacks actually achieve?
The following file provides video evidence of multiple hijack incidents connected to iconic networks like Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network.
Viewer discretion is advised.
PART I: And You’re Watching Disney Channel!
The year is 2004.
Lizzie McGuire is on its final season, with That’s So Raven being crowned the new it show on Disney Channel. Meanwhile, iconic “DCOMS” like Halloweenteen High, Motocrossed, and ZENON: Z3 are set to air, anticipating large viewership from their young tween audience.
Between each commercial break, the network would have their sitcom stars draw a Mickey head with a magic wand. For many millennials and Gen Z, the phrase “and you’re watching Disney Channel” has become synonymous with nostalgia, infecting their brains like a parasitic earworm.
The same can’t be said for those who were affected by a hijacking that occurred on June 6th.
At 3:00 AM, Disney Channel’s broadcast was interrupted. The following footage has been archived below. Personnel with medical problems such as epilepsy are encouraged not to watch it.
The Archive has scrubbed over this file multiple times to catch the full message.
It begins with video from the infamous suicidemouse.avi Creepypasta—a rudimentary attempt to scare viewers—before the hijacking evolves into its actual messaging.
Imagination. It all narrows down to imagination. Right? The human mind is not one to underestimate. Be careful what you think up. It could escape into your reality.
While the hijack’s visuals are uninspired in their obvious attempts to be something more than they actually are, The Archive recognizes the core message at stake.
Past the flashing lights of disturbing images is someone trying to say something.
This is one of the few hijacks The Archive gathered that doesn’t directly call out Disney Channel. Instead, we believe that the suspect wanted to air this hijacking as a warning to the children instead.
The Archive is, however, unsure of the intention behind this.
While there is a possibility this is a warning to the network, it feels more like a threat to those watching instead.
To imagine is to be powerful. To create art is rebellious.
If you fly to close to the sun, you may create something controversial. Perhaps not to you or your audience, but certainly to the authorities that dislike the message you shine a lot on.
This hijacking feels less like a reprimanding to Disney and more so a warning to children. Thinking is dangerous. Imagination is dangerous. Provoking thought is dangerous.
Because once one thinks too deeply, one begins to question the systems around them.
And they certainly cannot have children—the future of the world—doing that.
PART II: The Wyoming Incident
More infamous than the Disney Channel hijacking is the 1997 hack of Cartoon Network in Wyoming.
While Disney Channel’s interrupted broadcast resulted in a strange warning about the dangers of imagination, this one was far more sinister in its attempts to assert authority while psychologically playing with its viewers.
With no leads for suspects, The Archive cannot say for sure what the motive was behind this broadcast.
Below is the attached video file. Personnel with medical problems such as epilepsy are encouraged not to watch it.
Some notable quotes from the broadcast include:
HOPE ISN’T GRANTED
ALL IS WORTHLESS
YOUR MIND IS CORRUPTED
WE ARE ALWAYS WATCHING
This isn’t a protest.
This is a group disguising themselves as a system. A system that plays into the fear-mongering of our modern media landscape, understanding that the only thing that sells is fear.
The hijack serves as a parallel to the television, with fake smiling faces flashing on-screen like sitcoms of the 90s. Between these faces are the “messages,” similar to the commercials in everyday life.
These are ads that target the viewers’ insecurities. By making the viewers feel small, worthless, and insignificant, they are opening up a door of control by preying on the vulnerable.
PART III: The Connection
The Archive chose to highlight these two specific hijacks because the strange connection between them.
There is no concrete evidence of whether the same group were behind both of these broadcasts, but the messaging behind them links together perfectly.
The Disney Channel hijack harps on the dangers of imagination. It warns children against asking questions.
In turn, The Wyoming Incident presents their statements as fact, leaning into their fear tactics.
Together, these create a dangerous yet powerful weapon of control.
Teach the children to never question those in power, and they will be too scared to ever rise against you.
But as The Archive looks into America’s complicated history, it feels as if this has always been the case.
The Industrial Revolution especially proved this when children were forced into dangerous jobs to please those in authority.
And while this was finally resolved, The Archive must also mention the public school system they were put into. A system that, more often than not, leaned into teaching the children how to be polite and obedient to authority.
Children are the future. And if you get to them early enough, they can be groomed into perfect cogs for the machine.
That is where these hijacks lead us.
Suppress their imagination before it’s too late.
Never let them know the truth.
Conclusion
Children’s minds are powerful, but they are the most susceptible to subliminal messaging.
This is fact.
The Archive reminds its readers that our future is at stake every day. Children are in danger of propaganda everywhere they go.
While broadcast hijacks are often dismissed as relics of the past, The Archive urges everybody to keep the future safe.
This world is not an evil one. But it is an unsafe one.
Where there is a signal, authority doesn’t need to be true. It only needs to be believed.
While the broadcast may be over, its message never ended.
Turn off the TV tonight.
If you believe in The Archive’s work, you can support further investigations here.