The Head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, a close confidant of Obama, proposed less than two years ago in an academic paper that the government pay covert agents and "independent" advocates to infiltrate groups which speak against the government and/or propose conspiracy theories.  The idea, Glenn Greenwald explains, is that "[t]his would be designed to increase citizens' faith in government officials and undermine the credibility of conspiracists.  The paper's abstract can be read, and the full paper downloaded, here. "  Though the administration has not yet moved toward accepting this proposal, it is certainly concerning given the fact that the paper was written recently and its writer is now in exactly the position he would need to execute the scheme.