U.S. Repeals Propaganda Ban
“U.S. Repeals Propaganda Ban, Spreads Gov’t-Made News To Americans”
by Walter Olson on July 15, 2013
Congress relaxes the longstanding Smith-Mundt Act, which had banned the U.S. government from aiming propaganda at domestic audiences. Sure, what could go wrong? [John Hudson, Foreign Policy "The Cable"]
It used to be that the content of Radio Free Europe, Voice of America, and other content produced by the Broadcasting Board of Governors couldn't be transmitted in the United States at broadcast-quality levels because it was considered propaganda. But that all changed as of July 2, when the content, which reaches 100 countries in 60 different languages, became available in the United States. Part of the reason for the change was so ex-pats living in America could get access to the programming and part of it was so taxpayers can see what their money is being spent on. Decades ago, lawmakers blocked the content in the U.S. because they feared journalism produced by the government would have a corrosive effect on the public.
Reaction from the last bastions of independent discourse was swift and strong. “Nothing speaks more urgently to the creeping fascism of American politics…” University of Michigan history professor Juan Cole declared on his blog Informed Comment. “You don’t want most of the DoD types providing information to us, because it won’t be in any way balanced.”
“Allowing the US government, and especially the military and State Department, directly to target American citizens at home would leave them as vulnerable as people around the world already are to the long arm of American disinformation,” echoed UC Irvine Middle Eastern history professor Mark Levine at Aljazeera.
Edited by Rogerdodger, 15 July 2013 - 08:29 AM.
