

 U.S. Repeals Propaganda Ban, Spreads Government Made News To Americans - 1337biz
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/07/12/us_backs_off_propaganda_ban_spreads_government_made_news_to_americans

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xtrumanx
> In Somalia, for instance, VOA serves as counterprogramming to outlets
> peddling anti-American or jihadist sentiment. "Somalis have three options
> for news," the source said, "word of mouth, Al-Shabaab or VOA Somalia."

Wow. Just wow.

As a Somali, living in Somaliland, I'm calling them out. That's a lie.

First of all, the BBC Somali broadcast is far more popular than the VOA. The
VOA's Somali broadcast comes out an hour ahead of the BBC and people still
wait for the BBC to hear the news.

Secondly, there are other sources of news than word of mouth and Al-Shabab,
unless you consider local newspapers, internet news sites, radio station and
T.V. stations either word of mouth or outlets of Al-Shabab news.

Makes me want to tell people to not listen to the VOA ever again.

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thebooktocome
I need to make a note not to click on ForeignPolicy links. Their page-blocking
sign-in is so massively annoying.

~~~
wikiburner
Very annoying. They sometimes have interesting content, though. You can just
disable javascript, or remove the layer with Firebug.

Also, here's the copy for anyone else fighting with it:

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For decades, a so-called anti-propaganda law prevented the U.S. government's
mammoth broadcasting arm from delivering programming to American audiences.
But on July 2, that came silently to an end with the implementation of a new
reform passed in January. The result: an unleashing of thousands of hours per
week of government-funded radio and TV programs for domestic U.S. consumption
in a reform initially criticized as a green light for U.S. domestic propaganda
efforts. So what just happened?

Until this month, a vast ocean of U.S. programming produced by the
Broadcasting Board of Governors such as Voice of America, Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks could only be
viewed or listened to at broadcast quality in foreign countries. The
programming varies in tone and quality, but its breadth is vast: It's viewed
in more than 100 countries in 61 languages. The topics covered include human
rights abuses in Iran; self-immolation in Tibet; human trafficking across
Asia; and on-the-ground reporting in Egypt and Iraq.

The restriction of these broadcasts was due to the Smith-Mundt Act, a long
standing piece of legislation that has been amended numerous times over the
years, perhaps most consequentially by Arkansas Senator J. William Fulbright.
In the 70s, Fulbright was no friend of VOA and Radio Free Europe, and moved to
restrict them from domestic distribution, saying they "should be given the
opportunity to take their rightful place in the graveyard of Cold War relics."
Fulbright's amendment to Smith-Mundt was bolstered in 1985 by Nebraska Senator
Edward Zorinsky who argued that such "propaganda" should be kept out of
America as to distinguish the U.S. "from the Soviet Union where domestic
propaganda is a principal government activity."

Zorinsky and Fulbright sold their amendments on sensible rhetoric: American
taxpayers shouldn't be funding propaganda for American audiences. So did
Congress just tear down the American public's last defense against domestic
propaganda?

BBG spokeswoman Lynne Weil insists BBG is not a propaganda outlet, and its
flagship services such as VOA "present fair and accurate news."

"They don't shy away from stories that don't shed the best light on the United
States," she told The Cable. She pointed to the charters of VOA and RFE: "Our
journalists provide what many people cannot get locally: uncensored news,
responsible, discussion, and open debate."

A former U.S. government source with knowledge of the BBG says the
organization is no Pravda, but it does advance U.S. interests in more subtle
ways. In Somalia, for instance, VOA serves as counterprogramming to outlets
peddling anti-American or jihadist sentiment. "Somalis have three options for
news," the source said, "word of mouth, Al-Shabaab or VOA Somalia."

This partially explains the push to allow BBG broadcasts on local radio
stations in the United States. The agency wants to reach diaspora communities,
such as St. Paul Minnesota's significant Somali expat community. "Those people
can get Al-Shabaab, they can get Russia Today, but they couldn't get access to
their taxpayer-funded news sources like VOA Somalia," the source said. "It was
silly."

Lynne added that the reform has a transparency benefit as well. "Now Americans
will be able to know more about what they are paying for with their tax
dollars - greater transparency is a win-win for all involved," she said. And
so with that we have the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012, which passed
as part of the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act, and went into effect
this month.

But if anyone needed a reminder of the dangers of domestic propaganda efforts,
the past 12 months provided ample reasons. Last year, two USA Today
journalists were ensnared in a propaganda campaign after reporting about
millions of dollars in back taxes owed by the Pentagon's top propaganda
contractor in Afghanistan. Eventually, one of the co-owners of the firm
confessed to creating phony websites and Twitter accounts to smear the
journalists anonymously. Additionally, just this month, The Washington Post
exposed a counter propaganda program by the Pentagon that recommended posting
comments on a U.S. website run by a Somali expat with readers opposing Al-
Shabaab. "Today, the military is more focused on manipulating news and
commentary on the Internet, especially social media, by posting material and
images without necessarily claiming ownership," reported The Post.

But for BBG officials, the references to Pentagon propaganda efforts are
nauseating, particularly because the Smith-Mundt Act never had anything to do
with regulating the Pentagon, a fact that was misunderstood in media reports
in the run-up to the passage of new Smith-Mundt reforms in January.

One example included a report by the late Buzzfeed reporter Michael Hastings,
who suggested that the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act would open the door to
Pentagon propaganda of U.S. audiences. In fact, as amended in 1987, the act
only covers portions of the State Department engaged in public diplomacy
abroad (i.e. the public diplomacy section of the "R" bureau, and the
Broadcasting Board of Governors.)

But the news circulated regardless, much to the displeasure of Rep. Mac
Thornberry (R-TX), a sponsor of the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012. "To
me, it's a fascinating case study in how one blogger was pretty sloppy, not
understanding the issue and then it got picked up by Politico's Playbook, and
you had one level of sloppiness on top of another," Thornberry told The Cable
last May. "And once something sensational gets out there, it just spreads like
wildfire."

That of course doesn't leave the BBG off the hook if its content smacks of
agitprop. But now that its materials are allowed to be broadcast by local
radio stations and TV networks, they won't be a complete mystery to Americans.
"Previously, the legislation had the effect of clouding and hiding this
stuff," the former U.S. official told The Cable. "Now we'll have a better
sense: Gee some of this stuff is really good. Or gee some of this stuff is
really bad. At least we'll know now."

