Is Propaganda Now Legal in the US?

by

       George Sontag

      Throughout the country, many of us have rightly been long concerned about the danger of the government using taxpayer funds to covertly influence public opinion. Since 1948 a law has been in effect prohibiting the government from using propaganda on it’s own citizens. It was passed by the fear that the large amount of propaganda that we were using overseas would be used in this country. For decades, a so-called anti-propaganda law prevented the US. government's mammoth broadcasting arm from delivering programming to American audiences. That fact, even though it is law, is debatable.

      The US. foreign propaganda machine is massive. There is one US. government program that brought over about a thousand journalists from overseas to come train in the US; this is one of the State Department projects. And just one bureau of the State Department has by their account 86 media programs overseas. Even the $700 million figure… is just a tip of the iceberg on how much the US spends to influence the media overseas.

      Fast forward to 2012. The rise of the internet allowed citizens to access all of the world’s information including propaganda and that became a problem. News reports with different meanings of the same stories were becoming obvious. To keep the facade, something had to change.

      On 12/29/12, President Obama signed HR 4310, the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act. Section 1078 of the bill authorizes the use of propaganda inside the US which had previously been banned since 1948 when the Smith-Mundt Act was passed.. The NDAA to allow the government to use propaganda to openly LIE to the people. It also legalized covert infiltration of media organizations by government agents and even the creation of media outlets that legally operate entirely as government fronts. What most people refer to as “propaganda material”, the amendment refers to as “public diplomacy information.” This bill appears to not only open the door to legalization of the dissemination of propaganda in America, but to legalize the CIA’s Operation Mockingbird.

      For the first time since 1948, propaganda is now legal in the US. It is being said the legislation allows the material produced by the State Department and the Pentagon to strike the ban that had been in place on domestic dissemination of propaganda. The result is an unleashing of thousands of hours per week of government-funded radio and TV programs for domestic US. consumption in a reform initially criticized as a green light for US. domestic propaganda efforts. Many people feel it legalized the use of propaganda on American audiences. Examples of this can be seen today with such television shows like Madam Secretary, which was a blatant attempt to ensure Hillary Clinton’s ascension to the White House. Another is Seal Team, one of five such programs in the last few seasons that makes this country’s violation of international law seem righteous and normal.

      It is clear the legislation had nothing to do with repealing a law relating to the news media publishing false information. Propaganda or Fake News need not be blatant lies — they can be, and most often are, the subtle deformations of reality in which a sapling of truth is grafted onto an agenda driven interpretation to produce a bramble of pseudo-reality. Congress cannot pass a law that limits the media's ability to publish truth or falsity, although citizens can sue a publisher for damages caused by libel or defamation. The First Amendment to the US. constitution, however, does not apply to the congressional power to limit the distribution of content (propaganda) created by a federal agency.

      From a First Amendment perspective, however, the ban is both highly paternalistic and a nightmare for government transparency. As noted, State- and BBG-produced material (The Broadcasting Board of Governors is now the United States Agency for Global Media.) are exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. And there are less restrictive means available than an outright ban to ensure that the State Department and BBG are not turned into organs of a domestic government propaganda machine.

       We should trust that the American public will be able to take government public diplomacy communications with a sufficient grain of salt to prevent undue influence but most people believe what they’re told. It’s the reason advertising is so scarily effective. It’s why fake news is so pervasive in our society. When one is told something, especially young people, it’s likely to be believed. In layman’s terms the news media/government can broadcast propaganda to the American people as they please. It has been signed into place, and there is nothing that can be done about it at this time.

       The greatest worry is that the Bill essentially neutralized two previous acts—the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 and Foreign Relations Authorization Act in 1987—that had been passed to protect US. audiences from their own government’s misinformation campaigns. As we have stated before, critical and analytical thinking using the most sources available is the only way to find the truth in a world of propaganda and agenda driven falsehoods.