"I am not particularly concerned whether either gunpowder or propaganda have benefited or harmed mankind. I merely emphasize, at this point, that propaganda on an immense scale is here to stay. We Americans must become informed and adept at its use, defensively and offensively, or we may find ourselves as archaic as the belted knight who refused to take gunpowder seriously 500 years ago."
--State Department official George V. Allen, in "Propaganda: A Conscious Weapon of Diplomacy," The Department of State Bulletin, XXI, no. 546 (December 19, 1949), 941-943; cited at, footnote 11
Propaganda is hard to define. When viewed historically, however, it is an instrument of war used by a government against its enemy. Modern propaganda, targeted at mass audiences and using the latest media, was launched during World War I. In 1917, the U.S. government established its first propaganda agency, the Committee on Public Information, abolished in 1919. During the other twentieth-century global conflicts -- World War II and the Cold War -- the USG propaganda agencies were the Office of War Information (1942-1945) and the United States Information Agency (1953-1999). During the War on Terror, the Pentagon, the White House, and the State Department (Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs) handled propaganda, but no independent executive agency was created to deal with it, perhaps because our extremist Islamic enemy turned out to be not as global and threatening as many felt right after 9/11.
Propaganda is much cheaper than hard military power. It causes far fewer casualties than battlefield conflicts. Hence its benefits for a government at war. But how propaganda modifies hearts and minds in a state's interest is hard to measure. This is its main drawback from a military perspective, where the number of enemy dead is a "precise" way to quantify success.
There are three types of propaganda: white, grey and black, described thus by the propaganda scholar Kenneth Osgood:
White propaganda is correctly attributed to the sponsor and the source is truthfully identified. (The U.S. government's international broadcast service Voice of America, for example, broadcasts white propaganda.) Gray propaganda, on the other hand, is unattributed to the sponsor and conceals the real source of the propaganda. The objective of gray propaganda is to advance viewpoints that are in the interest of the originator but that would be more acceptable to target audiences than official statements. The reasoning is that avowedly propagandistic materials from a foreign government or identified propaganda agency might convince few, but the same ideas presented by seemingly neutral outlets would be more persuasive. Unattributed publications, such as articles in newspapers written by a disguised source, are staples of gray propaganda. Other tactics involve wide dissemination of ideas put forth by others--by foreign governments, by national and international media outlets, or by private groups, individuals, and institutions. Gray propaganda also includes material assistance provided to groups that put forth views deemed useful to the propagandist. Like its gray cousin, black propaganda also camouflages the sponsor's participation. But while gray propaganda is unattributed, black propaganda is falsely attributed. Black propaganda is subversive and provocative; it is usually designed to appear to have originated from a hostile source, in order to cause that source embarrassment, to damage its prestige, to undermine its credibility, or to get it to take actions that it might not otherwise. Black propaganda is usually prepared by secret agents or an intelligence service because it would be damaging to the originating government if it were discovered. It routinely employs underground newspapers, forged documents, planted gossip or rumors, jokes, slogans, and visual symbols.
Bottom line, however, is that propaganda is an instrument of war used by a government, primarily but not exclusively, against a present or possibly future enemy. It stands to reason, therefore, that, because propaganda is a state weapon directed at an adversary, actual or potential, citizens of a country should not be subjected to the propaganda of their government. If they are, their government is essentially waging war upon them. No wonder that after World War I an anti-propaganda tradition developed in the United States -- a country that prides itself on the right of its citizens to think as they wish.
As part of that anti-propaganda tradition, the Smith-Mundt Act, the 1948 legislation (amended several times) which prohibits the domestic dissemination of some USG-produced propaganda ("information") directed to foreign audiences, is still relevant today. To be sure, the Act could use fine-tuning to deal with the internet age and a globalized world. Americans today can easily find Voice of America news on the Internet. So, some say, forget about a 60+-year Cold War relic!
Critics of the Act have noted that it was never meant to apply to the Department of Defense, which has its own rules prohibiting domestic psyops.
But this lack of coordinated control over propaganda activities by military and civilian agencies actually underscores a need, without censorship, to reinforce Smith-Mundt's most important point -- that a democratic government should not propagandize its own people, as was the case with totalitarian states like Nazi Germany and the
The last thing we need is the USG, using Pentagon psyops, to be in a state of perpetual war
with its citizens in the name of "access to information in an information age." This is the stated aim of bipartisan bill modernizing Smith-Mundt (recently passed by Congress), as mentioned by one of its supporters, Reps. Mac Thornberry, R-Clarendon (Texas).
Rather, an upgraded Smith-Mundt Act, if it in fact should be changed at all (let sleeping dogs lie, some would say) should ensure that Americans, even more than over half-a-century ago, have a government that speaks for, rather than propagandizes, them -- in an age when the new social media, increasingly used by the USG, are making privacy, so important for individual freedom, a greater and greater luxury of the past.
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For example - the classic "Straw Man" argument : A misrepresentation of another persons position so as to easy refute them.
"Senator Jones says that we should not fund the attack submarine program. I disagree entirely. I can't understand why he wants to leave us defenseless like that."
"Free marketeers do not believe in law and rules of any kind"
If you are against the invasion of Iraq, you must not care about freedom.
If you are for the invasion of Iraq, you must not care about human life.
There are many forms of propaganda, so lets keep the ball rolling and post some more examples (and probably better than what I copied over)
This statement reads like it was lifted directly from the CORPORATE/gop organized crime syndicate's bag of dirty tricks
1.Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy
2.Create secret prisons where torture takes place
3.Develop a thug caste or paramilitary force not answerable to citizens
4.Set up an internal surveillance system
5.Harass citizens' groups
6.Engage in arbitrary detention and release
7.Target key individuals
8.Control the press
9.Treat all political dissidents as traitors
10.Suspend the rule of law[24]
Sound familiar, don't they?
The majority of Americans have no idea what propaganda is and that they are being manipulated every day.
--When 2/3 of america was in favor of invading Iraq, a majority thought Saddam was involved in 9/11, that Saddam had a nuclear program, that Al Qaeda was active in Iraq. All total BS that the US and UK governments KNEW were BS.
--In the 1960s and 1970s, when labor unions were at their zenith, a man could support a stay at home mom and children on the salary of a grocery checker, teacher, factory worker, nurse, etc. Now, most families need two wage earners, with concomittant loss of nurture and guidance for their children.
--In the 60s and 70s, onions were $0.07/lb and apples were $0.11/lb while you could get a meal for $1 at mcdonalds. Now onions are $1.29/lb, apples $1.69/lb, yet you can get 5000 calories of food at taco bell for $2. And yet we are told the poor shouldn't get free health care because their illnesses are due to obesity, which is due to their weak will and stupidity.
--Productivity has tripled over the last 30 years, and yet wages have stayed the same for workers while income and wealth has skyrocketed for the 0.1%, yet we're told it is the wealthy who need tax relief and the poor who need public programs cut.
Fantastic post. Your memory of days gone by is starkly clear, especially the parts about single income families of the 60's and 70's (true about the 50's, also, as the Middle class grew, largely due to the benefits of the GI Bill.
Also, the part about productivity. It was that boost in productivity that enabled the upward redistribution of the national wealth to the 0.1%
F & F
FWIW
F&F
Welcome to the wonderful world of superPACs and corporations as "people".
Yet, the State Department response was to send in USAID to help w/ .. yup, psyops.
We have a looooong way to go folks to get transparency and safety for our CITIZENS.
Yes, it goes on .. anybody remember the exposure of the WAR leaders being paid on CNN, Fox, etc.? They didn't get so much as a slap on the wrists. And then, of course, there is the lovely Project Mockingbird, still very much in evidence. Anderson Cooper nearly creamed on TV talking about the characteristics of our Navy Seals in "action" and lifestyle. But nary a mention of the SCAM to innoculate Pakistani children w/HEP B virus. (see Glenn Greenwald on THAT matter.) Sometimes the "propoganda" is just leaving out the TRUTH - and that takes time and editorial meeting$.
As to oversight, forgaddaboutit.
This will take it that one step further - we are the frogs in the pot w/the water being turned up. I just await w/baited breath the show that says how great FEMA camps will be for ME.
This is a ploy to set up a new class of overlord's toadies to ca$h in on FEAR and Elitism.
I want to know the names of people contributing to these guys' campaign fund$. Name the names; follow the money - thhat is - PROPOGANDA in reverse. These greed$o$ don't understand "NO!" so I think visiting the offices w/Noise and loud signs is in order. And maybe a couple need to be put on pastebin.
TY, John. Always always highly informative.
Al Qaeda, WMD in Iraq, Iran*s Nuclear program,and Europe in decline are all lies to manipulate and keep us fearful and compliant.
That is why the Islamic Republic wasn't confronted when it was new and still weak in 1979.
Vietnam fatigue. And past overthrow guilt. Poor reasons to make strategic decisions.
We will pay for that now in the form of a war.