Propaganda

Israel Lays the Groundwork for Diplomatic Failure

by Diane Farsetta — April 20, 2009 - 1:17pm

Worried about "increasing international willingness to negotiate with Tehran over its nuclear program," the Israeli government is ramping up its anti-Iranian messaging. Israel has committed 8 million NIS, or around U.S.$2 million, for the campaign.

Main Source: 
Haaretz (Israel), April 20, 2009

Answering a Few Questions

by Sheldon Rampton — April 8, 2009 - 11:55am
  • Topics: Iraq, Propaganda

    • We recently received an email query from a high school student asking some questions about one of the books that John Stauber and I have written about the war in Iraq. Rather than answer those questions individually, I thought I'd answer them publicly here:

    1. What are the top techniques deployed by the government to falsely inform the public?

    There are a range of techniques used by governments, corporations and other parties to misinform the public.

    Progressive Media - A PR War Room for Obama

    by John Stauber — March 28, 2009 - 7:46am
  • Topics: Politics, Propaganda, Think Tanks

    • Liberal think tanks and advocacy organizations formed during the Bush/Cheney regime are working in close and well-funded coordination as a PR messaging machine for the Obama Administration's foreign and domestic policies. A Washington Post blog noted that the Center for American Progress is now running Progressive Media which was begun by Tom Matzzie and David Brock in 2008 and now "represents a serious ratcheting up of efforts to present a united liberal front in the coming policy wars." Progressive Media is a joint project with CAP and Brock's Media Matters Action Network and "headed by well-known liberal operative Tara McGuinness." Matzzie recently reminisced about his work with MoveOn's "Tara McGuinness, Eli Pariser and others" organizing Americans Against Escalation in Iraq. Today MoveOn, USAction and others in that coalition are working hard to push Obama's policies, including rationalizlng or defending his escalation of the wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan as "sustainable security."

    U.S. No Longer Needs PR Boost in Iraq

    by Diane Farsetta — March 12, 2009 - 1:41pm

    In February, the U.S. Army asked for proposals to boost its Iraq public affairs work with "three civilian PR specialists and two Arabic-speaking media monitors to work in Iraq and two staffers stateside." Then, the deadline for proposals was extended to mid-March.

    Main Source: 
    O'Dwyer's PR Daily (sub req'd), March 10, 2009

    AP Versus the Military-Industrial-Media Complex, Pts 2 and 3

    by Diane Farsetta — February 9, 2009 - 2:36pm

    "You want to make sure you edit it in the right way," said Major Alayne Conway, who served as a U.S. military public affairs officer in Iraq.

    Main Source: 
    Associated Press, February 6, 2009

    Mission Creep Reaches U.S. Newsrooms

    by Diane Farsetta — February 6, 2009 - 3:50pm

    "Over the past five years, the money the [U.S.] military spends on winning hearts and minds at home and abroad has grown by 63 percent, to at least $4.7 billion this year," reports the Associated Press. "That's almost as much as it spent on body armor for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2004 and 2006. ...

    Main Source: 
    Associated Press, February 5, 2009

    Debating the Ban on Domestic Propaganda

    by Diane Farsetta — February 2, 2009 - 9:35am
  • Topics: Internet, Iraq, Public Diplomacy, Propaganda, U.S. Government

    • "I want to make sure that we strengthen prohibitions against domestic covert propaganda campaigns aimed essentially at breaking down the Constitutional barriers between who controls policy and who makes war," stressed Representative Paul Hodes. "It's an important point, given the recent history."

    Rep. Hodes was speaking at a conference on public diplomacy, held in Washington, DC on January 13. Public diplomacy is a catch-all term for the various ways in which the United States promotes itself to international audiences (as opposed to "regular" diplomacy, which targets foreign governments). These include international media, like the Voice of America; cultural and educational exchanges, such as the Fulbright Program; and a wide range of information activities, including foreign press centers, speaking events and publications. As the University of Southern California's Center on Public Diplomacy notes, the term "was developed partly to distance overseas governmental information activities from the term propaganda, which had acquired pejorative connotations."

    Pentagon Absolves Self for Covert Pundit Program

    by Diane Farsetta — January 20, 2009 - 5:24pm

    "It is a whitewash," said Representative Paul Hodes. "It appears to be the parting gift of the Pentagon to the [former] president [Bush]," he added, referring to an internal investigation (pdf) into the Pentagon's pundit program.

    Main Source: 
    New York Times, January 16, 2009

    Senator Wants Accountability for "America Supports You"

    by Diane Farsetta — January 20, 2009 - 4:35pm

    The recent audit of America Supports You (ASY) found that the Defense Department PR program was run in a "questionable and unregulated manner," including some $8.8 million given to the public rela

    Main Source: 
    Stars and Stripes, January 17, 2009

    China: The One Bright Spot in the News Business?

    by Diane Farsetta — January 16, 2009 - 5:33pm

    The Chinese government has pledged 45 billion yuan (nearly $6.6 billion) for media that target foreign audiences, "in an aggressive global drive to improve the country's image internationally." The Xinhua News Agency wants to use the funding to "expand its overseas bureaus from about 100 to 186," nearly enough to have a bureau in every country.

    Main Source: 
    South China Morning Post (sub req'd), January 13, 2009
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