Propaganda

Media's Military Analysts Involved in "Psyops on Steroids"

by Diane Farsetta — April 21, 2008 - 11:46am

In early 2002, as "detailed planning for a possible Iraq invasion" began, then-Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Victoria Clarke launched the Pentagon military analyst program as "the main focus of

Main Source: 
New York Times, April 20, 2008

U.S. Military Ponders Hiring or Hacking Bloggers

by Diane Farsetta — April 1, 2008 - 11:53am

"Hiring a block of bloggers to verbally attack a specific person or promote a specific message may be worth considering," suggests a 2006 study written for the U.S. military's Special Operations Command.

Main Source: 
Wired.com blog "Danger room," March 31, 2008

Great Wall of Silence About Tibetan Protests

by Diane Farsetta — March 18, 2008 - 4:34pm

"China has begun to fight back against criticism of its handling of the Tibetan protests," during which protesters have been killed, with a "sustained publicity offensive as well as blocking foreign broadcasters and websites and denying journalists access to areas of unrest," reports The Guardian.

Main Source: 
The Guardian (UK), March 18, 2008

Anti-Abortionists Hijack "Horton"

by Anne Landman — March 14, 2008 - 12:21pm

When some people in the audience at the premiere of the new Dr. Suess movie "Horton Hears a Who" started yelling "A person's a person no matter how small," others thought they were just over-enthusiastic Dr. Suess fans. Instead, it turned out that a pack of anti-abortion activists had hijacked the elephant star's famous line to promote their view that abortion should be banned.

Main Source: 
Slate.com, March 14, 2008

Teacher Warns Students About War Propagandist John Rendon

by John Stauber — March 13, 2008 - 8:53am

Steve Runge, an instructor at Northeastern University in Boston, is raising a red flag about a controversial lecturer. "John Rendon of the Rendon Group will be addressing the College of Business Administration Thursday afternoon.

Main Source: 
The Northeastern News, March 13, 2008

Canada's Groupthink Tanks on Afghanistan

by Diane Farsetta — February 27, 2008 - 11:27am

As the debate over Canada's military mission in Afghanistan continues, the country's "Department of National Defence is ... spending millions of dollars sponsoring think tanks and scholars to offer up agreeable commentary," writes University of Ottawa professor Amir Attaran. "Take the Conference of Defence Associations, a think tank that got $500,000 from DND last year. ...

Main Source: 
The Globe and Mail (Canada), February 21, 2008

A Comical Attempt to Win Young Hearts and Minds

by Diane Farsetta — February 20, 2008 - 6:30pm

Want to earn up to $2.4 million to produce and distribute across Iraq 12 issues of a comic book designed to "highlight the professionalism of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) and to enhance the public perception of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) as a capable, well-trained, and professional fighting force"? Well, you'll have to compete with the Lincoln Group, the PR firm that previously placed U.S.

Main Source: 
Wired blog "Danger Room," February 19, 2008

When "Social Values" Means Smoking

by Anne Landman — February 18, 2008 - 1:56pm

When the dangers of smoking first became widely known, cigarette companies secretly hired biomedical scientists to create confusion.

Main Source: 
New Scientist (sub req'd), February 16, 2008

Rather than Surrender to Terror, Romney Quits

by Anne Landman — February 7, 2008 - 5:35pm

Mitt Romney has suspended his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, saying that if he continued it would "be making it easier for Senator Clinton or Obama to win" and that he cannot let

Main Source: 
New York Times, February 7, 2008
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