Propaganda

North American Governments Ponder How Best to Boost Their Wars

by Diane Farsetta — February 6, 2008 - 4:29pm

"A key part of Ottawa's public relations campaign" in support of its controversial military mission in Afghanistan is frequent phone calls where "senior federal officials ... plot strategy." All Afghan mission matters "are vetted through the Privy Council Office, the bureaucratic wing of the Prime Minister's Office," leading to charges of top-down media management.

Main Source: 
Toronto Star (Canada), February 4, 2008

James Glassman: The Journalist Turned Journo-lobbyist's Bid to Be PR Czar

by Diane Farsetta — January 31, 2008 - 6:23pm
  • Topics: Internet, Iraq, Front Groups, Terrorism, Public Diplomacy, U.S. Congress, International, Politics, Propaganda, U.S. Government

    • James Glassman, the nominee for Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, probably won't have much of an impact on how the United States presents itself to the rest of the world.

    For one thing, he'll only have 11 months in the post. For another -- as his predecessor Karen Hughes proved -- putting shinier lipstick on the pig of U.S. foreign policy doesn't do much to assuage widespread anti-American sentiment. Still, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's January 30 hearing on Glassman's nomination provided some insight into Washington's evolving view of public diplomacy.

    Russia Dolls Up Its Image with New Groups

    by Diane Farsetta — January 30, 2008 - 4:13pm

    The Russian government, upset at criticism from such foreign-funded organizations as the U.S. think tank Freedom House, is turning the tables.

    Main Source: 
    Associated Press, January 28, 2008

    Rumsfeld Calls for Propaganda 2.0

    by Diane Farsetta — January 24, 2008 - 6:00pm

    Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is concerned that the United States "is losing the war of ideas in the Muslim world, and the answer to that, in part, is through the creation of [a] new government agency," writes Sharon Weinberger.

    Main Source: 
    Wired.com's Danger Room blog, January 23, 2008

    Made in China: More Propaganda

    by Diane Farsetta — January 24, 2008 - 2:53pm

    As China prepares to host the Olympic Games, President Hu Jintao is urging Communist Party officials to "perform well the task of outward propaganda, further exhibit and raise up the nation's good image." At a recent Communist Party gathering, Jintao stressed the need for "cultural soft power," or public diplomacy, and said Chinese propaganda must "advance the building of the body of socialist core value and further boost unity and ha

    Main Source: 
    Associated Press, January 23, 2008

    Whither the Weather?

    by Diane Farsetta — January 23, 2008 - 6:28pm

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security "is paying a Pennsylvania ad firm to pitch 'pre-written' winter-weather-preparedness articles" to national and local media.

    Main Source: 
    Seven Days (Vermont), January 16, 2008

    Stars and Stripes Fights DoD Hype

    by Sheldon Rampton — January 4, 2008 - 11:02pm

    "Top editors at the military newspaper Stars and Stripes are asking for full disclosure of the paper's relationship with a Department of Defense publicity program, called America Supports You, after disclosures that money for the program was funneled through the newspaper," reports Sara Abruzzesse. "The newspaper's two top editors have asked that the acting publisher, Max D.

    Main Source: 
    New York Times, December 28, 2007

    The Taming of Al Jazeera

    by John Stauber — January 4, 2008 - 10:29am

    The New York Times reports, "When a Saudi court sentenced a young woman to 200 lashes in November after she pressed charges against seven men who had raped her, the case provoked outrage and headlines around the world, including in the Middle East. But not at Al Jazeera, the Arab world's leading satellite television channel, seen by 40 million people. ...

    Main Source: 
    New York Times, January 4, 2008

    Tortured Reasoning for Destroying Evidence of Torture

    by Judith Siers-Poisson — January 2, 2008 - 3:32pm

    Steve Benen writes that "As it turns out, the reasoning behind the CIA's decision to record interrogations on video, stop recording interrogations on video, and destroy the interrogation videos was all exactly the same: officials were hoping to avoid a public-relations nightmare." They were unsuccessful, of course, since the media reported widely on the destruction of the tapes and

    Main Source: 
    The Carpetbagger Report, December 30, 2007
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