Propaganda

The Fakest Time of the Year: The 2007 Falsies Awards

by Diane Farsetta — December 7, 2007 - 10:50am
  • Topics: Activism, Global Warming, Corporations, Health, Media, Pharmaceuticals, Propaganda, Public Relations, Science, Think Tanks, U.S. Government, War / Peace, Women

    • Ladies and gentlemen, this is the year that the Falsies Awards have truly arrived!

    Here at the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), we've dearly treasured our Falsies since we gave the first awards out in 2004. After 12 months of reporting on the cynical, manipulative and just plain anti-democratic pollution of our information environment, we love adding an extra dash of humor to our work. But this year's Falsies Awards are extra super special.

    The White House Appreciates Bloggers Who Regurgitate

    by Diane Farsetta — December 6, 2007 - 6:11pm

    In an interview with Texas Monthly, former White House counselor Dan Bartlett complains that many reporters are overly critical of President Bush. "White House correspondents have been tagged, unfairly, with not being tough enough on the administration and President Bush in the run-up to the [Iraq] war. ...

    Main Source: 
    Texas Monthly, January 2008

    Fake Press Conferences Aren't Just for FEMA

    by Diane Farsetta — November 27, 2007 - 6:30pm

    When the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) held a fake news conference in October, with FEMA staffers asking their boss softball questions about the California wildfires, Homeland Security Department Secretary Michael Chertoff strongly condemned

    Main Source: 
    Associated Press, November 26, 2007

    Pro-Life Groups Scrambling to Get Egg-Rights Amendments onto State Ballots

    by Anne Landman — November 26, 2007 - 3:35pm

    An anti-abortion group, Colorado for Equal Rights, is gathering signatures to get a constitutional amendment on the 2008 statewide ballot. The amendment, called the "Definition of a Person Act," would confer full legal rights upon fertilized human embryos. Other anti-abortion groups are simultaneously advancing similar measures in other states under different names.

    Main Source: 
    Rocky Mountain News, November 24, 2007

    The U.S. Propaganda Blitz in Post-War Japan

    by Bob Burton — November 25, 2007 - 6:37pm

    A report written in 1959 by Mark May, a Yale University professor and expert on psychological warfare, detailed the extensive operations by the United States Information Service (USIS) in Japan after the end of World War II. The report was recently uncovered in the National Archives in Washington by Kenneth Osgood, an assistant professor of history at Florida Atlantic University. The report reveals that 23 of 50 USIS-sponsored programs were not publicly identified as U.S. funded projects.

    Main Source: 
    The Japan Times, November 21, 2007

    Don't Forget the Falsies!

    by Judith Siers-Poisson — November 20, 2007 - 7:06pm

    Do your civic duty -- vote for your favorite Falsies!

    At the end of each year, CMD issues the "Falsies Awards," to recognize the people and players that take spin and propaganda to new lows. We need you to help identify the worst of the worst hard at work in 2007. We have put together a juicy selection of nominees -- but we need you to vote and tell us who deserves the Falsies this year.

    Main Source: 
    The Falsies survey

    America Might Support You, But Your Bureau Chiefs Don't

    by Diane Farsetta — November 14, 2007 - 4:43pm

    "If we can't get our own people to release public documents, why should we expect the military to cooperate?" asked the Europe bureau chief of the military newspaper Stars and Stripes.

    Main Source: 
    Stars and Stripes, November 14, 2007

    Check out our Falsies!

    by Judith Siers-Poisson — November 13, 2007 - 3:35pm

    It's that time of year -- time to vote for your favorite Falsies!

    2007 was a year full of deception, manipulation, prevarication, and Orwellian spin. But now it's payback time! Every day, we at the Center for Media and Democracy are up to our ankles (and sometimes higher) in the corporate spin and government propaganda that PR firms keep churning out. We are all too familiar with the many ways that our information environment gets polluted. We have our "favorites," to be sure -- but now we want to hear what YOU think!

    Main Source: 
    The 2007 Falsies

    Torturing Evidence in Iraq

    by Diane Farsetta — November 12, 2007 - 4:19pm

    According to a "privately contracted interrogator working for American forces in Iraq, near the Iranian border," U.S. intelligence activities in Iraq are skewed to find incriminating evidence against Iran. Micah Brose told The Observer that U.S. officials "push a lot for us to establish a link with Iran. They have pre-categories for us to go through, and by the sheer volume of categories there's clearly a lot more for Iran than there is for other stuff.

    Main Source: 
    The Observer (UK), November 11, 2007
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