adam smith
Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) is behind a bill that would repeal Cold War-era legislation banning dissemination of propaganda to American audiences.

Rep. says outrage over propaganda bill 'dead wrong'

BY Brandi Kruse  on May 21, 2012 @ 9:14 pm (Updated: 9:00 am - 5/22/12 )

Outrage over a bill that would repeal Cold War-era legislation banning dissemination of propaganda to American audiences is "dead wrong," according to U.S. Representative Adam Smith.

Smith, D-Wash., and Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, are behind HR 5736, also known as the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012.

The bill would update the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948, which was created to counter communism during the Cold War, but banned the distribution of such government-backed propaganda in the U.S.

"They didn't want to disseminate the message that was designed to go abroad at home," said Raymond Tanter, CBS News anti-terror expert. "That would allow the U.S. government to control American thought."

But Tantor agrees with Representatives Smith and Thornberry that the act needs to be modernized to deal with more modern enemies, such as al-Qaeda.

"There is a war for the hearts and minds of people who are sitting on the fence; young kids in Pakistan who grow up to become radicals and extremists," Tanter said. "This kind of outdated Cold War-era legislation is hampering the United States' information war."

Smith said the act, in its current form, prevents the U.S. government from combating anti-American propaganda posted by extremist groups online because the U.S. response could be viewed by audiences here.

"If you put something out on the Internet or social media, even though it's intended for a foreign audience, it may well be viewed by a domestic audience because it's the Internet, it's everywhere," Smith said.

"This outdated law ties the hands of America's diplomatic officials, military, and others by inhibiting our ability to effectively communicate in a credible and transparent way," Rep. Thornberry said. "Congress has a responsibility to fix the situation."

The 2012 act would "eliminate the existing ban on domestic dissemination of public diplomacy material, which prohibits such material from being viewed in the United States."

But the proposed bill has drawn sharp and increasing criticism with concern that the U.S. government will use it to sway public opinion on unpopular policies at home.

"That's dead wrong," Smith said. "I think some folks took a quick look at this [...] and ran with the story in what was an incorrect direction."

Smith said he wants to be clear that the bill leaves in place the ban of government-funded or created propaganda for use in the U.S.

"This bill restates, in several places, the clear prohibition on distributing any propaganda intended for a domestic U.S. audience, or to influence them," Smith said.

The bill is included in the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act, which passed the House of Representatives on Friday.

Brandi Kruse, KIRO Radio Reporter
Brandi Kruse is a reporter for KIRO Radio who is as spontaneous and adventurous in her free time as she is on the job. Brandi arrived at KIRO Radio in March 2011 and has already collected three regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her reporting.
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Comments (17)


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  • ron prevost wrote...
    Good call, Adam - but does this fly past Oz?
    May 22, 2012 5:24 am
    It's bad enough if the feds (regardless of party) spin information now. Without thses restraints, flat out lies would be protected speech from the administration.
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  • rational wrote...
    Is this an effort to be "honest"?
    May 22, 2012 6:34 am
    They want to remove even the pretense that the government will relase honest information...I suppose that is a sort of honesty in itself. It's been a long time since you could trust information coming out of DC...if you ever could.
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  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    Quote: said Raymond Tanter, CBS News anti-terror expert. "That would allow the U.S. government to control American thought."
    May 22, 2012 6:47 am
    The US Government has no business trying to control American thought. That is clearly the province of private enterprise!

    For an eye-opening exercise, do a brief study of the propaganda techniques used by repressive governments in the 20th Century. Then, compare what you have learned to what we hear and see on any number of negative-attack (er, I mean "talk" shows) and so called "news" broadcasts.

    The US Government should not try to control thought. The people who control both political parties and the US government already control our thinking. They are even skilled enough in their craft to convince us that we hold competing ideas and must hate those who disagree with us. Ultimately, and unfortunately, we all serve the same Masters. They keep us peons feuding among ourselves to distract us from their lies and larceny.

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  • sportsguru wrote...
    Chuck Gould
    May 22, 2012 7:20 am

    Good job Chuck, that's it in a nutshell, I can't even add to your post since you knocked that one out of the park.

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  • heyjim55 wrote...
    What a croc!
    May 22, 2012 8:19 am
    We have different enemies now so says Mr Smith. What he is not saying is that we are the new enemies , this is pointed at us. All legislation involving Home Land Security has been done with targeting the American people not some invented boogie man that they try to scare us with so often. Wake up people ! Adam Smith and all other elected officials are not working on our behalf but against us.
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  • maplefish wrote...
    Chuck & heyjim
    May 22, 2012 8:39 am
    Bravo to both posts!
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  • A Man Watching wrote...
    Propaganda
    May 22, 2012 8:46 am
    Liberals have not forgotten the Fairness Doctrine, expect to see it again if Obama gets a 2nd term and no restraints.
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  • ryanh4 wrote...
    Chuck Gould
    May 22, 2012 8:33 am
    Spot on Chuck, spot on. Your sentence right here sums it up perfectly.. They are even skilled enough in their craft to convince us that we hold competing ideas and must hate those who disagree with us. To me, this is the most fundamental thing we, the American citizens, need to strive to break away from. Good post, thanks!
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  • It's me! Ha ha! wrote...
    And yet MSNBC
    May 22, 2012 8:34 am
    carries Obamunist and Liberal propaganda every 24/7/365.
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  • A Man Watching wrote...
    Smith Propaganda rant
    May 22, 2012 8:44 am
    The Liberals already have the main stream media to spin their message and influence public opinion. Beyond a doubt there will be abuse of the system if this new law is passed, there will be a loophole that allows the sitting president to intimidate or silence dissenting voices. I don't care if a Republican is a co-author, this whole thing smells.
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  • dadling wrote...
    Time to Retire Adam Smith
    May 22, 2012 8:59 am
    Mr Smith has gone totally to Washington...the wrong Washington...now he believes it's better to Rule than to Serve.... IT'S TIME TO RETIRE HIM BACK TO CITIZEN SMITH !!!
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  • jaysonoo7 wrote...
    The law was made so THE MAN could not brain wash the people
    May 22, 2012 11:22 am
    They want to repeal it so they can brain wash other countries people... I don't think they understand what the purpuse of the original law was so I will put it in diffrent terms. Any human should not be able to brain wash another human.
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  • ron prevost wrote...
    thank you, Jayso -
    May 22, 2012 1:06 pm
    I was starting to think too many were reacting to other blogs without actually reading the story. Neither 'a man watching' nor 'dadling' appear to have even a clue.
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  • CH wrote...
    Spot on Chuck . . . .
    May 22, 2012 4:37 pm
    home run. http://youtu.be/HNGaa5Opfmc I'm the guy at the scoreboard.
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  • It's me! Ha ha! wrote...
    It's freedom of speech.
    May 22, 2012 9:10 pm
    Communist propaganda subversive or even Obamunist propaganda. It is freedom of speech and protected by our first amendment. People must be smart enough to understand the dangers of this manner of coercion. Government attempts to Stifle it does no good. It only makes it worse!

    As we are seeing today the majority of all who voted for the Obama have learned their lesson and will vote ABO. We learn from our mistakes. Some mistakes are more costly than other. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Although this regime has not killed our way of life it defiantly has beaten the he!! out of us. It will take time to recover and repair the damages. We will recover.

    We won't make THAT mistake again!

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