Surf n Turf
05-02-2020, 19:43
I came away from these articles with an uneasy feeling. I’m trying to bring two points together…U.S. Government Funded Propaganda and Domestic Political warfare.
I thought that it was understood that GOVERNMENT was restricted in broadcasting into the American heartland under the terms of the 1970.s “Smith-Mundt Act” “a so-called anti-propaganda law prevented the U.S. government’s mammoth broadcasting arm from delivering programming to American audiences.” Turns out this was not true for DoD, and broadcasting does not appear to be the entire problem. DARPA’s funding may help the Democrats in this election.
SnT
If our own government did this, some might call that “propaganda” and "propaganda" should be kept out of America as to distinguish the U.S. "from the Soviet Union where domestic propaganda is a principal government activity.".
Enter the new, improved Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012/13, which was going to “fix” whatever was wrong with the original. ….
This partially explains the push to allow Broadcasting Board of Governors to broadcasts on local radio stations in the United States. The agency wants to reach diaspora communities, such as St. Paul, Minnesota’s significant Somali expat community.”
So did Congress just tear down the American public’s last defense against domestic propaganda?” Short answer YES
But as the Washington Post exposed a counter-propaganda program by the Pentagon that recommended posting comments on a U.S. website run by a Somali expat with readers opposing al-Shabab..
"Today, the military is more focused on manipulating news and commentary on the Internet, especially social media, by posting material and images without necessarily claiming ownership,"
https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/07/14/u-s-repeals-propaganda-ban-spreads-government-made-news-to-americans/
Notice, the focus seemed to shift, No propaganda …..So nothing to worry about….right…..WRONG
Initiative seeks to challenge Trump's online megaphone
Gen. Stanley McChrystal MCCHRYSTAL GROUP/FACEBOOK
A new Democratic-aligned political action committee advised by retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the former head of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, is planning to deploy technology originally developed to counter Islamic State propaganda in service of a domestic political goal – to combat online efforts to promote President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
The group, Defeat Disinfo, will use artificial intelligence and network analysis to map discussion of the president's claims on social media. It will seek to intervene by identifying the most popular counter-narratives and boosting them through a network of more than 3.4 million influencers across the country – in some cases paying users with large followings to take sides against the president.
The initiative reflects fears within the Democratic Party that Trump's unwavering digital army may help sustain him through the pandemic, as it has through past controversies, even as the economy craters, tens of thousands have died, and Trump suffers in the polls.
"It's often said campaigns are a battle of ideas, but they're really a battle of narratives," said David Eichenbaum, a Democratic media consultant who is a senior adviser to the PAC. "Today those narratives spread quickly online."
The initiative is run by Curtis Hougland, whose received initial funding for the technology from DARPA, the Pentagon's research arm, as part of an effort to combat extremism overseas. He insists Democrats are ill-prepared for the looming battle over information and attention, which is bound to play an outsize role in November.
Hougland cites as an example Trump's suggestion last week that injecting bleach or other household disinfectants could be a treatment for the novel coronavirus – a moment that appeared unequivocally damaging to the president but was less clear-cut as it unfolded on social media. Although the episode was associated with a spike in Twitter engagement about Trump, especially in swing states such as Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, according to Hougland's analysis, four of the top six tweets about Trump and disinfectant came from accounts partial to the president, boosting the notion that he had not really suggested the bogus cure.
Among them was a tweet from Ryan Fournier, national co-chair of Students for Trump, who wrote, "No, President Trump did not tell people to inject themselves with Clorox or Lysol. If you believe that, you're a moron."
I thought that it was understood that GOVERNMENT was restricted in broadcasting into the American heartland under the terms of the 1970.s “Smith-Mundt Act” “a so-called anti-propaganda law prevented the U.S. government’s mammoth broadcasting arm from delivering programming to American audiences.” Turns out this was not true for DoD, and broadcasting does not appear to be the entire problem. DARPA’s funding may help the Democrats in this election.
SnT
If our own government did this, some might call that “propaganda” and "propaganda" should be kept out of America as to distinguish the U.S. "from the Soviet Union where domestic propaganda is a principal government activity.".
Enter the new, improved Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012/13, which was going to “fix” whatever was wrong with the original. ….
This partially explains the push to allow Broadcasting Board of Governors to broadcasts on local radio stations in the United States. The agency wants to reach diaspora communities, such as St. Paul, Minnesota’s significant Somali expat community.”
So did Congress just tear down the American public’s last defense against domestic propaganda?” Short answer YES
But as the Washington Post exposed a counter-propaganda program by the Pentagon that recommended posting comments on a U.S. website run by a Somali expat with readers opposing al-Shabab..
"Today, the military is more focused on manipulating news and commentary on the Internet, especially social media, by posting material and images without necessarily claiming ownership,"
https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/07/14/u-s-repeals-propaganda-ban-spreads-government-made-news-to-americans/
Notice, the focus seemed to shift, No propaganda …..So nothing to worry about….right…..WRONG
Initiative seeks to challenge Trump's online megaphone
Gen. Stanley McChrystal MCCHRYSTAL GROUP/FACEBOOK
A new Democratic-aligned political action committee advised by retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the former head of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, is planning to deploy technology originally developed to counter Islamic State propaganda in service of a domestic political goal – to combat online efforts to promote President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
The group, Defeat Disinfo, will use artificial intelligence and network analysis to map discussion of the president's claims on social media. It will seek to intervene by identifying the most popular counter-narratives and boosting them through a network of more than 3.4 million influencers across the country – in some cases paying users with large followings to take sides against the president.
The initiative reflects fears within the Democratic Party that Trump's unwavering digital army may help sustain him through the pandemic, as it has through past controversies, even as the economy craters, tens of thousands have died, and Trump suffers in the polls.
"It's often said campaigns are a battle of ideas, but they're really a battle of narratives," said David Eichenbaum, a Democratic media consultant who is a senior adviser to the PAC. "Today those narratives spread quickly online."
The initiative is run by Curtis Hougland, whose received initial funding for the technology from DARPA, the Pentagon's research arm, as part of an effort to combat extremism overseas. He insists Democrats are ill-prepared for the looming battle over information and attention, which is bound to play an outsize role in November.
Hougland cites as an example Trump's suggestion last week that injecting bleach or other household disinfectants could be a treatment for the novel coronavirus – a moment that appeared unequivocally damaging to the president but was less clear-cut as it unfolded on social media. Although the episode was associated with a spike in Twitter engagement about Trump, especially in swing states such as Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, according to Hougland's analysis, four of the top six tweets about Trump and disinfectant came from accounts partial to the president, boosting the notion that he had not really suggested the bogus cure.
Among them was a tweet from Ryan Fournier, national co-chair of Students for Trump, who wrote, "No, President Trump did not tell people to inject themselves with Clorox or Lysol. If you believe that, you're a moron."