The Koch-roaches are gonna love this.

[GliderGuider]

New Bill Would Make It Legal To Target Propaganda And "Psychological Operations" Directly At U.S. Citizens

Should it be legal for the U.S. government to spend billions of dollars on propaganda designed to change public opinion in the United States? Should it be legal for the U.S. government to use television, radio, newspapers, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs and Internet forums to conduct "psychological operations" targeted at the American public?

An amendment that has been added to a new defense bill in Congress would make it legal to target propaganda and "psychological operations" directly at U.S. citizens. The latest version of the National Defense Authorization Act would overturn the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 and the Foreign Relations Authorization Act of 1987. Those two laws essentially make it illegal for propaganda that is used to influence public opinion overseas to be targeted at U.S. citizens back here at home.

If those two laws are struck down, there will be essentially very few limits to what the U.S. government can do to shape our opinions. The government would be able to bombard us with propaganda messages on television, on the radio, in our newspapers and on the Internet and there would not even be a requirement that those messages be true. In fact, just as happens so often overseas, it would likely be inevitable that the government would purposely disseminate misinformation to the American public for the sake of "national security".

That is why it is imperative that this bill not become law.

If we're worried about paid corporate disruptors being active here on DU, this escalation should be at the very top of our list of nightmares. The same people who have bought and paid for the US government will now be directing its officially sanctioned covert messaging, and for damn sure some of the propaganda that will get propagated as a result of this bill will target environmental activism. As weak as that activism is any more, there is no chance it could survive such an orchestrated onslaught.

[villager]

1. It's terrible, obviously. But wouldn't this just make "legal" what's already happening anyway?

The airwaves are already owned by the corporations, and their government subsidy.

People are already programmed.

How much more programmed are they likely to be? It's a somewhat rhetorical question -- I'm dead set against this.

Just noting it's not as if this isn't already happening.

[GliderGuider]

2. Mmmmm. Good point. nt

[Nihil]

4. Yes but accelerating a bad trend is not a good move.

By getting away with so much illegally, they have merely laid the foundation
stone for the future - softened up the American public so to speak - and so
are very likely to get away with sneaking in these changes to the law before
moving up to the next level: cracking down on "dissent" or "disloyalty to the
official message".

Interesting times.

[villager]

5. I agree it's an accelerant. Sadly, though, what it does won't be "new."

As you point out, Americans have been softened up (pre-programmed?) for years now already.

But I'm sure the ruling elites consider it time to ratchet up the social control.

[central scrutinizer]

3. oceania has always been at war with eastasia

nfm