Obsolete Restrictions on Public Diplomacy Hurt U.S. Outreach and Strategy

[Cannoneer No. 4]

We did not call it “propaganda,” for that word in German hands had come to be associated with lies and corruptions. Our work was educational and informative only, for we had such confidence in our case as to feel that only fair presentation of its facts was needed.8 --George Creel

from Propaganda: Can a Word Decide a War? by DENNIS M. MURPHY and JAMES F. WHITE http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/P...umn/murphy.htm

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Except as provided in section 1461 of this title and this section, no funds authorized to be appropriated to the United States Information Agency shall be used to influence public opinion in the United States, and no program material prepared by the United States Information Agency shall be distributed within the United States. This section shall not apply to programs carried out pursuant to the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2451 et seq.). The provisions of this section shall not prohibit the United States Information Agency from responding to inquiries from members of the public about its operations, policies, or programs.

There is no more United States Information Agency.

Lawfare sucks!

The Smith-Mundt Act of 1948:
Comments, Critiques, and the Way Forward by Bryan Hill