CIA’s Work With Filmmakers Puts All Media Workers at Risk
CIAs Work With Filmmakers Puts All Media Workers at Risk
By Adam Johnson
Apr
8
2016
Vices Jason Leopold (4/6/16) has uncovered documents showing the CIA had a role in producing up to 22 entertainment projects, including History Channel documentary Air America: The CIAs Secret Airline, Bravos Top Chef: Covert Cuisine, the USA Network series Covert Affairs and the BBC documentary The Secret War on Terroralong with two fictional feature films about the CIA that both came out in 2012.
The CIAs involvement in the production of Zero Dark Thirty (effectively exchanging insider access for a two-hour-long torture commercial) has already been well-established, but the agencys role in the production of Argowhich won the Best Picture Oscar for 2012was heretofore unknown. The extent of the CIAs involvement in the projects is still largely classified, as Leopold notes, quoting an Agency audit report:
However, because of the lack of adequate records, we were unable to determine the extent of the CIAs support to the eight projects, the extent to which foreign nationals participated in CIA-sponsored activities, and whether the Director/OPA approved the activities and participation of foreign nationals
. Failure on the part of CIA officers to adhere to the regulatory requirements could result in unauthorized disclosures, inappropriate actions and negative consequences for the CIA.
The CIAs history of producing or helping to produce films goes back decades. The Agency, for example, secretly bought the rights to Animal Farm after Orwells death in 1950 and produce an animated adaptation centered on demonizing the Soviet Union rather than capturing Orwells broader critiques of power.
More:
http://fair.org/home/cias-work-with-filmmakers-puts-all-media-workers-at-risk/