FAKE NEWS:
WHY OUR GOVERNMENT IS AIRING ILLEGAL PROPAGANDA—
AND HOW CITIZENS CAN STOP IT
A state-controlled media occurs only in a totalitarian regime, such as Saddam Hussein’s Iraq or the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin, right? Surely not in America, where our Constitution guarantees us freedom of the press?
Wrong. Startling evidence has come to light that TV stations and newspapers across America have been running “fake news” – slick propaganda pieces produced by the government to sway the masses into supporting key policies and legislative proposals.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger broke the law by using our tax dollars to produce propaganda videos disguised as news, the Legislative Counsel’s office ruled on Friday.
Fiction is fine for Hollywood. But an elected official ought to know better than to send out smoke-and-mirrors videos promoting partisan policies to TV stations statewide. One video news release (VNR) touts a Schwarzenegger plan to eliminate guaranteed break times for workers—without bothering to include opposition arguments from labor representatives.
If the Governor’s proposals are good for Californians, he should encourage newscasts that air all sides of the issues and engage in open, honest debate. Resorting to covert propaganda raises the troubling question: Just what is Arnold afraid to have the public know?
Arnold isn’t alone. A New York Times investigation revealed last week that hundreds of fake “news” reports have aired on TV stations nationwide—including at least one San Diego TV station: KGTV, an ABC affiliate. Some fake news videos include apparent interviews conducted by “journalists” who are actually actors and actresses on the government payroll!
Videos include suggested lead-ins for local anchors to read, giving a false impression of independent investigative reporting. Networks and local stations are, apparently, eager to boost their bottom lines by airing government propaganda instead of real news. Never mind that failing to disclose the source of government-made propaganda violates broadcasters’ own code of ethics.
How big is this problem?
The Bush administration has spent over a quarter of a billion dollars on public relations contracts, producing hundreds of VNRs – all paid for with your tax dollars.
One White House-sponsored video featured “reporter” Karen Ryan (Bush’s version of Leni Riefenstahl) lauding benefits of the President’s prescription drug benefit program. The piece omitted critics, who argued that the program’s biggest beneficiary is the pharmaceutical industry—not the public.
“It amounts to propaganda, doesn’t it?” KGTV news director Mike Stutz told the Times, when asked about Ryan’s vast portfolio of fake news videos.
But KGTV ran at least 25 VNRs produced by Ryan on behalf of the Bush administration, corporations and other entities, according to the Times, all without telling viewers the source of these so-called “news” reports.
Now the Defense Department has launched the Pentagon Channel, along with the Army and Air Force Hometown News Services. One “news” production states that military prison guards are taught “to treat prisoners strictly but fairly” and to show respect for detainees. This absurdly one-sided video makes no mention of prisoner abuses at Abu Ghraib—or of allegations that high-ranking administration officials condoned torture in violation of the Geneva Convention.
CNN aired propaganda purporting to show the invasion of Fallujah—a full day before the actual invasion began. Now, a former U.S. marine who participated in the capture of Saddam Hussein says the entire event was fabricated, according to a Rochester, New York TV station. Ex-Sgt. Nadim Abou Rabeh claims the deposed Iraqi leader was living comfortably in a home when captured--and that Hussein fought back, firing shots at U.S. forces. According to Rabeh, Saddam was forced into a well, where a military production team filmed the “spider hole” capture of a seemingly submissive Saddam.
The line between real news and propaganda has been further blurred by revelations that several conservative syndicated newspaper columnists accepted payola from the Bush Administration’s propaganda slush fund.
Armstrong Williams pocketed $240,000 to promote the White House’s “no child left behind” program. Maggie Gallagher sold out for a mere $21,000 to tout a Bush administration marriage policy promoting family values. Michael McManus, ironically, penned a column titled “Ethics in Religion” while violating journalistic ethics by pocketing taxpayer money to promote Administration policies. None disclosed their blatant conflicts of interest.
Some TV journalists also engaged in questionable arrangements. Fox News pundit Charles Krauthammer praised Bush’s State of the Union Speech on air—but didn’t tell viewers he was consulted to help prepare the speech.
The Bush Administration has gone beyond “fake news” to bring us “fake journalists.” James Guckert, using the false name “Jeff Gannon”, obtained White House press passes and served in the White House Press Corps for over two years—all with no journalism experience, except a two-day course at a pseudo journalism “school”.
The “news” organization he represented, Talon News, didn’t exist before “Gannon” got his press pass. Talon was revealed as a front for GOP USA, a conservative political group with ties to the Republican National Party. “Gannon” quoted Republican Party materials word for word in his “news” stories without attributing the source, asked softball questions of the President, and broke major stories smearing prominent Democrats – without facts to back his attacks.
“Gannon” had a background that should have tripped even the most basic security check. (Congress had previously denied him press credentials.) His identity was exposed by Internet bloggers, who revealed that “Gannon” owned websites promoting gay escort services and prostitution. After bloggers posted links to naked photos of the White House correspondent, “Gannon” resigned from Talon News.
How did a hooker fronting for a partisan political group gain access to the White House press corps—and the President? The Bush administration has been silent on the subject. But the American people deserve an answer.
President Bush and Governor Schwarzenegger see nothing wrong with deceiving the public through fake “news” reports. The General Accountability Office (GAO) disagrees.
In three separate investigations, the nonpartisan GAO found the Bush Administration violated federal law prohibiting covert propaganda. Yet the White House has directed Alberto Gonzalez, head of the Justice Department, to ignore investigation requests from the GAO and Congress.
In fairness, the practice of using VNRs didn’t start with the Bush administration. Bill Clinton hired P.R. firms to promote his policies, and corporations have produced VNRs since the Eisenhower era.
But the Bush White House has escalated propaganda funding to unprecedented levels. Some videos had no disclosures that the government produced them. The President has flatly refused to ask that TV stations reveal the source of government-made videos to viewers.
When I landed my first journalism job twenty-five years ago, the editor told me to make sure my stories included the most important element: fairness. Let each side present its views, but let neither present a lie unchallenged. A journalist’s responsibility above all else is to tell the public the truth.
America’s corporate-owned media appears to have forgotten this basic principle. Big networks seem more interested in maximizing shareholder profits than in truthful, unbiased reporting. Local stations and newspapers must also bear blame for their complicity in disseminating propaganda without at least identifying the source.
How can we believe anything that we see or hear in the news today?
Widespread use of “fake news” is creating healthy skepticism. TV viewership rates have shrunk, while reliance on Internet news sources is increasing. A vigorous free press still exists on the worldwide web, where bloggers vie to express divergent views on important issues.
Why does our government disseminate propaganda disguised as “fake news”?
“The function of propaganda is…not to weigh and ponder the rights of different people, but exclusively to emphasize the one right which it has set out to argue for. It’s task is not to make an objective study of the truth,” observed one prominent leader, who used propaganda to justify war.
This leader used simplistic messages “adjusted to the most limited intelligence” to sway the masses. “As soon as our own propaganda admits so much as a glimmer or right to the other side,” he said, “the foundation for doubt in our own right has been laid.”
No, those aren’t the words of George Bush or Arnold Schwarzenegger. Who, then, presented this rationale for propaganda tactics now being used by America’s leadership?
Adolf Hitler.
There is a name for a government that brainwashes its citizens with state-produced propaganda—and it isn’t “democracy”. Undermining our free press is a very dangerous practice—and one that citizens of all political parties should vigorously oppose.
HOW TO STOP “FAKE NEWS” PROPAGANDA
A new website,
http://www.stopfakenews.com has been set up to help citizens reclaim a free press.
StopFakeNews.com urges citizens to take these steps:
· Call the major national networks (CNN, Fox News, ABC, CBS and NBC) and ask them not to carry government propaganda videos, especially without identifying the source.
· Call your local TV stations and make the same request.
· Contact the Federal Communications Commission and ask that they investigate violations by broadcasters of laws prohibiting airing of propaganda.
· Urge the U.S. Justice Department to investigate violations of federal laws prohibiting production and dissemination of propaganda.
Contact information is available at the website.
Californians should also contact Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office. Tell the Governor to stop trying to fool the public with fake “news” videos. Save theatrics for Hollywood, please!
--(The author is a real journalist with 25 years experience. She is also media chair of San Diego for Democracy, an affiliate of Democracy for America, an organization dedicated to protecting democracy and American values. She has NOT been paid by the government or any partisan organization for her opinions.)
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