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Article: Sager, W. R. (2015). APPLE PIE PROPAGANDA? THE SMITH-MUNDT ACT BEFORE AND AFTER THE REPEAL OF THE DOMESTIC DISSEMINATION BAN.

Smith-Mundt Modernization Act 2012: Apple Pie Propaganda

The traditional purpose of journalism in the U.S. came to a halt in 2012 by a repeal of an Act made during World War II. The Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 or commonly known Smith-Mundt Act was the authorization for dissemination of U.S. government information/propaganda internationally. By executive order in 1942 President Roosevelt formed the Office of War Information (OWI) to counter Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis propaganda. Soon after formation of OWI the government-funded the news service, Voice of America (VOA) which was incorporated into the OWI and it expanded its broadcasts of pro-American news stories internationally. Soon after, the OWI incorporated the Bureau of Motion Pictures (BMP) to produce films that advanced American propaganda internationally.  The use of propaganda became a significant war strategy during the Cold War Era. The Smith-Mundt Act authorization prevented propaganda being disseminated within the U.S. This ban remained in place for sixty years, until July 2, 2013. The Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012 was enacted and stripped of "meaningful restrictions" which gave immense power to the U.S. Department of State and the Broadcasting Board of Governors to anonymously disseminate programming on the American citizens. Although initially intended to be reviewed and modified allowing international propaganda tax funding to be more accessible in the U.S. public domain, it was unexpected that it was repealed essentially in its entirety. The results of the repeal of the ban is yet unknown or just visible to a careful observer but what is known is that the original purpose and intention of journalism in the United States is at risk.

Anon/September 2017

Sager, W. R. (2015). APPLE PIE PROPAGANDA? THE SMITH-MUNDT ACT BEFORE AND AFTER THE REPEAL OF THE DOMESTIC DISSEMINATION BAN. Northwestern University Law Review, 109(2), 511-546.

(2012, October 5). Retrieved XX, from H.R.5736 - Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012 https://www.congress.gov/bill/112th-congress/house-bill/5736/text/

“Tales of lawsuits no court had ever seen involving names no city directory had ever known, poured from me. Tales of prodigals returned, hoboes that came into fortune, families driven mad by ghosts, vendettas that ended in love feasts, and all of them full of exotic plot turns involving parrots, chickens, goldfish, serpents, epigrams, and second-act curtains. I made them all up.”  - Ben Hecht, former journalist, novelist and Hollywood screenwriter