Outsourcing Psyops and the slippery slope of 'fake news'

[Dover]

"The use of contractors in psyops is a new wrinkle. But psychological warfare expert Herb Friedman said he is not surprised. ... With only one active-duty and two reserve psyops units remaining, Friedman said, 'The bottom line is, they don't have the manpower.'

"Federal law prohibits sending propaganda to Americans, and some experts worry that psychological warfare messages, especially disinformation efforts, might blow back to American audiences via the Internet and satellite news channels.

"'In this age of the Internet and instant access, it's of great concern,' said Nancy Snow, a propaganda expert at California State University-Fullerton. 'If you plant false stories, how can you control where that story goes? You can't.'"

Pentagon Contract 2005
A June 11, 2005, Washington Post article reported that the Pentagon had just awarded three contracts, potentially worth up to $300 million over five years, to three companies it hopes will inject more creativity into its psychological operations efforts to improve foreign public opinion about the United States, particularly the military. Lincoln Group won one of the three contracts, Science Applications International Corporation and SYColeman, Inc., a subsidiary of L-3 Communications, the other two. All three companies declined to comment for the article.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Lincoln_Group

Washington Post Article:

...The contracts come as the Bush administration has been criticized for its uncoordinated efforts to repair the United States' post-Iraq image problems abroad, particularly in the Muslim world. The State Department, for instance, has been slow to mount a new public diplomacy program headed by former White House aide Karen Hughes. Vice President Cheney said in March that public diplomacy "has been a very weak part of our arsenal."

A Government Accountability Office report in April noted that the Pentagon had been pressing initiatives on "strategic communications" to fill "the planning void left by the lack of strategic direction from the White House." A September 2004 Defense Science Board report concluded that the "U.S. strategic communication must be transformed."

"The department is always looking for ways to improve our communication efforts, and we are working closely with the State Department to support their public diplomacy initiatives where appropriate," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said in response to questions about how the new psyops program fits into an administration plan.

Some previous Defense Department efforts in the field have been controversial. In 2002, the Pentagon abandoned its Office of Strategic Influence after reports surfaced, which the Pentagon denied, that it would disseminate inaccurate information to foreign media.

After other agencies were criticized for hiring journalists to promote their policies, the Pentagon asked its inspector general to review its use of Fairfax-based Anteon International Corp. to run Web sites aimed at audiences in the Balkans and North Africa. The Web sites, known as the Southeast European Times and Magharebia, include articles from journalists paid by the Pentagon through the company, as well as articles translated from U.S. newspapers. That review is ongoing...cont'd

http://www.lincolngroup.com/NewsItem/201.htm?x=0.30864615195641825

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Background

According to the Group's website, "Lincoln Alliance Corporation, with the assistance of a cadre of investors, formed Lincoln Group to pursue private sector opportunities in Iraq. Lincoln Group brings a unique combination of expertise in collecting and exploiting information; structuring transactions; and mitigating risks through due diligence and legal strategies."

http://www.lincolngroup.com/

Cont'd

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Lincoln_Group

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Fake News

..."There's a good chance that some of the news they see will be fake. Not that it's necessarily inaccurate. Just that it was made to plug something else. And it's something the PR community has grown skillful at providing," he wrote. The original article generated a dismissive response from the PR industry.

However, in June 1992 the Public Relations Service Council saw the need to assemble a committee to develop standards governing the level of disclosure in VNR's.

In April 1993 TV Guide once more returned to the subject with an article titled Fake News: All the PR that News Can Use". (See the Video news releases article for a more detailed review of the responses to Liberman's articles).

While controversy over VNR's diminished in the 1990's when it resurfaced in 2004 following Government Accountability Office investigation into government funded VNR's the fake news description was well established.

In late June 2005 the U.S. House of Representatives approved an amendment barring the White House and federal agencies for one year from contracting with PR firms and journalists to secretly promote policies through the use of fake news. "The passage of this amendment is a critical victory for the American people who, as a result of these secret government contracts with writers, broadcasters, and public relations specialists, have been unable to determine whether they are receiving real, objective news or government-sponsored propaganda," said Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), who chairs the Future of American Media Caucus and sponsored the amendment.

"A properly functioning democracy depends on a news media that is free of any conflicts-of-interest, especially with the government that it is supposed to be holding accountable." <1> (http://www.boston.com/ae/media/articles/2005/06/30/us_house_toughens_law_on_publicity_propaganda/)

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Fake_news

[Al-CIAda]

1. Nothing from this government OR M$M can be trusted. nt

kick

[wli]

2. We figured out the news was all fake before this.

Official confirmation is useful, I guess.