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The New York Times recently ran a
story describing a report by the Government
Accountability Office (G.A.O.) showing that the Bush
administration had disseminated “covert propaganda” in
the United States “in violation of a statutory ban.” One
would expect heavy follow-up coverage of the story, but
so far we’ve seen little if any.
This report follows a “cease and desist” order issued
last spring by the G.A.O. to federal agencies to stop
circulating self-serving press releases as news stories
(see our newsletter
article on this topic).
The G.A.O. discovered that the administration issued
video propaganda disguised as news stories supporting
Bush initiatives. The organization also found that news
commentator Armstrong Williams was paid to report in
print and on-air stories furthering the Bush agenda.
In addition, Ketchum, a public relations company, was
paid by the administration to publicize the “No Child
Left Behind Act.” According to the G.A.O. report, the
Education Department flouted the law by telling Ketchum
to use Mr. Williams to "convey a message to the public
on behalf of the government, without disclosing to the
public that the messengers were acting on the
government's behalf and in return for the payment of
public funds."
At issue is not only the questionable practice of using
video news releases to promote an agenda without
attribution, but also the “buying off” of media. Even
more worrisome is the fact that there will apparently be
no punishment for the blatant bending of the law. By
letting this go unpunished, it helps to perpetuate the
heinous practice.
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