as if having Fox News Channel, AM talk radio and corporate-sponsored think tanks to catapult your message isn't enough...
The US defence department has set up a new unit to better promote its message across 24-hour rolling news outlets, and particularly on the internet. The Pentagon said the move would boost its ability to counter "inaccurate" news stories and exploit new media. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said earlier this year the US was losing the propaganda war to its enemies...
Exploit new media? Oh yeah, like those telescreens they just installed in my local supermarket.
The newly-established unit would use "new media" channels to push its message and "set the record straight", Pentagon press secretary Eric Ruff said. "We're looking at being quicker to respond to breaking news," he said. "Being quicker to respond, frankly, to inaccurate statements."
A Pentagon memo seen by the Associated Press news agency said the new unit would "develop messages" for the 24-hour news cycle and aim to "correct the record". The unit would reportedly monitor media such as weblogs and would also employ "surrogates", or top politicians or lobbyists who could be interviewed on TV and radio shows.
Developing messages to set the record straight -- gotta love that washed out public relations lingo. Why not just admit you're building a Ministry of Truth to spread misinformation. And how are you going to spin "inaccurate statements" like we misplaced hundreds of thousands of weapons which may or may not have fallen into the hands of insurgents or militia groups, 100 troops died this month in Iraq, we've raised troop levels to 150,000 to do godknowswhat...
Anything to influence the opinions of the emerging silent defeatist majority.
I coulda swore a commented on that last post earlier this morning. Anyways, this is going to turn out to blow up in their face. Who's going to lunch the first blog to debunk the debunking?
Posted by: Fred | 31 October 2006 at 08:17 AM
Maybe the DOD will start paying the Jeff Goldstein Protein Shake army to regurgitate their press releases.
Posted by: Comandante Agi | 31 October 2006 at 08:36 AM
"defence"????? wtf kinda foreign propaganda you pushing here agi? get with america dude.
Posted by: the serrach | 31 October 2006 at 09:33 AM
My God...the sheer genius of this idea!!! Where can I sign up to have DoD updates displayed real-time on my blog? No, seriously, where?
Posted by: Rex Kramer, Danger Seeker | 31 October 2006 at 07:10 PM