Uncle Sam Gets a New Mouthpiece

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Sept 6, 1999 | by John Elvin

President Clinton has established a new information agency, the International Public Information Group, to control the overseas flow of U.S. government news in an attempt to counteract misinformation. According to the Associated Press, or AP, the move partially is in response to "unflattering or erroneous information about the United States received abroad via electronic mail, the Internet, cellular telephones and other communications advances."

Operating out of the State Department, the unit will coordinate news from State, the Pentagon and other U.S. agencies, particularly during crisis situations. "What this is intended to do is organize the instruments of the federal government to be able to support the public diplomacy, military engagements and economic initiatives that we have overseas," a National Security Council spokesman said.

If all this seems a bit vague, it may be that officials are reluctant to use the term "propaganda." There would seem to be some hints of its applicability, though, in a mission statement obtained by the AP. It reads: "Effective use of our nation's highly developed communications and information capabilities to address misinformation and incitement, mitigate interethnic conflict, promote independent media organizations and the free flow of information, and support democratic participation will advance our interests and is a critical foreign-policy objective."