LEO STUDY:
Question:
Did the US Congress pass a law allowing the Mass Media to dish out Propaganda instead of Respected Journalism?
ANSWER:
No, the US Congress did not pass a law allowing mainstream mass media to broadcast propaganda instead of news.
This common misconception stems from a misunderstanding of a real law passed in 2013 called the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act, which was included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2013.
The Law in Context:
The original Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 was created during the Cold War to govern U.S. public diplomacy. It authorized government-funded agencies—like the Voice of America (VOA)—to broadcast news and information to foreign audiences to counter Soviet influence. Crucially, the 1948 law banned these government agencies from distributing their content domestically out of fear that the federal government might try to propagandize American citizens.
What Changed in 2013?
The 2013 Modernization Act did not give private corporations permission to lie or create propaganda. Instead, it lifted the strict domestic ban on U.S. government-run broadcasting agencies (such as VOA).
The Reason:
With the rise of the internet, the domestic ban had become completely obsolete. A person living in New York could easily look up a VOA article or broadcast online, technically making the digital availability of that content illegal under old law.
The New Rule:
The modernized law allows these state-funded networks to make their material available to American media outlets or academic institutions upon request.
The Propaganda Ban Remains:
The law still explicitly states that funds appropriated for the State Department or the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) cannot be used to influence domestic public opinion or actively market/target materials to American audiences.
Summary:
The law applies strictly to government-funded media intended for international audiences, not the domestic private media (like CNN, Fox News, or MSNBC). Private news entities are protected under the First Amendment’s freedom of the press. Congress has no legal mechanism to control their standards or “allow” them to publish propaganda, as the government is constitutionally barred from censoring or dictating the editorial content of independent private news organizations.
THE CIA’s INVOLVMENT:
Question:
Did the CIA put embeds into mass media outlets to direct the propaganda use?
Answer:
Yes, historically, the CIA did exactly that.
During the height of the Cold War, the CIA ran a covert operation to recruit journalists, plant stories, and influence major news organizations to direct anti-communist propaganda.
Operation Mockingbird and the Cold War:
Beginning in the late 1940s and early 1950s, the CIA established a highly secretive program that journalists and researchers later termed Operation Mockingbird. The agency’s first director of covert operations, Frank Wisner, famously referred to this network of media influence as his “Mighty Wurlitzer,” an organ he could play to blast any propaganda tune he wanted across the globe.
The Scope:
The CIA recruited leading American journalists, columnists, and editors, sometimes with the explicit consent of corporate media executives and sometimes covertly.
The Outlets:
Declassified documents and investigative reports eventually linked the program to major networks and publications, including The New York Times, Time Magazine, CBS News, and The Washington Post.
The Method:
The CIA didn’t necessarily physically force its way into newsrooms; instead, it built an interlocking web of relationships. It provided funding, gave reporters exclusive “scoops” (which were sometimes fabricated or heavily distorted to fit U.S. geopolitical goals), and placed agency assets inside wire services to make sure specific narratives were amplified worldwide.
How Was It Exposed?
In 1975, following the Watergate scandal and a series of explosive investigative reports by journalist Seymour Hersh, the U.S. Senate formed the Church Committee to investigate illegal domestic activities by intelligence agencies.
The Church Committee’s 1976 report confirmed that the CIA maintained a network of several hundred foreign and domestic individuals who provided intelligence and attempted to influence public opinion through covert propaganda. Shortly after, legendary Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein published a massive exposé in Rolling Stone revealing that more than 400 American press members had secretly carried out assignments or maintained active relationships with the CIA over the preceding decades.
What Happened Next?
In response to the massive public backlash from the Church Committee hearings, then-CIA Director (and future president) George H.W. Bush implemented a new policy in 1976: The CIA would no longer pay or recruit accredited U.S. journalists for covert operations.
While the direct “vouchering” of mainstream American reporters was officially banned, the relationship between intelligence agencies and the media evolved:
Foreign Outlets:
The CIA continued to manipulate and fund foreign media operations outside the U.S. to influence overseas elections and geopolitical events.
The “Consultant” Era:
Today, rather than using hidden “embeds,” the relationship is entirely out in the open. It is incredibly common for major cable news networks (like CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News) to hire former high-ranking intelligence officials—such as former CIA Directors or National Security Analysts—as on-air commentators and paid consultants to shape public analysis on national security issues.
