RFK Jr Podcast CIA Propagandizing Americans with Weston Sager
May 26, 2024
Weston Sager joins RFK Jr to discuss the CIA's use of propaganda, including the historical connections between the agency and US state media, covert funding tactics, and the implications of the Smith-Mundy Act. They delve into the messaging strategies of government-funded media outlets like Voice of America, raising concerns about press freedom and government manipulation of news sites.
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Origins of U.S. Propaganda
- Modern U.S. government propaganda began with WWI's Committee on Public Information to sway public opinion for war support.
- This initiated a domestic propaganda machine using all media to shift opposition to engagement in conflict.
Smith-Mundt Act Limits Domestic Propaganda
- The 1948 Smith-Mundt Act created a peacetime international U.S. state media network to counter Soviet propaganda.
- It included a ban on broadcasting such propaganda domestically to avoid government propaganda saturating the American public.
CIA's Covert Propaganda and Art Funding
- The CIA secretly funded Radio Free Europe for 20 years to create the appearance of an organic anti-communist movement.
- They even covertly financed abstract art in the U.S. to showcase American freedom versus Soviet control.