The Smith-Mundt Act

    Named for Representative Senator Karl Mundt, the bill was introduced in January 1945 and signed into law in January 1948. The Smith-Mundt Act origins trace back to World War II, in an effort to consolidate wartime propaganda. This law prohibited the U.S. Department of state and the broadcasting board of governors from spreading information within the U.S. This law was implemented out of fear that the government produced programming by networks, such as the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe, would "propagandize" the American people. 

    With the arrival of the 21st century, along came the technology of the 21st century. With the wide accessibility of the internet. Unlike material produced in the past, anyone in the world could access this misinformation. In 2012, President Obama adopted the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act which did not authorize broadcasting or the creation of programming for U.S. audiences by the U.S. government but it did allow requested content to be released within the United States. From the U.S. Agency for Global Media, The modernized law will let people across America see and hear the valuable news reported by the Agency’s accomplished journalists. It takes into account modern content platforms that are not restricted by national boundaries, such as the Internet, mobile delivery, and satellite broadcasting. The modernization of Smith-Mundt will facilitate global connectivity and audience engagement and will provide greater transparency into publicly-funded broadcasting. 

    The question now is deciding if we still need an anti-propaganda law for citizens' protection? Are these laws based on the assumption that we are not educated and cannot analyze the validity of news stories? To answer this question, I do believe that there are many people on all parts of the political spectrum who will believe fake news just because "I read it online it must so it must be true." But also because there is so much fake news on the internet now, it's hard to know what to believe. These implications of the Smith-Mundt act can be seen in a positive light because they help to debunk any falsified news but. These can also be seen in a negative light because of the perception a majority of our country has on anything and everything controlled by the U.S. government. Everything just becomes oddly suspicious when the government controls it. Because of this negativity, people would strongly dislike having their news fed to them through the government. I feel that the rich would see it as trustworthy if it benefited them, and then the poor would see it as some sort of "Big Brother" act. With this possible change, I feel that after a long period of time where we were able to adapt as a society, we would get to a place where politics weren't seen as a game. People would seek out each candidate's views and vote for them because they support the betterment of our nation. Going back to the beginning of the semester, that is why we must all read our news from credible sites that feature information from all parts of the political spectrum as well as double-check out information on site like Snopes.

References

Thornberry, M. (2012, May 10). H.R.5736 - 112th Congress (2011-2012): Smith-Mundt 

Modernization Act of 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2020, from https://www.congress.gov/bill/112th-congress/house-bill/5736

United States Agency for Global Media. (2020). Retrieved November 10, 2020, from 

https://www.usagm.gov/who-we-are/oversight/legislation/smith-mundt-faqs/