How do you define propaganda?

DINFOS Bogeymen

Can’t propagandize

Can’t advertise

Can’t lobby congress

Can’t influence the U.S. Public

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BLUF: Statutory Restrictions

1. Self-aggrandizement

2. Aid a political party or candidate

3. Covert propaganda

4. Grassroots lobbying

Agenda

What is propaganda?

What are our constraints?

Statutory

Regulatory

So what?

Effective PA

News stories on mil propaganda

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Introduction

COL Bryan Hilferty

West Point Dir. of Communications

G-1 PAO 2004-2007

10th Mountain PAO 2001-2004

Afghanistan 2002, 2003-4

US Army Alaska PAO 1999-2001

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A combination of factors has reversed the situation to the point where the bulk of the Western media in the country are ensconced in coalition camps as little more than purveyors of propaganda.

The bulk of them are at the coalition bases at Bagram, north of Kabul, and Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. They are registered, fed and accommodated by the coalition and given briefings so minimalist as to qualify as works of art.

Times of London May 10, 2002

Define Propaganda

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Define Propaganda

Deliberately and deviously communicating

untruths to manipulate the public and

make them agree to evil

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Define Propaganda

The systematic propagation of a doctrine or cause

or of information reflecting the views and

interests of those advocating such a doctrine or

cause.The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language,

Fourth Edition

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What is PA?

Public Affairs – Those public information, command information, and community relations activities directed toward both the external and internal publics with interest in the Department of Defense.

Public Information -- Information of a military nature, the dissemination of which through public news media is not inconsistent with security, and the release of which is considered desirable or nonobjectionable to the responsible releasing agency.

AW FM 1-02, Operational Terms and Graphics and Joint Pub 1-02 DoD Dictionary

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What is PA?

FM 3.0 Operations, Para 7-14:

Although all information engagement

activities are completely truthful,

public affairs is unique. It has a

statutory responsibility to factually

and accurately inform various

publics without intent to

propagandize or manipulate

public opinion.

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Statutes

5 U.S.C. SEC. 3107 (1970). first enacted as part of the Act of October 22, 1913, CH. 32, 38 STAT. 208, 212, Provides as follows in its codified form: “Appropriated funds may not be used to pay a publicity expertunless specifically appropriated for that purpose.”

H.R.5631 Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2007 TITLE VIII GENERAL PROVISIONS SEC. 8001. No part of any appropriation contained in this Act shall be used for publicity or propaganda purposes not authorized by the Congress.

22 U.S.C. SEC. 1461–1a Ban on domestic activities by United States Information Agency Except as provided in section 1461 of this title and this section, no funds authorized to be appropriated to the United States Information Agency shall be used to influence public opinion in the United States, and no program material prepared by the United States Information Agency shall be distributed within the United States.

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Statutory Restrictions? The terms ―publicity,‖ ―propaganda,‖ and ―publicity expert‖ have

been interpreted to forbid a very limited number of activities.

Congress has not defined the terms ―publicity,‖ ―propaganda,‖ and

―publicity expert.‖ Thus, to GAO has gone the task of delineating

what these terms encompass. GAO has done this on a case by-

case basis over the past half-century. Generally speaking, GAO

has narrowly defined these terms. It has held that the ―publicity or

propaganda‖ prohibition in appropriations laws forbids any public

relations activity that:

involves ―self-aggrandizement‖ or ―puffery‖ of the agency, its personnel, or

activities;

is ―purely partisan in nature‖ (i.e., it is ―designed to aid a political party or

candidate‖); or,

is ―covert propaganda‖ (i.e., the communication does not reveal that

government appropriations were expended to produce it).

CRS Report for Congress Public Relations and Propaganda: Restrictions on Executive Agency

Activities Updated 21Mar05

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Statutory Restrictions? GAO has interpreted ―publicity agent‖ to mean someone who

―extols or advertises‖ an agency, ―an activity quite different from disseminating information to the citizenry about the agency, its policies, practices, and products.‖

GAO does not view 5 U.S.C. § 3107 as prohibiting an agency's legitimate informational functions or legitimate promotional functions where authorized by law.

Thus construed, the laws prohibiting the hiring of publicity experts and the expenditure of appropriated funds on publicity and propaganda place very few limits on agency public relations activities.

CRS Report for Congress Public Relations and Propaganda: Restrictions on Executive Agency Activities Updated 21Mar05

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Statutory Restrictions

1. Self-aggrandizement

2. Aid a political party or candidate

3. Covert propaganda

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Statutory Restrictions?

ALSO: "No part of any funds appropriated in this or any other Act shall be used by an agency of the executive branch, other than for normal and recognized executive-legislative relationships, for publicity or propaganda purposes, and for the preparation, distribution or use of any kit, pamphlet, booklet, publication, radio, television or film presentation designed to support or defeat legislation pending before the Congress, except in presentation to the Congress itself.‖

This statute prohibits overt appeals to members of the public suggesting that they in turn contact their elected representatives to indicate support of or opposition to pending legislation, thereby expressly or implicitly urging the legislators to vote in a particular manner.

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Statutory Restrictions

1. Self-aggrandizement

2. Aid a political party or candidate

3. Covert propaganda

4. Grassroots lobbying

Examples

1. Self-aggrandizement

2. Aid a political party or candidate

3. Covert propaganda

4. Grassroots lobbying

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Regulatory Restrictions

Paragraph 5b(5), JP 3-61. ―Although commanders must designate only

military personnel or Department of Defense civilian employees as

official spokespersons, they should educate and encourage all their

military and civilian employees to tell the DOD story by providing

them with timely information that is appropriate for public release.‖

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Regulatory RestrictionsDoD Principles of Information

It is Department of Defense policy to make available timely and accurate information so that the public, the Congress, and the news media may assess and understand the facts about national security and defense strategy. Requests for information from organizations and private citizens shall be answered quickly. In carrying out that DoD policy, the following principles of information shall apply:

Information shall be made fully and readily available, consistent with statutory requirements, unless its release is precluded by national security constraints or valid statutory mandates or exceptions. The Freedom of Information Act will be supported in both letter and spirit.

A free flow of general and military information shall be made available, without censorship or propaganda, to the men and women of the Armed Forces and their dependents.

Information will not be classified or otherwise withheld to protect the Government from criticism or embarrassment.

Information shall be withheld when disclosure would adversely affect national security, threaten the safety or privacy of U.S. Government personnel or their families, violate the privacy of the citizens of the United States, or be contrary to law.

The Department of Defense's obligation to provide the public with information on DoD major programs may require detailed Public Affairs (PA) planning and coordination in the Department of Defense and with the other Government Agencies. Such activity is to expedite the flow of information to the public; propaganda has no place in DoD public affairs programs.

Moral & Ethical Restrictions

Lying

Cheating

Stealing

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So What?

Worship at the altar of the truth

Don’t be cowed into JUST providing information

Fight media BS that they are unbiased

Communicating the truth in the 21st Century is a battle

Be aggressive

Have an intent

Use Framing

Put facts into context

Break through the clutter

Understand News Value

Need flair

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SecDef on Media

―As officers, you will have a responsibility to communicate to those below you that the American military must be non-political and recognize the obligation we owe the Congress to be honest and true in our reporting to them. Especially when it involves admitting mistakes or problems.

The same is true with the press, in my view a critically important guarantor of our freedom. When the press identifies a problem in the military, our response should be to find out if the allegations are true — and if so, say so, and then act to remedy the problem. If untrue, then be able to document that fact. The press is not the enemy, and to treat it as such is self-defeating.

SecDef Gates at West Point 21Apr08

We endorse a political model of crisis management vs. the more conventional public relations approach. . . . the political model . . . assumes the threat of motivated adversaries, while the public relations model tends to view crisis as organic and resolvable through good communications. In a real crisis there are often opponents . . . These opponents don’t care whether you do the right thing; they care about defeating you.

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Journalist on Engaging Domestic Influencers

NY Times front page story Sunday 20Apr08 ―Message Machine: Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon’s Hidden Hand‖ Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Journalism

This is PA portrayed by media as IO

Was this program illegal? Was it covert?

Was this program unethical? For the military

For the media

For the analysts w/business connections

Was this program effective?

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Journalists on Engaging Foreign Audiences Covertly

LA Times front page story Sunday 30Nov05 ―US Military Covertly Pays to Run Stories in Iraqi Press‖

This is IO portrayed by media as PA

Was this program illegal?

Was it covert

Was this program unethical?

For the military

For the media

Was this program effective?

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Army to spread burden of combat

By Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY 27Oct06 page 1

WASHINGTON — The prospect of combat in Iraq for at least another four years is prompting the Army to realign its forces to prevent a small slice of soldiers who are shouldering much of the fighting from wearing out.

Pentagon records show one-fifth of the Army's active-duty troops have served multiple tours of war duty while more than 40% haven't been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.

The Army has more soldiers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan than the other services combined. It expects to complete the realignment by 2011.

About 42% of the Army's 500,000 active-duty soldiers have not deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. They include about 80,000 fresh recruits, most of whom are being trained. More than 90,000 others are in the so-called institutional Army, those who train, equip and manage soldiers.

By 2011, there will be 50,000 more troops available for deployment than in 2001. Part of that will be accomplished by having civilian Army employees take over certain jobs from soldiers, freeing them up to fight.

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Commanders Intent?

4 chains of command with not always complimentary communication goals

Commanders through Cbt Cdr to CJCS/Joint Staff, SecDef & Pres

Commanders through MACOM Cdr to CSA, SA, SecDef & Pres

Political appointees through SA to OSD, & Pres

Congress who writes laws & pays bills

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Framing

A frame in social theory consists of a schema of interpretation, that is a collection of stereotypes, that individuals rely on to understand and respond to events

Choose the language to define a debate and, more important, with fitting individual issues into the contexts of broader story lines

Use emotionally appealing narratives to rally support

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We are good guys

doing good things

for a good reason

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British Experience

Explicitly dislike and distrust

media

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British Experience

Needlessly classify everything

Isolate troops from the media

Lie to the media

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Snipe and Spin

As usual at Bagram, the Defence media team had opted for a policy of divide and rule with the natives in the press tents, and, as so often, the result was a fiasco. . . . An infuriated American reporter demanded to know why Lt. Col. Harradine had told lies to the press. The answer, insofar as I understood it, appeared to be that the British do things differently.

Julian Manyon The Spectator

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British Experience

Raise impossibly high

expectations

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This futile campaignThere was almost relief in Brigadier

Roger Lane's voice on Friday morning as he told the Today programme that they'd finally found and killed some AQT - al-Qaida/Taliban - in the remote mountain valleys of eastern Afghanistan. They had engaged their enemy, hitherto as elusive as the snow leopard, and around 1,000 British soldiers were being flown in for the battle. Twenty-four hours later, Operation Condor, as it was named, looked about as farcical as every other operation in Afghanistan has done in the past six months.

Madeleine Bunting, The Guardian, May 20, 2002

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British Experience

Result: Mission Failure

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Britain to withdraw Marines after failure to catch al-Qa'eda

The government is to withdraw most of its fighting troops from Afghanistan following the failure of the Royal Marines to kill or capture any members of al-Qa'eda or the Taliban.

All 1,560 members of 45 Commando battle group and most of the 1,300 British peacekeepers based in Kabul will be brought home by the end of July.

Sean Rayment, The Telegraph (London) 09/06/2002

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Conclusion

Public Affairs is truthful mass

communications in order to

accomplish the unit mission

PA is the most effective IO weapon

There are little statutory

restrictions on PA

BACKUP SLIDES

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Commercial Media

DoD can’t do mass communications better than the commercial mass media/Social Media universe

Media is like terrain, it is there and effects the battle—if you do not use or ignore it, the enemy will use it to their advantage

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How we get media to publish what we want

Say it, Say it again, Say it again,

Say it again

Marketing

Be interesting, be quotable

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Be interesting; be quotable

US Major Brian Hilferty, a spokesman for the US-led coalition, said the forces had secured control over the Shahi Kot valley but that some Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters remained.

"Do you have every single bit of every place covered? No. ... But if I was an Al Qaeda guy, I wouldn’t go out for pizza," he said.

March 10, 2001

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How we get media to publish what we want

Keep them near you—they will

listen to and record what you say

Be a good source

React to their needs

Tell them your concerns

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Strategic Communications

Focused United States Government efforts to understand and engage key audiences to create, strengthen, or preserve conditions favorable for the advancement of United States Government interests, policies, and objectives through the use of coordinated programs, plans, themes, messages, and products synchronized with the actions of all instruments of national power

Real definition: Control of all communications emanating from an organization so our people say what we want them to say and other people believe what we say

Alternate Definition: Magic dust that makes sows’ ears into silk purses

Hilferty’s Law: The more an organization talks about STRATCOM, the less it communicates

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Strategic communication is a sustained and coherent set of activities that include:

understanding identities, attitudes, behaviors, and cultures; media rends and information flows; social and influence networks; political, social, economic, and religious motivations

advising policymakers, diplomats, and military commanders on the public opinion and communication implications of their strategic and policy choices—and on the best ways to communicate their strategies and policies

engaging in a dialogue of ideas between people and institutions that support national interests and, wherever possible, common interests and shared values

influencing attitudes and behavior through communication strategies supported by a broad range of government and civil society activities measuring the impact of activities comprehensively and over time

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STRATCOM Lessons Learned

Actions trump words

Partners count

Messenger authority

Language matters

Speed counts

Relationships are critical

Coordination is critical

Trusted voices

Images matter

Endurance counts

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PA vs IO

PA is IO but IO isn’t PA

IO doesn’t have to have full disclosure

PA does

IO relies on the truth

PA does too

IO doesn’t need truth all the time

PA does

IO is targeted and has an intended effect

PA does too

IO targets foreign/enemy audiences

PA does too

IO doesn’t target US/Allied audiences

PA does

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What is effective PA?

A truthful communication that has

an effect on a specific audience

Define the effect you want on your

target audience-- What do you

really want to happen?

Context is our goal

Military PAO’s are by definition powerful,

and we have a moral imperative to honor

the truth-the complete truth.

There is a danger that empowered PAOs

will lie and engage in deceitful

communications practices and end up

destroying the republic.

But the alternative, our enemies control

the information environment, is equally

dangerous to the republic.

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How to do effective PA?

Meet your Commanders IntentNest task and purpose

Don’t think the bureaucracy can reinvent the wheel--celebrate and use existing media

Understand the Information EnvironmentUnderstand & Use Framing

Understand & Use News Value• Find what is interesting

• Be quotable

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Factors determining “News Value”

TIMELINESS: Is it new?

ODDITY: Is it unusual?

CONFLICT: Is there opposition between people or forces?

SUSPENSE: Is the outcome undecided?

IMPACT: Does it affect me? The nation/world?

PROXIMITY: Is it happening close to the audience?

PROMINENCE: Are well-known persons involved?

EMOTION: Is there human interest, sex, kids, animals?

VISUAL: Is there movement/action? # 1 for television

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GEN Casey’s 11 Flat Out Rules for Information Engagement

Leaders have to lead in info engagement—PAO’s assist, but it is the leaders job to market, communicate their unit/program

Message, audience, frequency—think of these in order to communicate effectively

Don’t forget your internal audiences

A picture is worth a thousand words

Get your message out while interest in high

Get to know the media

Don’t overcentralize

Assessment is hard but essential.

Understand your audience

Candor in all things

You will not always get it right, but keep swinging. (All senior leaders have been screwed by the media, so they understand)

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10USC3083 Public Affairs Specialty

There is a career field in the Army known as the

Public Affairs Specialty. Members of the Army with

the Public Affairs Specialty are

(1) The Chief of Public Affairs

(2) Commissioned officers of the Army in the grade

of major or above who are selected and

specifically educated, trained, and experienced

to perform as professional public affairs officers

for the remainder of their careers; and

(3) Other members of the Armyh assigned to public

affairs postions by the Secretary of the Army.