Politics

/

ArcaMax

US and Russia engage in a digital battle for hearts and minds

Jennifer Grygiel, Associate Professor of Communications (Social Media), Syracuse University, The Conversation on

Published in Political News

But this doesn’t mean that RT is “able to dispense with facts all together,” as propaganda often leverages truthful bits of information, nor that it is strictly anti-American. In 2010, for instance, RT published an interview containing accusations that the Republicans were exploiting racial fears ahead of midterm elections. Then RT publicly defended the Obama administration against Fox News host Glenn Beck‘s accusations that Obama was turning the United States into a socialist country. Propaganda works by supporting themes that are in popular discourse at the time. It does not necessarily follow a linear path and may be counterintuitive at times.

In the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, RT was blocked in many nations around the world to limit the spread of Russian propaganda. Nevertheless, RT continues to publish its content, especially in less developed countries where the Russian government is working to increase its international reputation and influence.

Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty are the U.S. government’s primary international media outlets, though there are other channels as well.

In 1942, during World War II, the U.S. government established VOA to broadcast pro-Allied messages and to combat Nazi propaganda abroad. In the 1950s, the CIA founded RFE/RL to counter Soviet propaganda in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union.

Both outlets are now overseen by the U.S. Agency for Global Media, a part of the executive branch of the federal government. The agency receives over US$800 million in annual funding from Congress.

Similar to RT, VOA and RFE/RL claim that they are independent media outlets. In support of that claim, they often point to a vaguely defined “firewall” that is supposed to shield their editorial integrity from U.S. government influence.

 

But the firewall is often strained under the weight of political pressure. In 2020, President Donald Trump’s newly appointed CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media rescinded the firewall regulation, which compromised VOA’s independence in advance of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. In 2021, the firewall was legislatively strengthened, but questions remain about its effectiveness at preventing government influence.

Governmental influence over the editorial direction of U.S. state media can also come through legislation. In 2021, Congress introduced a bill that would instruct the agency to “facilitate the unhindered dissemination of information to Islamic majority countries on issues regarding the human rights and religious freedom of Uyghurs.”

Additional editorial pressure comes from federal law. VOA material must be “consistent” with U.S. foreign policy objectives, “represent America,” “present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively” and include editorials that reflect the views of the U.S. government. Under the same law, RFE/RL is required to support the U.S. government abroad. Additionally, federal law also more pointedly provides a new pathway for folding this into a larger outlet that would be expressly required to “counter state-sponsored propaganda which undermines the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States and its allies.”

VOA and RFE/RL have a history of providing slanted and incomplete portrayals of major events and issues. Scholarship has highlighted how, during the Cold War, RFE spread “rumors as fact” and displayed a “consistent pattern of downplaying or ignoring evidence that contradicted RFE’s vision of Eastern Europe as a totalitarian dystopia” early in the Cold War.

...continued

swipe to next page

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus