Abstract

Government propaganda has been a topic of interest since America was founded, and today is no exception. Every recent Presidential Administration has been accused of using taxpayer dollars to fund propaganda. Although the funding of propaganda has been prohibited by the Consolidated Appropriations Act since 1951, it still occurs frequently. There is no entity that reviews government correspondence before it is released to the public, so government agencies are free to produce what they feel is appropriate even if it is prohibited by the Act. Furthermore, there is no law that specifically forbids government propaganda, and the current punishments amount to a slap on the wrist making the production covert propaganda worth the risk. This thesis will also look at the Smith-Mundt Act and the media that it funds for foreign audiences. The material produced through this Act is banned from being disseminated in the U.S. The Smith-Mundt Act's ban does not take into account for the technological advances that have occurred since 1948 making the ban problematic for public diplomacy. The intent of this thesis is to evaluate the current state of government propaganda and determine what changes need to occur in order to curtail or eliminate government propaganda. This research will analyze the current laws and types of propaganda that are being used while taking into account the relevant history, frequently used types, and methods of propaganda.

Notes

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Thesis Completion

2012

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Wood, Robert

Degree

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

College

College of Health and Public Affairs

Degree Program

Legal Studies

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Health and Public Affairs;Health and Public Affairs -- Dissertations, Academic

Format

PDF

Identifier

CFH0004238

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Document Type

Honors in the Major Thesis

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Included in

Legal Studies Commons

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