The article goes on to say:
The new law would give sweeping powers to the State Department and Pentagon to push television, radio, newspaper, and social media onto the U.S. public. “It removes the protection for Americans,” says a Pentagon official who is concerned about the law. “It removes oversight from the people who want to put out this information. There are no checks and balances. No one knows if the information is accurate, partially accurate, or entirely false.”
It is illegal to target Americans with Propaganda based on the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 and Foreign Relations Authorization Act of 1987. The new measure seeks to overturn these laws.
The new bill is troubling also because there is little debate about it (unlike the two acts mentioned above); it is being quietly and discreetly rammed through congress while the rest of the country is busy doing...well, whatever it is they are doing. Arguing about Gay Marriage, I guess. Fiddling while Rome burns.
All this comes just as the Pentagon is ramping up its information warfare capabilities, throwing unprecidented money and sophistication into efforts to sway public opinion. The internet and social networks will be targeted with new force. The article specifically mentions the rolling out of "sock puppets," or what people around these parts tend to call "shilling." Get ready to see a whole lot more of it, and more sophisticated shilling techniques, too. All kinds of psych warfare chops will be brought to bear on the issues at hand.
Do you want the government conducing an "information war" on you, and all that entails, whout even the figleaf of legal restraint?
I know I don't.
www.buzzfeed.com
(visit the link for the full news article)
