sharon sanders
Editor-in-Chief & President
It is a really great thing that the US government comes closer to controlling what we think because I am tired of making my own decisions anyway.
Here is a statement from one of the Senators that sponsored the bill in early December:
Press Releases
Home / Newsroom / Press Releases
December 08, 2016
Senate Passes Major Portman-Murphy Counter-Propaganda Bill as Part of NDAA
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) today announced that their Countering Disinformation and Propaganda Act – legislation designed to help American allies counter foreign government propaganda from Russia, China, and other nations – has passed the Senate as part of the FY 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Conference Report. The bipartisan bill, which was introduced by Senators Portman and Murphy in March, will improve the ability of the United States to counter foreign propaganda and disinformation by establishing an interagency center housed at the State Department to coordinate and synchronize counter-propaganda efforts throughout the U.S. government. To support these efforts, the bill also creates a grant program for NGOs, think tanks, civil society and other experts outside government who are engaged in counter-propaganda related work. This will better leverage existing expertise and empower local communities to defend themselves from foreign manipulation.
“The passage of this bill in the Senate today takes us one critical step closer to effectively confronting the extensive, and destabilizing, foreign propaganda and disinformation operations being waged against us. While the propaganda and disinformation threat has grown, the U.S. government has been asleep at the wheel. Today we are finally signaling that enough is enough; the United States will no longer sit on the sidelines. We are going to confront this threat head-on,” said Senator Portman. “With the help of this bipartisan bill, the disinformation and propaganda used against our allies and our interests will fail.”
“Congress has taken a big step in fighting back against fake news and propaganda from countries like Russia. When the president signs this bill into law, the United States will finally have a dedicated set of tools and resources to confront our adversaries’ widespread efforts to spread false narratives that undermine democratic institutions and compromise America’s foreign policy goals,” said Murphy. “I’m proud of what Senator Portman and I accomplished here because it’s long past time for the U.S. to get off the sidelines and confront these growing threats.”
NOTE: The bipartisan Countering Disinformation and Propaganda Act is organized around two main priorities to help achieve the goal of combatting the constantly evolving threat of foreign disinformation. They are as follows:
http://www.portman.senate.gov/public...A-A265F4B5692C
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I believe this bill is a response to the US citizens snubbing their noses at the entrenched power elite. Looking to suppress information, a new law has been passed to prevent the free press (social media) from maintaining any hold on information. No matter how anyone feels about the new US President, it is remarkable that someone without party backing and a low budget (comparatively) was elected to any national office.
The US government will be funding efforts to knock down opinion, ideas, thoughts, that are not sanctioned. What does this sound like? China.
Welcome Comrades.
How dare 60 million people vote for the non-ordained? They must be idiots so the answer is to further the control the media. The main stream media is already largely controlled at the national level.
Let's all blame Russia. How about China? How about the Martians?
It always sounds good to make a sanction against the enemy - until the enemy is you.
What has been going on for years is now official. The US government will be publicly funding campaigns to bring us the truth because we are too stupid to know it ourselves.
I have been on the internet for 11 years. I have seen a lot. I can tell you that the US government, along with many other entities, have been waging a war for your hearts and minds by implementing fake sites, fake personas, all types of disinformation. The first campaign that I became aware of was the campaign against wild migratory birds spreading flu. The people fighting this concept online were not all bird lovers and environmentalists. Some were plants by various entities trying to sway the conversation away from a potential uncontrollable pandemic.
After the governments, corporations and their trade groups joined in. A total melee was on the internet in the early days. It was difficult to discern between the real individuals and all of the plants. Most everyone used a fake name (moniker).
As the internet grew up, informal standards were applied such as requiring a link to substantiate a point. After a few years everyone "discovered" social media. Facebook, twitter, and other sites became normal routine. Everyone developed a blog.
It became easier to weigh and balance argument.
Social media became a real threat to the controlled dogma of the power elites in main stream media.
And now we pay for it.
FluTrackers will remain the same. This site tries to find and publish information about threats to human health. Universal Declaration of Human Rights is part of our mission statement. An excerpt:
"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."
Read all you can. Use more than one source for your information. Be critical. Analyze.
And remember - we live in a surveillance state.
Merry Christmas.
Here is a statement from one of the Senators that sponsored the bill in early December:
Press Releases
Home / Newsroom / Press Releases
December 08, 2016
Senate Passes Major Portman-Murphy Counter-Propaganda Bill as Part of NDAA
Portman/Murphy Bill Promotes Coordinated Strategy to Defend America, Allies Against Propaganda and Disinformation from Russia, China & Others
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) today announced that their Countering Disinformation and Propaganda Act – legislation designed to help American allies counter foreign government propaganda from Russia, China, and other nations – has passed the Senate as part of the FY 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Conference Report. The bipartisan bill, which was introduced by Senators Portman and Murphy in March, will improve the ability of the United States to counter foreign propaganda and disinformation by establishing an interagency center housed at the State Department to coordinate and synchronize counter-propaganda efforts throughout the U.S. government. To support these efforts, the bill also creates a grant program for NGOs, think tanks, civil society and other experts outside government who are engaged in counter-propaganda related work. This will better leverage existing expertise and empower local communities to defend themselves from foreign manipulation.
“The passage of this bill in the Senate today takes us one critical step closer to effectively confronting the extensive, and destabilizing, foreign propaganda and disinformation operations being waged against us. While the propaganda and disinformation threat has grown, the U.S. government has been asleep at the wheel. Today we are finally signaling that enough is enough; the United States will no longer sit on the sidelines. We are going to confront this threat head-on,” said Senator Portman. “With the help of this bipartisan bill, the disinformation and propaganda used against our allies and our interests will fail.”
“Congress has taken a big step in fighting back against fake news and propaganda from countries like Russia. When the president signs this bill into law, the United States will finally have a dedicated set of tools and resources to confront our adversaries’ widespread efforts to spread false narratives that undermine democratic institutions and compromise America’s foreign policy goals,” said Murphy. “I’m proud of what Senator Portman and I accomplished here because it’s long past time for the U.S. to get off the sidelines and confront these growing threats.”
NOTE: The bipartisan Countering Disinformation and Propaganda Act is organized around two main priorities to help achieve the goal of combatting the constantly evolving threat of foreign disinformation. They are as follows:
- The first priority is developing a whole-of-government strategy for countering foreign propaganda and disinformation. The bill would increase the authority, resources, and mandate of the Global Engagement Center to include state actors like Russia and China in addition to violent extremists. The Center will be led by the State Department, but with the active senior level participation of the Department of Defense, USAID, the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the Intelligence Community, and other relevant agencies. The Center will develop, integrate, and synchronize whole-of-government initiatives to expose and counter foreign disinformation operations and proactively advance fact-based narratives that support U.S. allies and interests.
- Second, the legislation seeks to leverage expertise from outside government to create more adaptive and responsive U.S. strategy options. The legislation establishes a fund to help train local journalists and provide grants and contracts to NGOs, civil society organizations, think tanks, private sector companies, media organizations, and other experts outside the U.S. government with experience in identifying and analyzing the latest trends in foreign government disinformation techniques. This fund will complement and support the Center’s role by integrating capabilities and expertise available outside the U.S. government into the strategy-making process. It will also empower a decentralized network of private sector experts and integrate their expertise into the strategy-making process.
http://www.portman.senate.gov/public...A-A265F4B5692C
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I believe this bill is a response to the US citizens snubbing their noses at the entrenched power elite. Looking to suppress information, a new law has been passed to prevent the free press (social media) from maintaining any hold on information. No matter how anyone feels about the new US President, it is remarkable that someone without party backing and a low budget (comparatively) was elected to any national office.
The US government will be funding efforts to knock down opinion, ideas, thoughts, that are not sanctioned. What does this sound like? China.
Welcome Comrades.
How dare 60 million people vote for the non-ordained? They must be idiots so the answer is to further the control the media. The main stream media is already largely controlled at the national level.
Let's all blame Russia. How about China? How about the Martians?
It always sounds good to make a sanction against the enemy - until the enemy is you.
What has been going on for years is now official. The US government will be publicly funding campaigns to bring us the truth because we are too stupid to know it ourselves.
I have been on the internet for 11 years. I have seen a lot. I can tell you that the US government, along with many other entities, have been waging a war for your hearts and minds by implementing fake sites, fake personas, all types of disinformation. The first campaign that I became aware of was the campaign against wild migratory birds spreading flu. The people fighting this concept online were not all bird lovers and environmentalists. Some were plants by various entities trying to sway the conversation away from a potential uncontrollable pandemic.
After the governments, corporations and their trade groups joined in. A total melee was on the internet in the early days. It was difficult to discern between the real individuals and all of the plants. Most everyone used a fake name (moniker).
As the internet grew up, informal standards were applied such as requiring a link to substantiate a point. After a few years everyone "discovered" social media. Facebook, twitter, and other sites became normal routine. Everyone developed a blog.
It became easier to weigh and balance argument.
Social media became a real threat to the controlled dogma of the power elites in main stream media.
And now we pay for it.
FluTrackers will remain the same. This site tries to find and publish information about threats to human health. Universal Declaration of Human Rights is part of our mission statement. An excerpt:
"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."
Read all you can. Use more than one source for your information. Be critical. Analyze.
And remember - we live in a surveillance state.
Merry Christmas.