The Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 and The Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012
A Brief History Lesson
What is The Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 and The Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012? As I sit here and reflect on the information we receive en masse on a daily basis, one has to wonder how much of it is actual truth and how much of it is propaganda? If you have not embarked on the series Con Inc., written by Elizabeth “The Punisher” Dove, I am linking the series here for you here:
Part 1: Disinformation and Chaos for Hire
Part 2: Agents of Chaos and the Rabbit Hole That Led Me To Them
Part 3: Connections of Chaos and The Red Pilled Antifa
Part 4: Con Inc. And Money For Chaos
This will help you understand how deep the rabbit hole goes regarding the propaganda. This piece is meant as a side note, if you will, to that series. Last year (2022), I was listening to The Mel K Show on Rumble. In one of her videos she discusses this very topic. I had never heard of it until I listened to that episode. You can search her Rumble channel or her website for the episode. She explained it in such a way that once I was able to understand what the scope and the depth of the seriousness regarding these particular pieces of legislation, it brought so much into sharper focus.
https://rumble.com/c/TheMelKShow
The original Act was passed in 1948, during the Eightieth Congress, Second Session https://www.usagm.gov/who-we-are/oversight/legislation/smith-mundt/. While most of it is the typical long drawn out writing, Title V tends to stand out. While it looks benign, when you take a closer look and break down the actual wording (words matter) you can see it actually gives the Federal Government sweeping power to disseminate information about our Country and our Citizens to other nations to paint our Country in a positive light, in other words, propaganda.
https://www.usagm.gov/who-we-are/oversight/legislation/smith-mundt/
For decades, a so-called anti-propaganda law prevented the U.S. government’s mammoth broadcasting arm from delivering programming to American audiences. But on July 2, that came silently to an end with the implementation of a new reform passed in January. The result: an unleashing of thousands of hours per week of government-funded radio and TV programs for domestic U.S. consumption in a reform initially criticized as a green light for U.S. domestic propaganda efforts.
FP: U.S. Repeals Propaganda Ban, Spreads Government-Made News to Americans
DISSEMINATING INFORMATION ABOUT THE UNITED STATES ABROAD
GENERAL AUTHORIZATION
501 The Secretary is authorized, when he finds it appropriate, to provide for the preparation, and dissemination abroad, of information about the United States, its people, and its policies, through press, publications, radio, motion pictures, and other information media, and through information centers and instructors abroad. Any such press release or radio script, on request, shall be available in the English language at the Department of State, at all reasonable times following its release as information abroad, for examination by representatives of United States press associations, newspapers, magazines, radio systems, and stations, and, on request, shall be made available to Members of Congress.
POLICIES GOVERNING INFORMATION ACTIVITIES
502 In authorizing international information activities under this Act, it is the sense of the Congress (1) that the Secretary shall reduce such Government information activities whenever corresponding private information dissemination is found to be adequate; (2) that nothing in this Act shall be construed to give the Department a monopoly in the production or sponsorship on the air of short-wave broadcasting programs, or a monopoly m any other medium of information.
However, it was understood that utilizing propaganda on the American Citizens was not allowed. When you look at other parts of this legislation, that doesn't seem to be the case. For example, when you look at Title VI, it establishes two commissions.
ADVISORY COMMISSIONS TO FORMULATE POLICIES
601 There are hereby created two advisory commissions, (1) United States Advisory Commission on Information (hereinafter in this referred to as the Commission on Information) and (2) United States Advisory Commission on Educational Exchange (hereinafter in this referred to as the Commission on Educational Exchange) to be constituted as provided in section 602. The Commissions shall formulate and recommend to the Secretary policies and programs for the carrying out of this Act: Provided, however, That the commissions created by this section shall have no authority over the Board of Foreign Scholarships or the program created by Public Law 584 of the Seventy-ninth Congress, enacted August 1, 1946, or the United States National Commission for UNESCO.
602 MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMISSIONS; GENERAL PROVISIONS
(a) Each Commission shall consist of five members, not more than three of whom shall be from any one political party. Members shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. No person holding any compensated Federal or State office shall be eligible for appointment.
(b) The members of the Commission on Information shall represent the public interest, and shall be selected from a cross section of professional, business, and public service backgrounds.
(c) The members of the Commission on Educational Exchange shall represent the public interest and shall be selected from a cross section of educational, cultural, scientific, technical, and public service backgrounds.
(d) The term of each member appointed under subsection (a) of this section shall be three years, except that the terms of office of such members first taking office on each Commission shall expire, as designated by the President at the time of appointment, two at the end of one year, two at the end of two years, and one at the end of three years from the date of the enactment of this Act. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which his predecessor is appointed shall be appointed for the remainder of such term. Upon the expiration of his term of office any member may continue to serve until his successor is appointed and has qualified.
(e) The President shall designate a chairman for each Commission from among members of the Commission.
(f) The members of the Commissions shall receive no compensation for their services as such members but shall be entitled to reimbursement for travel and subsistence in connection with attendance of meetings of the Commissions away from their places of residences, as provided in subsection (6) of section 801 of this Act.
(g) The Commissions are authorized to adopt such rules and regulations as they may deem necessary to carry out the authority conferred upon them by this title.
(h) The Department is authorized to provide the necessary secretarial and clerical assistance for the Commissions.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND REPORTS
603 The Commissions shall meet not less frequently than once each month during the first six months after their establishment, and thereafter at such intervals as the Commissions find advisable, and shall transmit to the Secretary a quarterly report, and to the Congress a semiannual report of all programs and activities carried on under the authority of this Act, including appraisals, where feasible, as to the effectiveness of the several programs, and such recommendations as shall have been made by the Commissions to the Secretary for effectuating the purposes and objectives of this Act and the action taken to carry out such recommendations.
In addition, Title X – Section 1005 states:
UTILIZATION OF PRIVATE AGENCIES
1005 In carrying out the provisions of this Act it shall be the duty of the Secretary to utilize, to the maximum extent practicable, the services and facilities of private agencies, including existing American press, publishing, radio, motion picture, and other agencies, through contractual arrangements or otherwise. It is the intent of Congress that the Secretary shall encourage participation in carrying out the purposes of this Act by the maximum number of different private agencies in each field consistent with the present or potential market for their services in each country.
Title X – Section 1009 gives the Department of State the jurisdiction:
REGULATORY PROVISIONS TO APPLY TO ALL INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION ACTIVITIES AND EDUCATIONAL EXCHANGES OF STATE DEPARTMENT
1009 All provisions in this Act regulating the administration of international information activities and educational exchanges provided herein, shall apply to all such international activities under jurisdiction of the Department of State.
That was, until Barack Obama was the President of the United States. Towards the end of his first term and into his second term, Obama had the Smith-Mundt Act revised – which we now know as The Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012.
The fact that the Secretary of State has jurisdiction over the Smith-Mundt Act and the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act is especially telling. If we go back and look at who was serving during this time, we know John Kerry was the S.O.S. At the time. What we see below, as detailed in the fourth installment of the series by Elizabeth “The Punisher” Dove, Con Inc., is that David Duckenfield, a partner at Balsera Communications, took a leave of absence from the company to work for John Kerry at the State Department. Balsera Communications is the same PR firm that was linked to Miami Against Fascism in her article. Now, I pose to you this question – when did we start to see an uptick in the propaganda under Obama? To my recollection, it was around this time. But it was subtle. Bit by little bit. Some of us knew something was off – something was happening, but we couldn't pinpoint it. Well, now we know.
“Just how connected to the White House is Freddy Balsera?
Balsera is a lobbyist and PR consultant who runs Miami-based Balsera Communications, and he has a “unique proficiency” in peddling political narratives to the public, according to his bio page on the firm’s website. His partners at the PR firm include David Duckenfield, who took a leave from Balsera Communications to work in a senior job at the State Department under John Kerry between 2014 and 2016.
He’s also a director of Correct The Record, a Super PAC that closely coordinates with Hillary’s campaign and that put together a “rapid response team” that attacks Hillary’s critics. The group spent at least $1 million to target social media users and heavily pushed the “Bernie Bros” meme, which suggested that Sanders’ supporters were mostly deplorable misogynists.
Correct the Record was created by David Brock, the professional propagandist who also set up Media Matters.
Observer: Clinton Surrogate Helped Get Argentine ‘Dirty Money’ Into the U.S.
Does Balsera Communications engage in dark PR campaigns or Disinformation for Hire campaigns? There is a lot more that could be said about Freddy Balsera and Balsera Communications that I haven't included here. However, I think enough has been said that you can make that judgment call yourself.”
Con Inc. and the Red Pilled Antifa Part 4: Con Inc and Money for Chaos
There is a video I found very informative (Credit to Truth VS The Agenda @truthvstheagenda5998) ) and have linked here:
I think you all get the gist of what has taken place over the last 10 years since this was signed into law by Obama in 2013. I will leave this to you, the reader, to do your research and have your own understanding and discernment about what has become of this since the propaganda machine has been turned on us, the American citizens.
Additional Resources and Research:
Smith-Mundt: Confront Propaganda http://www.smithmundt.com/
Smith-Mundt: Confront Propaganda About Us http://www.smithmundt.com/about/
River Cities' Reader: The Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012
https://www.rcreader.com/commentary/smith-mundt-modernization-act-2012
Reddit: The Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012 and the Ugly Truth Discussion