Thursday, May 20, 2004Taxpayer funded illegal covert propagandaFrom the Center for American Progress: The non-partisan General Accounting Office (GAO) found that the Bush administration engaged in illegal, covert propaganda when it produced fake news segments about the new Medicare law and distributed them to local television stations. The segment featured individuals purporting to be Washington reporters who were, in fact, "paid with federal funds through a contractor to report the message." The GAO found that the news segments were "not strictly factual news stories as HHS [the Department of Health and Human Service] contends," and, just like their multi-million dollar advertising campaign, contained "notable omissions and weaknesses." The fake news segments were broadcast, in whole or in part, on 40 stations in 33 markets across the country. When the investigation was launched, Bush administration spokesman Kevin Keane mocked the allegations that the fake news segments were illegal. Keane said "The use of video news releases is a common, routine practice in government and the private sector. Anyone who has questions about this practice needs to do some research on modern public information tools." The GAO concluded, however, that the conduct Keane was defending violated two federal laws and improperly expended at least $44,000 of taxpayer money. Nevertheless, the Bush administration has indicated it is unlikely it would comply with the GAO ruling. The latest incident is part of a pattern of deception and deceit which the Bush administration has employed to pass and promote its $500 billion Medicare legislation. posted by chris at 5:46 PM ------------------ |
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