:: information warfare :: ::

CNN
Pentagon sites: Journalism or propaganda?
From Barbara Starr and Larry Shaughnessy
Saturday, February 5, 2005 Posted: 3:04 AM EST (0804 GMT)

The Defense Department runs two Web sites overseas, one aimed at people in the Balkan region in Europe, the other for the Maghreb area of North Africa. It is preparing another site, even as the Pentagon inspector general investigates whether the sites are appropriate...

...The sites are run by U.S. military troops trained in "information warfare," a specialty that can include battlefield deception. Pentagon officials say the goal is to counter "misinformation" about the United States in overseas media.

At first glance, the Web pages appear to be independent news sites. To find out who is actually behind the content, a visitor would have to click on a small link -- at the bottom of the page -- to a disclaimer, which says, in part, that the site is "sponsored by" the U.S. Department of Defense...

...The Pentagon maintains that the information on the sites is true and accurate. But in a recent memo, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz insisted that the Web site contractor should only hire journalists who "will not reflect discredit on the U.S. government"...

...Many Democrats have called for an end to what they call administration propaganda within the United States. But many lawmakers view the rules for handling information overseas as a separate issue...

:: check out the magharebia site :: ::