Should journalists be worried about the Countering Disinformation and Propaganda Act?

[FarCenter]

With previous anti-First Amendment statements by President-elect Donald Trump, there has been some worry by journalists that writing something the soon-to-be President doesn’t like may result in unpleasant consequences. Yet that is not the same thing as reporting “fake” news or spreading disinformation.

Hillary Clinton recently said that fake news has “real-world consequences” and puts lives “at risk.” She mentioned bipartisan legislation meant to help the US government respond to “malicious fake news and false propaganda.”

The same day, Ohio Senator Rob Portman announced that the “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 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2017 (pdf). H.R. 6393 passed the House on Nov 30, then the Senate on Dec. 8, and next goes to the President.

One of the priorities of this bill stuffed into NDAA is to “increase the authority, resources, and mandate of the Global Engagement Center to include state actors like Russia and China in addition to violent extremists.” Portman added, “With the help of this bipartisan bill, the disinformation and propaganda used against our allies and our interests will fail.”

If Guccifer 2.0 is a front for Russian authorities, and a journalist reports on ‘his’ hacking actions or viewpoints, that shouldn't be considered propaganda, spreading disinformation or fake news…or will that and other such pieces be blacklisted?

The first I heard about this was a link via Slashdot to ZeroHedge; that article was alarming as it claimed the bill:

“will effectively give the government a full mandate to punish, shut down or otherwise prosecute, any website it deems offensive and a source of ‘foreign government propaganda from Russia, China or other nations.’ And since there is no formal way of proving whether or not there is indeed a foreign propaganda sponsor, all that will be sufficient to eliminate any ‘dissenting’ website, will be the government's word against that of the website. One can be confident that the US government will almost certainly prevail in every single time.”

http://www.networkworld.com/article/3149584/security/should-journalists-be-worried-about-the-countering-disinformation-and-propaganda-act.html

[Jean-Jacques Roussea]

1. Only if Trump takes office

Because real news is fake news and fake news is real news in his mind.

But if they shut down Facebook the world can LITERALLY only get better.

[edhopper]

2. This is how it starts

DailyKos and DU will eventually be in the cross hairs.

[beachbum bob]

3. the real question is the media...and I don't expect the media to help out as

its mostly corporate owned

[proverbialwisdom]

4. President Signs Portman-Murphy Counter-Propaganda Bill into Law

http://www.portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2016/12/president-signs-portman-murphy-counter-propaganda-bill-into-law

Press Releases
Home / Newsroom / Press Releases
December 23, 2016

President Signs Portman-Murphy Counter-Propaganda Bill into Law

[center]Portman-Murphy Bill Promotes Coordinated Strategy to Defend America, Allies Against Propaganda and Disinformation from Russia, China & Others[/center]
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 been signed into law 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 from our enemies 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 our allies overseas to defend themselves from foreign manipulation. It will also help foster a free and vibrant press and civil society overseas, which is critical to ensuring our allies have access to truthful information and inoculating people against foreign propaganda campaigns.

“Our enemies are using foreign propaganda and disinformation against us and our allies, and so far the U.S. government has been asleep at the wheel,” Portman said. “But today, the United States has taken a critical step towards confronting the extensive, and destabilizing, foreign propaganda and disinformation operations being waged against us by our enemies overseas. With this bill now law, 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. I am confident that, with the help of this bipartisan bill, the disinformation and propaganda used against us, our allies, and our interests will fail.”

“The use of propaganda to undermine democracy has hit a new low. But now we are finally in a position to confront this threat head on and get out the truth. By building up independent, objective journalism in places like eastern Europe, we can start to fight back by exposing these fake narratives and empowering local communities to protect themselves,” said Murphy. “I’m proud that our bill was signed into law, and I look forward to working with Senator Portman to make sure these tools and new resources are effectively used to get out the truth.”

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 from our enemies:

The first priority is developing a whole-of-government strategy for countering THE foreign propaganda and disinformation being wages against us and our allies by our enemies. The bill would increase the authority, resources, and mandate of the Global Engagement Center to include state actors like Russia and China as well as non-state actors. 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 by our enemies 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.

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[FarCenter]

5. Since there is no such thing as national or regional media anymore, their efforts will blow back

Anything published on the internet in English or Spanish will influence public opinion in the United States.