1. How do you
define
propaganda?

2. DINFOS Bogeymen
Can’t propagandize

Can’t advertise

Can’t lobby congress

Can’t influence the U.S. Public


3. BLUF: Statutory Restrictions
Self-aggrandizement
1.
Aid a political party or candidate
2.
Covert propaganda
3.
Grassroots lobbying
4.
5/12/2009 3

4. Agenda
What is propaganda?

What are our constraints?

Statutory

Regulatory

So what?

Effective PA

News stories on mil propaganda


5. Introduction
COL Bryan Hilferty

West Point Dir. of Communications

G-1 PAO 2004-2007

10th Mountain PAO 2001-2004

Afghanistan 2002, 2003-4

US Army Alaska PAO 1999-2001

5/12/2009 5

6. 5/12/2009 6

7. A combination of factors has reversed the
situation to the point where the bulk of the
Western media in the country are ensconced in
coalition camps as little more than purveyors of
propaganda.
The bulk of them are at the coalition bases
at Bagram, north of Kabul, and Kandahar in
southern Afghanistan. They are registered, fed
and accommodated by the coalition and given
briefings so minimalist as to qualify as works of
art.
Times of London May 10, 2002
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8. Define Propaganda
5/12/2009 8

9. Define Propaganda
Deliberately and deviously communicating
untruths to manipulate the public and
make them agree to evil
5/12/2009 9

10. Define Propaganda
The systematic propagation of a doctrine or cause
or of information reflecting the views and
interests of those advocating such a doctrine or
cause.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language,
Fourth Edition
5/12/2009 10

11. What is PA?
Public Affairs – Those public information,

command information, and community relations
activities directed toward both the external and
internal publics with interest in the Department of
Defense.
Public Information -- Information of a military nature,
the dissemination of which through public news
media is not inconsistent with security, and the
release of which is considered desirable or
nonobjectionable to the responsible releasing
agency.
AW FM 1-02, Operational Terms and Graphics and Joint Pub 1-
02 DoD Dictionary
5/12/2009 11

12. What is PA?
FM 3.0 Operations, Para 7-14:

Although all information engagement
activities are completely truthful,
public affairs is unique. It has a
statutory responsibility to factually
and accurately inform various
publics without intent to
propagandize or manipulate
public opinion.
5/12/2009 12

13. Statutes
5 U.S.C. SEC. 3107 (1970). first enacted as part of the

Act of October 22, 1913, CH. 32, 38 STAT. 208, 212,
Provides as follows in its codified form: “Appropriated
funds may not be used to pay a publicity expert
unless specifically appropriated for that purpose.”
H.R.5631 Department of Defense Appropriations Act,

2007 TITLE VIII GENERAL PROVISIONS SEC. 8001. No
part of any appropriation contained in this Act shall
be used for publicity or propaganda purposes not
authorized by the Congress.
22 U.S.C. SEC. 1461–1a Ban on domestic activities by

United States Information Agency Except as provided in
section 1461 of this title and this section, no funds
authorized to be appropriated to the United States
Information Agency shall be used to influence public
opinion in the United States, and no program material
prepared by the United States Information Agency
shall be distributed within the United States.
5/12/2009 13

14. Statutory Restrictions?
The terms ―publicity,‖ ―propaganda,‖ and ―publicity expert‖ have

been interpreted to forbid a very limited number of activities.
Congress has not defined the terms ―publicity,‖ ―propaganda,‖ and
―publicity expert.‖ Thus, to GAO has gone the task of delineating
what these terms encompass. GAO has done this on a case by-
case basis over the past half-century. Generally speaking, GAO
has narrowly defined these terms. It has held that the ―publicity or
propaganda‖ prohibition in appropriations laws forbids any public
relations activity that:
involves ―self-aggrandizement‖ or ―puffery‖ of the agency, its personnel, or

activities;
is ―purely partisan in nature‖ (i.e., it is ―designed to aid a political party or

candidate‖); or,
is ―covert propaganda‖ (i.e., the communication does not reveal that

government appropriations were expended to produce it).
CRS Report for Congress Public Relations and Propaganda: Restrictions on Executive Agency

Activities Updated 21Mar05
5/12/2009 14

15. Statutory Restrictions?
GAO has interpreted ―publicity agent‖ to mean someone who

―extols or advertises‖ an agency, ―an activity quite different from
disseminating information to the citizenry about the agency, its
policies, practices, and products.‖
GAO does not view 5 U.S.C. § 3107 as prohibiting an agency's

legitimate informational functions or legitimate promotional
functions where authorized by law.
Thus construed, the laws prohibiting the hiring of publicity

experts and the expenditure of appropriated funds on publicity
and propaganda place very few limits on agency public
relations activities.
CRS Report for Congress Public Relations and Propaganda: Restrictions on Executive Agency

Activities Updated 21Mar05
5/12/2009 15

16. Statutory Restrictions
Self-aggrandizement
1.
Aid a political party or
2.
candidate
Covert propaganda
3.
5/12/2009 16

17. Statutory Restrictions?
ALSO: quot;No part of any funds appropriated in this or any other Act shall be
used by an agency of the executive branch, other than for normal and
recognized executive-legislative relationships, for publicity or
propaganda purposes, and for the preparation, distribution or use of
any kit, pamphlet, booklet, publication, radio, television or film
presentation designed to support or defeat legislation pending before
the Congress, except in presentation to the Congress itself.‖
This statute prohibits overt appeals to members of the public suggesting that
they in turn contact their elected representatives to indicate support of
or opposition to pending legislation, thereby expressly or implicitly
urging the legislators to vote in a particular manner.
5/12/2009 17

18. Statutory Restrictions
Self-aggrandizement
1.
Aid a political party or candidate
2.
Covert propaganda
3.
Grassroots lobbying
4.
5/12/2009 18

19. Examples
Self-aggrandizement
1.
Aid a political party or
2.
candidate
Covert propaganda
3.
Grassroots lobbying
4.
5/12/2009 19

20. Regulatory Restrictions
Paragraph 5b(5), JP 3-61. ―Although commanders must designate only
military personnel or Department of Defense civilian employees as
official spokespersons, they should educate and encourage all their
military and civilian employees to tell the DOD story by providing
them with timely information that is appropriate for public release.‖
5/12/2009 20

21. Regulatory Restrictions
DoD Principles of Information
It is Department of Defense policy to make available timely and accurate information so that the
public, the Congress, and the news media may assess and understand the facts about national
security and defense strategy. Requests for information from organizations and private citizens
shall be answered quickly. In carrying out that DoD policy, the following principles of information
shall apply:
Information shall be made fully and readily available, consistent with statutory requirements, unless its
release is precluded by national security constraints or valid statutory mandates or exceptions.
The Freedom of Information Act will be supported in both letter and spirit.
A free flow of general and military information shall be made available, without censorship or
propaganda, to the men and women of the Armed Forces and their dependents.
Information will not be classified or otherwise withheld to protect the Government from criticism or
embarrassment.
Information shall be withheld when disclosure would adversely affect national security, threaten the
safety or privacy of U.S. Government personnel or their families, violate the privacy of the citizens
of the United States, or be contrary to law.
The Department of Defense's obligation to provide the public with information on DoD major programs
may require detailed Public Affairs (PA) planning and coordination in the Department of Defense
and with the other Government Agencies. Such activity is to expedite the flow of information to the
public; propaganda has no place in DoD public affairs programs.
5/12/2009 21

22. Moral & Ethical
Restrictions
Lying

Cheating

Stealing


23. 5/12/2009 23

24. So What?
Worship at the altar of the truth

Don’t be cowed into JUST providing

information
Fight media BS that they are unbiased

Communicating the truth in the 21st

Century is a battle
Be aggressive

Have an intent

Use Framing

Put facts into context

Break through the clutter

Understand News Value

Need flair


25. SecDef on Media
―As officers, you will have a responsibility to communicate to
those below you that the American military must be non-
political and recognize the obligation we owe the
Congress to be honest and true in our reporting to them.
Especially when it involves admitting mistakes or
problems.
The same is true with the press, in my view a critically
important guarantor of our freedom. When the press
identifies a problem in the military, our response should be
to find out if the allegations are true — and if so, say so,
and then act to remedy the problem. If untrue, then be
able to document that fact. The press is not the enemy,
and to treat it as such is self-defeating.
SecDef Gates at West Point 21Apr08
5/12/2009 25

26. We endorse a political model of crisis

management vs. the more conventional
public relations approach. . . . the
political model . . . assumes the threat of
motivated adversaries, while the public
relations model tends to view crisis as
organic and resolvable through good
communications. In a real crisis there are
often opponents . . . These opponents
don’t care whether you do the right
thing; they care about defeating you.

27. Journalist on Engaging Domestic
Influencers
NY Times front page story Sunday 20Apr08

―Message Machine: Behind TV Analysts,
Pentagon’s Hidden Hand‖
Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Journalism

This is PA portrayed by media as IO

Was this program illegal?

Was it covert?

Was this program unethical?

For the military

For the media

For the analysts w/business connections

Was this program effective?

5/12/2009 27

28. Journalists on Engaging Foreign
Audiences Covertly
LA Times front page story Sunday 30Nov05

―US Military Covertly Pays to Run Stories in
Iraqi Press‖
This is IO portrayed by media as PA

Was this program illegal?

Was it covert

Was this program unethical?

For the military

For the media

Was this program effective?

5/12/2009 28

29. Army to spread burden of combat
By Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY 27Oct06 page 1
WASHINGTON — The prospect of combat in Iraq for at
least another four years is prompting the Army to realign
its forces to prevent a small slice of soldiers who are
shouldering much of the fighting from wearing out.
Pentagon records show one-fifth of the Army's active-duty
troops have served multiple tours of war duty while
more than 40% haven't been deployed to Iraq or
Afghanistan.
The Army has more soldiers deployed in Iraq and
Afghanistan than the other services combined. It
expects to complete the realignment by 2011.
About 42% of the Army's 500,000 active-duty soldiers have
not deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. They include about
80,000 fresh recruits, most of whom are being trained.
More than 90,000 others are in the so-called institutional
Army, those who train, equip and manage soldiers.
By 2011, there will be 50,000 more troops available for
deployment than in 2001. Part of that will be
accomplished by having civilian Army employees take
5/12/2009 over certain jobs from soldiers, freeing them up to fight. 29

30. Commanders Intent?
4 chains of command with not always

complimentary communication goals
Commanders through Cbt Cdr to

CJCS/Joint Staff, SecDef & Pres
Commanders through MACOM Cdr to

CSA, SA, SecDef & Pres
Political appointees through SA to

OSD, & Pres
Congress who writes laws & pays bills

5/12/2009 30

31. Framing
A frame in social theory consists of a

schema of interpretation, that is a
collection of stereotypes, that individuals
rely on to understand and respond to
events
Choose the language to define a debate

and, more important, with fitting
individual issues into the contexts of
broader story lines
Use emotionally appealing narratives to

rally support
5/12/2009 31

32. We are good guys
doing good things
for a good reason
5/12/2009 32

33. British Experience
Explicitly dislike and distrust

media
5/12/2009 33

34. British Experience
Needlessly classify everything

Isolate troops from the media

Lie to the media

5/12/2009 34

35. Snipe and Spin
As usual at Bagram, the Defence

media team had opted for a policy
of divide and rule with the natives
in the press tents, and, as so often,
the result was a fiasco. . . . An
infuriated American reporter
demanded to know why Lt. Col.
Harradine had told lies to the
press. The answer, insofar as I
understood it, appeared to be that
the British do things differently.
Julian Manyon The Spectator
5/12/2009 35

36. British Experience
Raise impossibly high

expectations
5/12/2009 36

37. This futile campaign
There was almost relief in Brigadier
Roger Lane's voice on Friday morning as
he told the Today programme that they'd
finally found and killed some AQT - al-
Qaida/Taliban - in the remote mountain
valleys of eastern Afghanistan. They had
engaged their enemy, hitherto as elusive
as the snow leopard, and around 1,000
British soldiers were being flown in for
the battle. Twenty-four hours later,
Operation Condor, as it was named,
looked about as farcical as every other
operation in Afghanistan has done in the
past six months.
Madeleine Bunting, The Guardian, May 20, 2002
5/12/2009 37

38. British Experience
Result: Mission Failure

5/12/2009 38

39. Britain to withdraw Marines
after failure to catch al-Qa'eda
The government is to withdraw most
of its fighting troops from Afghanistan
following the failure of the Royal
Marines to kill or capture any
members of al-Qa'eda or the Taliban.
All 1,560 members of 45
Commando battle group and most of
the 1,300 British peacekeepers based
in Kabul will be brought home by the
end of July.
Sean Rayment, The Telegraph (London) 09/06/2002
5/12/2009 39

40. Conclusion
Public Affairs is truthful mass

communications in order to
accomplish the unit mission
PA is the most effective IO weapon

There are little statutory

restrictions on PA
5/12/2009 40

41. BACKUP SLIDES

42. Commercial Media
DoD can’t do mass

communications better
than the commercial mass
media/Social Media
universe
Media is like terrain, it is

there and effects the
battle—if you do not use or
ignore it, the enemy will
use it to their advantage
5/12/2009 42

43. How we get media to
publish what we want
Say it, Say it again, Say it again,

Say it again
Marketing

Be interesting, be quotable

5/12/2009 43

44. Be interesting; be quotable
US Major Brian Hilferty, a spokesman for

the US-led coalition, said the forces had
secured control over the Shahi Kot valley
but that some Al Qaeda and Taliban
fighters remained.
quot;Do you have every single bit of every
place covered? No. ... But if I was an Al
Qaeda guy, I wouldn’t go out for pizza,quot;
he said.
March 10, 2001
5/12/2009 44

45. 5/12/2009 45

46. 5/12/2009 46

47. How we get media to
publish what we want
Keep them near you—they will

listen to and record what you say
Be a good source

React to their needs

Tell them your concerns

5/12/2009 47

48. Strategic Communications
Focused United States Government efforts to

understand and engage key audiences to create,
strengthen, or preserve conditions favorable for
the advancement of United States Government
interests, policies, and objectives through the use
of coordinated programs, plans, themes,
messages, and products synchronized with the
actions of all instruments of national power
Real definition: Control of all communications

emanating from an organization so our people
say what we want them to say and other people
believe what we say
Alternate Definition: Magic dust that makes sows’

ears into silk purses
Hilferty’s Law: The more an organization talks

about STRATCOM, the less it communicates
5/12/2009 48

49. Strategic communication is a sustained and
coherent set of activities that include:
understanding identities, attitudes, behaviors, and

cultures; media rends and information flows; social
and influence networks; political, social, economic,
and religious motivations
advising policymakers, diplomats, and military

commanders on the public opinion and
communication implications of their strategic and
policy choices—and on the best ways to communicate
their strategies and policies
engaging in a dialogue of ideas between people and

institutions that support national interests and,
wherever possible, common interests and shared
values
influencing attitudes and behavior through

communication strategies supported by a broad range
of government and civil society activities measuring
the impact of activities comprehensively and over time
5/12/2009 49

50. STRATCOM Lessons Learned
Actions trump words Relationships are critical
 
Partners count Coordination is critical
 
Messenger authority Trusted voices
 
Language matters Images matter
 
Speed counts Endurance counts
 
5/12/2009 50

51. PA vs IO
PA is IO but IO isn’t PA

IO doesn’t have to have full disclosure

PA does

IO relies on the truth

PA does too

IO doesn’t need truth all the time

PA does

IO is targeted and has an intended effect

PA does too

IO targets foreign/enemy audiences

PA does too

IO doesn’t target US/Allied audiences

5/12/2009 51
PA does


52. What is effective PA?
A truthful communication that has

an effect on a specific audience
Define the effect you want on your

target audience-- What do you
really want to happen?
Context is our goal

5/12/2009 52

53. Military PAO’s are by definition powerful,

and we have a moral imperative to honor
the truth-the complete truth.
There is a danger that empowered PAOs

will lie and engage in deceitful
communications practices and end up
destroying the republic.
But the alternative, our enemies control

the information environment, is equally
dangerous to the republic.

54. How to do effective PA?
 Meet your Commanders Intent
 Nest task and purpose
 Don’t think the bureaucracy can
reinvent the wheel--celebrate and
use existing media
 Understand the Information
Environment
 Understand & Use Framing
Understand & Use News Value
• Find what is interesting
• Be quotable
5/12/2009 54

55. Factors determining
“News Value”
TIMELINESS: Is it new?

ODDITY: Is it unusual?

CONFLICT: Is there opposition between people or forces?

SUSPENSE: Is the outcome undecided?

IMPACT: Does it affect me? The nation/world?

PROXIMITY: Is it happening close to the audience?

PROMINENCE: Are well-known persons involved?

EMOTION: Is there human interest, sex, kids, animals?

VISUAL: Is there movement/action? # 1 for television

5/12/2009 55

56. GEN Casey’s 11 Flat Out
Rules for Information
Engagement
Leaders have to lead in info engagement—PAO’s assist, but it

is the leaders job to market, communicate their unit/program
Message, audience, frequency—think of these in order to

communicate effectively
Don’t forget your internal audiences

A picture is worth a thousand words

Get your message out while interest in high

Get to know the media

Don’t overcentralize

Assessment is hard but essential.

Understand your audience

Candor in all things

You will not always get it right, but keep swinging. (All senior

leaders have been screwed by the media, so they understand)
5/12/2009 56

57. 10USC3083 Public Affairs Specialty
There is a career field in the Army known as the
Public Affairs Specialty. Members of the Army with
the Public Affairs Specialty are
(1) The Chief of Public Affairs
(2) Commissioned officers of the Army in the grade
of major or above who are selected and
specifically educated, trained, and experienced
to perform as professional public affairs officers
for the remainder of their careers; and
(3) Other members of the Armyh assigned to public
5/12/2009 affairs postions by the Secretary of the Army. 57