Report Concludes US Propaganda in Iraq Not Against Regulations - But Not Effective, Either

"US Urged to Stop Paying Iraqi Reporters," by David S. Cloud - the New York Times, 24 May 2006 (registration required)

WASHINGTON, May 23 — A Defense Department investigation of Pentagon-financed propaganda efforts in Iraq warns that paying Iraqi journalists to produce positive stories could damage American credibility and calls for an end to military payments to a group of Iraqi journalists in Baghdad, according to a summary of the investigation.

The review, by Rear Adm. Scott Van Buskirk, was ordered after the disclosure last November that the military had paid the Lincoln Group, a Washington-based Pentagon contractor, to plant articles written by American soldiers in Iraqi publications, without disclosing the source of the articles. The contractor's work also included paying Iraqi journalists for favorable treatment.

Though the document does not mention the Lincoln Group, Admiral Van Buskirk concluded that the military should scrutinize contractors involved in the propaganda effort more closely "to ensure proper oversight is in place." He also faulted the military for failing to examine whether paying for placement for articles would "undermine the concept of a free press," in Iraq, according to the summary.

It was not clear on Tuesday whether the report would have any immediate effect on the military's actions in Iraq. In interviews this week, several Pentagon officials said the Lincoln Group and other contractors were still involved in placing propaganda messages in Iraqi publications and on television. Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, a senior military spokesman in Iraq, said Tuesday that he could not comment on the report. William Dixon, a spokesman for the Lincoln Group, also declined to comment on Tuesday....

Over all, the report concludes that American commanders in Iraq did not violate military regulations when they undertook a multipronged propaganda campaign beginning in 2004 aimed at increasing support for the fledgling Iraqi government, the three-page summary says. That conclusion has been previously reported, but the portions of the report that raise questions about the effort or that are critical have not been previously disclosed.

The most critical portion of the report concerns the military's creation in 2004 of an entity called the Baghdad Press Club, in which Iraqi journalists were paid if they covered and produced stories about American reconstruction efforts, such as openings of schools and sewage plants.

The military's "direct oversight of an apparently independent news organization and remuneration for articles that are published will undoubtedly raise questions focused on 'truth and credibility,' that will be difficult to deflect, regardless of the intensions and purpose of the remuneration," the report says....

For background, see LA Times: DOD Contractor Planting Positive Stories in Iraqi Press.

Also see:

"Halt Pentagon Payoffs to Iraqi Journos, DOD Report Recommends" - Editor & Publisher, 24 May 2006

CHICAGO - The Department of Defense investigation into revelations the U.S. military was paying for favorable Iraqi press concludes the propaganda effort could harm American credibility -- and the payments should stop, according to a portion of the report disclosed in a New York Times article Wednesday....

The report summary was hailed by the International Press Institute (IPI), which welcomed the "acknowledgement that such propaganda operations could have a damaging impact on the credibility and reputation of the United States."

But there are other reasons to stop the propaganda effort, said IPI Director Johann P. Fritz. "At a time when journalists are being targeted by the insurgency, I am deeply concerned that such propaganda operations damage the Iraqi media's independence, increasing the likelihood that they will be attacked," he said in a statement released by the Vienna-based organization.

The propaganda operation "also exposes contradictions" in U.S. Iraqi policy, Fritz added: "It is the declared aim of the Allied forces operating inside Iraq to introduce democracy to the country, but this cannot be achieved if the work undertaken by organisations to improve press freedom is, at the same time, undermined by the work of the military."