- Many people around the world might have credulously or
perhaps naively fallen in the trap of believing the tempting claims of
the U.S. statesmen and politicians who say that their country is a "beacon
of freedom" and a "pioneer of democracy."
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- It's a bitter reality that many of us have been defeated
and overwhelmed by the propaganda of the U.S. mainstream media who incessantly
attempt to make their audiences believe that democracy and freedom are
originally American values and cannot be found anywhere else in the world,
that all of the world nations need the United States to achieve these values
and that the United States must resort to every instrument to export these
home-made values to the rest of the world, including frequent military
expeditions.
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- But what's the reality on the ground? Who really knows
about what's taking place behind the scenes? How much difference is there
between the United States which is trimmed and made neat to be put before
the eyes of the international community and the United States which mercilessly
and inexcusably deprives its own people of getting informed about the latest
developments in the world? Isn't it ironic that the same United States
whose leaders always boast of democracy, freedom and equal opportunities
set off media outlets to direct black propaganda against countries such
as Iran while preventing its people from having access to the content of
such media?
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- If you're familiar with the conventional double standards
and hypocrisy of the American type, you might have heard about the US Information
and Educational Exchange Act of 1948, popularly known as the Smith-Mundt
Act.
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- This discriminatory and indefensible act which was first
signed into law by President Harry S. Truman on January 27, 1948 after
getting approval by the 80th Congress is, in a nutshell, a regulation which
allows the United States to establish and initiate media outlets which
are aimed at non-American audiences in order to further the diplomatic
and political objectives and interests of the U.S. overseas; however, these
media outlets, including radio and TV stations, are unavailable to the
U.S. citizens, and to put it more succinctly, it's forbidden for them to
have access to these media channels.
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- The legislation which was introduced in the House of
Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs at the request of State Department,
authorizes the U.S. State Department to communicate to audiences outside
of the borders of the United States through broadcasting, face to face
contacts, exchanges, online activities, the publishing of books, magazines,
and other media of communication and engagement. Funding for these activities
comes from other legislation passed by the U.S. Congress called appropriations.
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- According to this law, the materials which are produced
to be broadcast through certain American media outlets cannot and should
not be disseminated and publicized domestically and can be only available
to the members of Congress and academicians. With the concerted efforts
of several U.S. Congressmen, the Act was amended to read: "no program
material prepared by the United States Information Agency shall be distributed
within the United States."
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- However, it's interesting to note that at the time of
working on the compilation of the Smith-Mundt Act, fierce controversies
had arisen among the congressmen, including a quarrel over how to "remove
the stigma of propaganda" from this law, because even the U.S. lawmakers
had come to the conclusion that it was an all-out replica of the propaganda
machinery of the former Soviet Union and Nazi regime.
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- Seven radio and TV stations are covered by the Act, two
of which are exclusively dedicated to Iran: Radio Farda and Voice of America.
It means that the American citizens cannot watch the TV programs which
VOA airs and listen to what the Radio Farda broadcasts.
- This clearly shows that the U.S. statesmen and politicians
have predetermined and programmed plans for the nation of Iran and it's
on their agenda to sow the seeds of discord between different groups of
Iranian nation by airing programs in which nothing can be traced but mere
propaganda, falsification and fabrication.
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- A quick look at the performance of media outlets such
as VOA and Radio Farda helps us comprehend that making the Iranian nation
worried about the current situation of the country, spreading falsehood
and untruth about the course of events and developments in the country
and advertising the large-scale policies of the White House and the Israeli
regime with regards to Iran are the main objectives of these state-run
media which are sumptuously funded and excessively supported by the U.S.
government.
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- According to the statistics released by Washington Post,
the U.S. Congress has allocated an annual budget of $7 million to Radio
Farda and by using this profuse amount of money, this soft war machine
unremittingly produces and disseminates falsehood and mendacious propaganda
against the nation of Iran.
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- Maybe, it may be necessary for the people of the United
States to know where they taxes go and how their government spends on its
unrelenting wars with the countries which don't want to fall under the
umbrella of U.S. hegemony.
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- The American people are deprived of listening to the
propaganda of Radio Farda and VOA; however, it is vital for them to know
that their government does not really represent a "beacon of freedom"
nor does it have the features of a "pioneer of democracy" but
is more of a propaganda machine programmed to wage wars and win profits.
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