Smith-Mundt Act

From dKosopedia

The Smith-Mundt Act also know as the US Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (Public Law 402), was signed into law by president Harry S. Truman on January 27, 1948.

The legislation funded American propaganda outreach, particularly during the Cold War with the Soviet Union.

The Act also prevents American citizens from being targets of propaganda agencies such as the Voice of America and the former United States Information Agency. However, now in the age of the Internet where Americans can access such propaganda, sections of the Act are considered antiquated by some.

Th Act also expanded the Fulbright exchange program to include countries other than those Lend-Lease countries originally specified in the original 1946 Fulbright law. It also facilitated the establishment of bi-national centers around the world.

Section 501(a) of the Act provides that that information produced by the Voice of America (VOA)...

for audiences outside the United States shall not be disseminated within the United States ... but, on request, shall be available in the English language at VOA, at all reasonable times following its release as information abroad, for examination only by representatives of United States press associations, newspapers, magazines, radio systems, and stations, and by research students and scholars, and, on request, shall be made available for examination only to Members of Congress.

Smith-Mundt Act

See Also