High Quality
Open the downloaded document, and select print from the file menu (PDF reader required).
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Darrell Issa, Ranking Member
Analysis of the First Year of the Obama Administration:Public Relations and Propaganda Initiatives
Staff ReportU.S. House of Representatives111
th
CongressCommittee on Oversight and Government ReformAugust 16, 2010
T
ABLE OF
C
ONTENTS
1. National Endowment for the Arts..................................................................................92. Department of Justice...................................................................................................123. Department of Education.............................................................................................134. Federal Workforce.......................................................................................................155. Department of Health and Human Resources - Employees.........................................166. Department of Health and Human Services - Website................................................187. Department of Health and Human Services - Medicare Commercial..........................19
Multiplying traffic to websites containing propaganda by capitalizing on the visibility of thePresident and pre-existing campaign relationships.............................................................20
1. Recovery.gov...............................................................................................................212. Highway Signs.............................................................................................................243. Health Care Action Center...........................................................................................274. “iParticipate”................................................................................................................28
1
I. E
XECUTIVE
S
UMMARY
Since the beginning of the Obama Administration on January 20, 2009, ordinaryAmericans have financed and been exposed to an unprecedented number of publicrelations and propaganda efforts. Federal spending for public relations contracts roseto historically-high levels during the Bush Administration. Under one-party rule in2009, the White House used the machinery of the Obama campaign to tout thePresident’s agenda through inappropriate and sometimes unlawful public relationsand propaganda initiatives. Congress buoyed the Administration’s propaganda effortsby increasing federal spending on public relations for the first time since 2005.The Obama Administration frequently used federal resources to promote thePresident’s agenda. In many cases, the Administration relied on the reach andresources of federal agencies and their personnel to promote certain of the President’sfavorite programs. The White House also leveraged ties to the arts and entertainmentcommunity to embed propaganda in the content of television programming andartwork. These propaganda efforts violated appropriations riders and federal lawprohibiting the use of appropriated funds for publicity or propaganda purposes.The White House also used its inherent visibility advantages to multiply theeffectiveness of websites containing misleading and controversial information. TheWhite House used its resources to push visitors to websites that urge grassrootsactivism based on false and misleading information. The President’s right to sell hispolicy recommendations to Congress and the public is not disputed; however, usingthe resources of the federal government to activate a sophisticated propaganda andlobbying campaign is an abuse of office and a betrayal of the President’s pledge tocreate “an unprecedented level of openness in Government.”
Instead of facilitating openness, the public relations and propaganda activities of theWhite House have had precisely the opposite effect. The Government AccountabilityOffice (GAO) has historically deemed activities involving “covert propaganda” to beunlawful. In those cases, the source of the public relations or propaganda materialsdid not disclose his or her identity as a federal employee or contractor. Many of theObama Administration’s propaganda activities are unlawful because they are covert.Furthermore, several programs closely resemble those decried by Democrats andruled unlawful by GAO during the Bush Administration.This report examines several of the most visible public relations and propagandaefforts during the first year of the Obama Administration. Viewed collectively, theseactivities reveal an Administration better suited to campaign-style self-promotionthan to providing transparent and honest leadership.
1
President Obama, Memorandum for the Heads of Departments and Agencies, “Transparency and OpenGovernment,” Jan. 21, 2009.
2
Add a Comment