Countering Propaganda in the Global War on Terrorism

The extensive use of propaganda by all belligerents during World War I created sensitivity to the relationship between modern communications technologies and the manipulation of public opinion. Government elites and academicians were so concerned with a perceived malleability of Americans that they initiated government and private institutions to protect the masses from anti-patriotic rhetoric. Many of these activities were challenged as the democratic system searched for a balance between first amendment rights and national security. The United States is once again fighting an adversary who challenges the legitimacy of its political system. The USG does not appear to have learned from WWI and the prelude to WWII. The USG should be careful to not assist the adversary in creating an alternate reality of signs and symbols with which to degrade the democratic political system.