June 6

"Spiderman is five times more popular than Uncle Sam."

--Shannon Smith, a Jakarta-based public relations consultant who was Counsellor (Education) at the Australian Embassy, Jakarta, from 2005-2010, referring to Indonesian views of the United States; image from

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Propaganda: Your Job in Germany (1946). Via GG on Facebook

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PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Great Moments in Public Diplomacy: $10 mil Sesame Street Pakistan Fail - Peter Van Buren, We Meant Well: “After wasting half the money, the US terminated a $20 million project to develop a Pakistani version of Sesame Street, the US Embassy announced. The decision came as a Pakistani newspaper reported allegations of corruption by the local puppet theater working on the initiative. The Pakistan Today newspaper reported Tuesday that the cause was “severe” financial irregularities at the production company. The producers allegedly used the US money to pay off old debts and awarded lucrative contracts to relatives. As recently as late April of this year, just five weeks ago, the US Embassy in Islamabad featured a story about Ambassador Cameron Munter and Consul General Nina Fite visiting the Sesame Street set at Pakistan Children’s Television to reaffirm the US government’s commitment to children’s education in Pakistan. This was the Ambassador’s second showcase visit to the project. Each episode was to be based around a word and a number, like the US version, and tackle general themes like friendship, respect and valuing diversity.

This last theme is particularly important in Pakistan, where Islamist extremists often target minority religious sects and others who disagree with their views. Unfortunately, the lesson taught was that the US cannot find its own butt for a hole in the ground, once again, as another ‘hearts and minds’ project implodes. Reached for comment, a Sesame Street spokespuppet said: ‘Elmo sad.’ As much as it is fun to write lines like ‘Today’s public diplomacy Failure is brought to you by the letter F,’ or, ‘No word on where the US oversight was while $10 million in taxpayer money was eaten by the Cookie Monster,’ this project shares too many similarities with State’s failed efforts at hearts and minds work in Iraq and Afghanistan: –The fanfare came first, and came on strong, with two high-profile Ambassadorial visits before any results were seen. Results first, press releases later, is a better policy. –Where was the oversight? The US had been putting money into this project since 2009 and only after $10 million was thrown down the hole did anyone pull the plug. –The press releases trumpeting this project proclaimed ‘Starting April 2011, seventy eight Urdu language television episodes and 13 episodes in each of the four major provincial languages will broadcast throughout Pakistan. The same number of radio programs will be developed and broadcast as well. The project will also bring 600 live puppet performances and video shows to various rural areas. In addition, the project will work to include out-of-school children in various educational activities.’ In fact, only thirteen episodes were produced. Who at State was overseeing the other aspects of this project? A touch of humility, with modest, sincere goals, builds US credibility. –Why is it required that an outside source, in this case a newspaper, do State’s due diligence on these projects? Corruption is endemic and close monitoring should be required. –If the point was to influence Pakistani youth by having the US give them Sesame Street, what is the public diplomacy impact of the US taking Sesame Street away? –(rhetorical question) Will anyone on the US side be fired for another waste of US money and credibility? Or, more likely, will someone be fired for leaking the story?” Image from entry

Sesame Street in Pakistan - Public Diplomacy and International Communications: Thoughts and comments about public diplomacy, soft power and international communications by Gary Rawnsley: “Regular readers of this blog will know of my love for the American children's TV programme, Sesame Street, and my conviction of its role in international outreach. Its role in developing educational programmes around the world has been one of the greatest public diplomacy (or education diplomacy) success stories, mainly for two reasons: (i) it demonstrates the importance of acting positively and creating new opportunities and relationships with audiences (the importance of actually doing something, rather than just talking about it); and (ii) by encouraging local media organisations to create their own versions of Sesame Street that are embedded within local cultural contexts, the producers demonstrate a sensitivity to their audiences: ‘The US government thought it was on to a winner when it gave $20m (£13m) to fund a Pakistani version of the show, hoping it would raise the country's woeful literacy rates and help turn a young generation away from the siren call of religious extremism.’ A report in yesterday's Guardian newspaper is therefore quite disturbing (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/05/pakistan-sesame-street-funding-withdrawn?INTCMP=SRCH). It seems that the US Agency for International Development is withdrawing funding for the Pakistani version of Sesame Street, Sim Sim Hamara, because of 'financial irregularities', mismanag[e]ment and even corruption. Obviously the local prod[u]cers, Rafi Peer, have denied the allegations. Whatever the reason this is a very regrettable episode, and over above the soft power interests of developing a local version of Sesame Street, the only losers are Pakistan's children trapped in illiteracy.”   

The Facebook Ambassador - Sharon Hudson-Dean, PD News–CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "As a prime media tool for a younger-than-ever, interconnected world audience, Facebook is now de rigueur in U.S. foreign policy. Shortly after taking office in 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appointed a Special Advisor for Innovation to act as internal cheerleader and external PR man in pushing the use of technology and social media at America’s oldest executive branch department.

Social media best practice presentations are now a key part of mandatory training courses for senior officers. My current ambassador, Charles Ray, is one of the most active senior career diplomats personally using social media to cross the line between traditional foreign policy and social networking. Ray is an online 'junkie.' At age 67, with 30 years working for the State Department following a 20 year army career, his early morning reveille is spent online, as are his late nights after formal diplomatic dinners." Hudson-Dean image (left) from

US embassy and consulates general use Weibo to promote soft power - Miranda Shek, posted by Kalinda, beijingshots.com: "Since the US embassy in Beijing opened its official microblog account on Sina Weibo on May 21, 2010, Washington’s consulates general in Shanghai, Chengdu and Hong Kong have followed suit. US diplomatic posts online have actively engaged the Chinese public, triggering heated discussion on controversial topics.

The US embassy in Beijing has nearly 520,000 followers on its official Weibo account. It often posts messages related to US governance, highlighting its democratic structures and values. ... The US hasn’t limited itself to the blogosphere to influence public opinions, with statistical ammunition also in its arsenal to pressure China’s environmental policies. The US consulate general in Shanghai began posting daily air quality reports with PM2.5 readings in mid-May, following a similar campaign in Beijing that started in 2007. It said in its official announcement that the readings are an indicator of overall air quality in the area surrounding its Huaihai Road office. ... '‘Weibo diplomacy’ has become a major form of public diplomacy in recent years,' Zhou Qing’an, a researcher with Tsinghua International Center for Communication, told the International Herald Leader." Image from article

Reader riposte: Australia no e-diplomacy slouch - lowyinterpreter.org: "Dr Shannon Smith, a Jakarta-based public relations consultant who was Counsellor (Education) at the Australian Embassy, Jakarta, from 2005-2010, writes: The decline of Australian public diplomacy capabilities is at a critical point. At its lowest point in years, some have been looking at alternative ways for Australia to engage internationally. The Lowy Institute for International Policy, in particular, has long been lamenting that DFAT does not use digital tools or social media to help promote Australia's foreign policy interests. In a low-key fashion, earlier this year the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, launched its Facebook fan page, becoming the first overseas mission to do so. It is a very welcome move. The idea of using social media as a supplement to more traditional forms of public diplomacy has merit. The Lowy Institute has in the past claimed 'Australia's diplomatic service, by contrast (to the United States of America), doesn't even use social media in Indonesia'. The Institute's criticism of DFAT's under-use of social media is spot on, but on the broader point of social media usage by Australia's diplomatic services it is incorrect, and no more so than in the case of Indonesia. There are plenty of examples where Australian embassies have used websites, Facebook and other social media to promote Australian public diplomacy objectives. ...  The US Embassy Facebook fan page has 485,000 fans. To put this into quantitative terms, Indonesian motivational speaker Mario Teguh gets this many new Facebook fans every three months (he has 5.84 million fans). The latest Spiderman film had 2.5 million fans in Indonesia. So, Spiderman is five times more popular than Uncle Sam. Indonesian musician and singer Sherina Munaf has 2.7 million followers on Twitter, and follows 400; while the US Embassy has 36,000 followers, and follows 6000. Sherina does not follow the US Embassy, but it follows her. US e-diplomacy needs to be put into perspective. There are 55 million internet users in Indonesia, which means that less than 1% of those are currently reached by the US Embassy. With a total population of 245 million, the US Embassy reaches only 0.21% of all Indonesians via social media. ... It makes sense for the Australian Embassy in Jakarta to be given the ability to engage in social media. It needs to engage with that portion of the community that uses social media, that is the young and middle class. This move should be applauded. And more so, because the Australian Embassy has done so without additional financial or personnel support — the US Embassy had significant new funds allocated to engage the best PR agencies in Jakarta to develop its strategy. So, kudos again to Australia's over-worked and under-funded diplomats. However, it can't stop there! Social media can only do so much and reach so many. Social media only reaches the influential few, and reinforces their positive notions towards Australia. The Australian Embassy announcement stated, 'We hope that many friends of Australia in Indonesia will click ‘like’ on our Facebook page'. It was an acknowledgment of the reality of how far e-diplomacy can go. True public diplomacy goes beyond the already pre-disposed to the masses; to those indifferent, ignorant or not seeking to know. It seeks out a broader audience and encourages the general community to adopt a positive and open outlook. This is where Australia should be paying some serious attention. With only 22% of Indonesians accessing the internet, e-diplomacy is no solution in itself to the decline of Australia's broader public diplomacy capabilities — it is simply a necessary supplement.”

Cultural Diplomacy and Construction of Trust  - Philip Seib, Huffington Post: "A survey conducted

for the British Council by Ipsos MORI and YouGov with more than 10,000 respondents ages 18-34 from ten countries found that 'those who have had involvement in cultural relations -- arts, education, and English language activities -- with the U.K. have greater trust in people from the U.K. ... and a higher level of interest in doing business and trading with the U.K.' Further, trust in the U.K. government similarly rose. ... U.S. cultural diplomacy is robust and merits greater support from policymakers, and the British Council's successes offer ample reasons for providing such support." Image from

5 Ifes Thailand Sites - cheapthailandflights.org: "Constitutional of the Kingdom of Thailand B.E.2550 – Constitution [:] This unofficial translation has been provided by IFES Thailand and the Political Section and Public Diplomacy Office of the US Embassy-Bangkok."

The high price of 'dark fusion': The US government can already detain citizens as enemy combatants; now it wants to deploy propaganda across the country - Mark LeVine, aljazeera.com: “Full spectrum propaganda [:] In Tunisia and Egypt, the 'secret' or 'security' police were infamous for ensuring that regime propaganda was put out as truth, and worse, for spying on citizens and abductions and long-term detention of anyone deemed a threat to the state. And yet now, as these countries struggle to create states that will be less inclined to inflict these practices on their citizens, the United States is moving in the direction they are trying to leave behind. There are three new and interrelated threats to fundamental freedoms that are directly related to the ongoing war on terror; they involve attempts to permit the US government to deploy propaganda inside the United States, to increase the ability to spy on American citizens and to detain Americans indefinitely without trial for involvement in what until now have been constitutionally protected activities. All three are direct results of a war on terror abroad that has morphed into a war on the have-nots and the want-nots - those who no longer want to be part of the existing system - at home. While the Obama Administration has not wholly embraced all three tactics, the groundwork is being laid for a full scale assault on the American people should the Republicans strengthen their control of the Congress and even win back the presidency this year. Beginning with increased propaganda efforts, the most recent National Defense Authorization Act includes an amendment sponsored by Republican Representative Max Thornberry of Texas and Adam Smith, a Democrat from the state of Washington, referred to variously as the ‘Dissemination of Information Abroad’ amendment, and as a separate bill, HR 5736, ‘The Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012.’ Whatever one calls it, this legislation would overturn a 64-year old prohibition against the US government directly deploying propaganda material towards American citizens inside the United States, thereby ‘wiping out the distinction between domestic and foreign audiences’. Supporters of the change argue that it merely gets rid of an "artificial handicap to US global engagement while creating domestic awareness of international affairs". But in fact it does much more. It expands the authority to develop and disseminate propaganda from the Office of Public Diplomacy to the State Department as a whole and the Broadcasting Board of Governors - a presidentially-appointed body that includes entertainment executives, investment bankers and former White House press secretaries. These are people who have no institutional history of providing truthful or accurate information to the public, in or outside the United States. Whatever the supposedly liberal pretension of Hollywood, the relationship between the entertainment industry and the military complex has been anything but adversarial or even neutral. The recent revelations of the close relationship between Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow and the CIA in the production of a film depicting the killing of Osama bin Laden is just the latest evidence of how the government and the entertainment industry collude to ensure profits and propaganda over truth and critical engagement with political power. If this legislation becomes law the heads of some of the biggest entertainment conglomerates could have a direct say in producing propaganda directly for the American people.

It's ‘Wag the Dog’ in real life, only Robert DeNiro's CIA-veteran doesn't need to kill Dustin Hoffman's movie producer to hide the truth about the latest war because he's already a fully vetted and vested player in the system. The US government could routinely lie to citizens about policies which are themselves based on or involve misleading - in Pentagon-speak, ‘influencing’ - the population, creating a vicious circle of lies and manipulation that would make even the most seasoned pre-Uprising Arab information minister green with envy. What's more, the bill would specifically require the State Department and the Broadcasting Board of Governors to ‘maximise the use of private resources’ in developing and disseminating their propaganda (the Pentagon alone reportedly spends US $4 billion a year on public opinion efforts, from producing propaganda that is often passed off as actual ‘news’ to utilising sophisticated software to monitor Twitter and other social media). This not only insures the funnelling of hundreds of millions of dollars to the same private companies who've wasted billions of tax-payer dollars disseminating propaganda in Iraq and Afghanistan, it provides no oversight to check the accuracy of the propaganda, which by definition, has little regard for the truth. At a moment when mainstream news organisations are faced with ever-tightening budgets and the internet allows for the proliferation of information without any controls or filters, there would be little to stop direct government propaganda about crucial domestic and foreign policy issues being passed onto the American people as sober analysis - Rupert Murdoch's wildest dreams come true.” Image from

Speculations about the Smith-Mundt "Modernization" Bill and Public Diplomacy - John Brown Notes and Essays: “The more I think about this rejected-by-the-Senate bill (about it some of my previous postings - [1], [2]) the more I am convinced that it's basically meant to be a Trojan Horse giving persons in military circles, no matter how honorable their intentions may appear to them, a free pass to indoctrinate the American people through USG Defense Department psyops in order to have US citizens support what turns out to be often senseless wars (e.g, the invasion of Iraq, to cite the most evident and relatively recent example) and fight nameless enemies (the 'terrorists'). All this in the name of national security and, supposedly, because now terrorism knows no boundaries, obliging us to fight the global jihad here in the homeland by winning ‘hearts and minds,’ including J.Q. citizens (e.g. Somali-Americans in Minneapolis). Far more important than the bill allowing the American public to, say, listen to the Voice of America (as if we Americans today really needed official permission to access VOA reports on the Internet, since we can do so by a click on our computers via the internet), what this bill really underscores is that the Pentagon is ‘off the hook’

as regards targeting the American public through psyops, by stressing, as it does, that the Smith-Mundt Act -- which, as it evolved through its amendments, made it clearer and clearer that the US population should not be propagandized -- does not apply to DoD, as some (granted, erroneously) thought. What we really need is a strengthening of the Smith-Mundt Act, so that US citizens won't be the target of the black/grey propaganda used by the military and other branches of the USG overseas, supposedly (and, granted, justifiably, but oh-so-rarely) to keep Americans ‘safe’ here at home. No way, if we truly honor American values, should we be fed embellished ‘truth’ (or plain falsehoods) in the name of national security by our federal government here at home. We are a free-thinking Republic. Benjamin Franklin's words are well-known on this topic, but bear repeating: ‘Anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security.’ As for white propaganda directed abroad (like VOA reports on the harmless all-American skater Kwan traveling as a State Department public diplomacy envoy, smiles and all), of course there's no reason why Americans can't know about this -- as easily as they can right now, without the verbiage of the modernized Smith-Mundt Act letting them do so (and without, rest assured, of fears of being imprisoned) by simply going to the State Department homepage. But this ‘modernized’ piece of legislation, justifying itself by supposedly making some USG public diplomacy items overseas (‘white propaganda’) more accessible (‘transparent’) to the American public, actually formalizes that the DoD -- whose ‘grey/black propaganda’ funds are far greater, I am quite sure,  than those for the Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs office at the State Department -- should not be subject to further restraints in brainwashing (sorry, I meant ‘informing’) the American public here at home.” Image from

Burma Agrees To Air VOA Programs - Press Release, Broadcasting Board of Governors. Via ACP III on Facebook

Broadcasting Board of Governors sends a late reply to Annette Lantos’ letter - BBGWatcher, USG Broadcasts/BBG Watch: "The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) Interim Presiding Governor Michael Lynton has sent a late response to Mrs. Annette Lantos’ letter in defense of Voice of America broadcasts. BBG Watch sources told us that Lynton’s letter was drafted by the BBG’s International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) executive staff in collaboration with the BBG’s Communications and Outreach Committee, as well as Governor Lynton. The response letter was sent two months from the date of Mrs. Lantos’ letter to the BBG. ... While Mrs. Lantos was pointing out the damage that would be caused specifically by ending Voice of America broadcasts and the importance of VOA’s name to oppressed individuals and groups in China, Tibet and Russia, the BBG/IBB executive staff focused its response on leveraging resources of VOA, Radio Free Asia (RFA), and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)."

Cambodia's pre-election ban on FM relays calls for synergy in USIB. But don't bet on it - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: Elliott comment: "The BBG states ... that 'RFA and VOA play a critical role in informing the Cambodian electorate on fundamental election issues, and they provide a platform for the full spectrum of political opinions in the country.' This is a smoking-gun admission of duplication in US international broadcasting, despite the protestations of USIB senior executives, who have a stake in preserving the boondoggle, that RFA and VOA are 'complementary.."

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Broadcasting Board of Governors employee union accuses management of bad faith; BBG Governor Ashe voices concerns about poor employee morale - BBGWatcher, USG Broadcasts/BBG Watch

Czech Helsinki Committee decries immoral treatment of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Employees - BBGWatcher, USG Broadcasts/BBG Watch

Broadcasting Board of Governors told they use communist law to discriminate against foreign employees – BBGWatcher, USG Broadcasts/BBG Watch: “In emails to members of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), who are meeting today and tomorrow in Prague, Czech Republic, former Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) Russian editor has urged them to stop RFE/RL from using communist-era Czechoslovak law to deny current American and Czech employment protections to foreign journalists and other foreign employees. Lev Roitman is the husband of Snjezana Pelivan, also a former RFE/RL employee who is suing the U.S. taxpayer-supported international broadcaster in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg for discrimination on the basis of national origin. Pelivan is a Croatian citizen. Another woman, Armenian journalist Anna Karapetian, is suing RFE/RL in Czech courts. They were both dismissed by RFE/RL without a cause under the communist-era Czechoslovak law which allows foreign companies operating in the Czech Republic to exempt their foreign employees from some of the current provisions of the Czech labor law.”

Vietnamese court rejects appeal by activists jailed for "conducting propaganda" and for interviews with foreign radio stations - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

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Public Diplomacy, Branding, and the Image of Nations, Part IV: Some Practical Implications - Daryl Copeland, PD News–CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "Although practitioners have tended to think of public diplomacy as a program and branding as a campaign, together they in fact constitute a paradigm: a new way of doing diplomatic business, of constructing a narrative and of telling a country’s story in an open, transparent and inclusive way. They represent a critical means (networking, advocacy, the power of attraction and ideas, engineering a positive pre-disposition) to important ends (attained goals, specified results, desired outcomes) and accordingly must be engaged with care and forethought. ... [O]nly when the message and the experience, the saying and the doing, are in accord can legitimacy be demonstrated, lasting relationships built and networks reinforced. ... [P]ublic diplomacy is enjoying a renaissance, and branding is a growth industry."

Knesset rejects Ulpana bill 69-22 – Jerusalem Post: “By a vote of 69-22, the Knesset has rejected the bill proposed for retroactively legalizing a number of West Bank outposts, including the Ulpana outpost. Notable from the vote was the absence of Science and Technology Minister Daniel Herschkowitz and Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein from the vote. Both ministers had previously publicly declared that they would vote for the bill even though they would be fired from their cabinet positions.” 

Xiamen Politics and Law Committee secretary Overseas research work - nbarr.com: "listen to Xiamen City Qiaoban Director Huang Jiao Ling report, Zhan Cangzhou pointed out that the overseas Chinese affairs to reflect the new situation Overseas public diplomacy to reflect the new as new as embodied in the conservation Overseas resources, as reflected in Weiqiaofuwu maintain overseas beneficial."

RELATED ITEMS

Afghanistan and the Karzai connection: Peace there depends on an effective government, and Obama's withdrawal deadline offers an incentive for the Afghan president to get to work - Christopher J. Fettweis, latimes.com: The most important factor in Afghanistan — or what strategists sometimes refer to as the "center of gravity" — is not the Taliban but the Karzai government. It is not our enemies who represent the main obstacle to success but our allies. The Karzai government will never be ready to stand on its own unless it is given incentive to do so.

Setting a deadline for withdrawal is the correct strategic choice. Image from article, with caption: Afghan President Hamid Karzai, right, and President Obama arrive to sign a strategic partnership accord that sets the broad outlines of U.S. engagement for a decade beyond the completion of NATO's combat role in 2014.

Annan’s new road map for peace in Syria - David Ignatius, Washington Post: The United States and its key Western allies don’t want to intervene militarily, fearing that this could produce a highly unpredictable and unstable outcome. The West wants Russia to broker a deal, but so far President Vladimir Putin hasn’t seen enough pragmatic benefit to embrace this course. To break the deadlock, Annan would create his contact group, composed of the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council (Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States), plus Saudi Arabia and perhaps Qatar to represent the Arab League, and Turkey and Iran. The idea is to bring together the countries with most influence on the situation.

MORE QUOTATIONS FOR THE DAY

"Modern propaganda is ancient rhetoric on steroids."

--A member of  your PDPBR compiler's course, "Propaganda and US Foreign Policy: A Historical Overview"

"Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that Bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone."

--Eloise Lee, "The Chilling Letter Eisenhower Drafted in Case the Nazis Won on D-Day," Business Insider; via JJ on Facebook; image from article

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