A law of the United States itself prohibits the Voice of America (A subsidiary of the United States Information Agency) from diseminating its contend to American audience. The assumption is that it would influence the American public opinion, which amounts to propaganda. Then why people across the world should not consider the USIA contetns as propaganda! Just see the relevant part of that law: Smith-Mundt Act (1948) and Zorinsky Amendments -- In legislation over the years, Congress has restricted USIA's public diplomacy apparatus from being used to influence U.S. public opinion. The Foreign Relations Authorization Act of 1972 amended the Smith-Mundt Act to include a ban on disseminating within the United States any "information about the United States, its people, and its policies" prepared for dissemination abroad. The Zorinsky Amendment added a new prohibition: "no funds authorized to be appropriated to the United States Information Agency shall be used to influence public opinion in the United States, and no program material prepared by the United States Information Agency shall be distributed within the United States." The Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 (the Act) addresses the application of these restrictions to State, giving it the flexibility to allocate personnel and other resources effectively and efficiently. In integrating USIA, State will observe all applicable legal restrictions.
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