Monday, February 2, 2015

Attkisson: White House Using Tax Dollars for Studio-Grade ‘Pure Propaganda’



◼ "Your tax dollars may kick in for the cost of their hairstylists, makeup artists and wardrobe consultants." - Nicholas Ballasy/PJMedia

Former CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson said the Obama administration has been producing its own video content to promote “unfiltered” messages with taxpayer-funded staff, including hairstylists, makeup artists and wardrobe consultants.

By cutting out the news media, Attkisson said the White House has figured out how to avoid questions and accountability. She also revealed that the Department of Agriculture has more than 1,200 “media relations employees” nationwide.

“White House officials have exploited non-news media to spoon-feed unfiltered messaging, at times pure propaganda, into the public’s mouth. The Google-sponsored chat I mentioned – that came with a pre-selected audience and questions submitted in advance by the White House’s own YouTube channel – that’s the way they like it,” Attkisson, the author of Stonewalled, said during a speech at Hillsdale College. “They generate their own content, rely on surrogates to help spread partisan blogs, Twitter and Facebook, give lots of interviews to entertainment programs, digital media and feature press.”

Attkisson said the federal government has adopted many public affairs strategies used by large corporations, except the government is using public funds to “advance its propaganda.”

“One way they do it is by self-producing videos and building their very own television production facilities where the upper echelon give interviews and speeches, controlling everything from content to lighting,” she said.

According to Attkisson, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) use millions of taxpayer dollars to expand or create their own television studios. Attkisson said the FDA has a studio that can fit a live audience of 100 people and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has a studio with Hitachi high-definition cameras and LCD-based teleprompters. KEEP READING





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