Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is still broadcasting, although most of us thought the “Cold War” was pretty much over. The agency that runs the media network is still paid for by our taxes. By a 1948 law it is banned from disseminating its content inside the U.S.
Now we find out, thanks to an alert researcher from Syracuse University, that Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has been buying ads on Facebook. The ads feature human interest stories about Russia along with an ad, which ran after Trump criticized NATO, that discussed how unpopular NATO was.
I guess it is not enough to have a whole network devoted to praising Trump. Now we have tax-supported ads as well.
Will anyone lose his or her job over this? Not likely.
See Kevin Roose, “U.S.-Funded Broadcaster Directed Ads At Americans,” New York Times (20 July 2018), p. B-1, B6.
I know I’m doing too many posts based on New York Times articles, but none of this appears on MSNBC or CNN, both of which seem fixated on Mueller’s investigation or Helsinki. Did they run stories about the Interior Department changing the rules on endangered species? How about the attempt to sue unions to force them to pay back service dues, which will bankrupt the unions? What about the Sinclair Broadcasting efforts to dominate media outlets? Or the 9th Circuit Court nominee who was rejected?
I don’t think MSNBC and CNN are “fake news.” I just think they are incomplete news.
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