Posts shared by × They argue that former President Barack Obama repealed the Smith-Mundt Act in 2012, paving the way for the government to promote “propaganda” on domestic radio and television.

Imagine Mudiji with the Smith-Mundt method. How many millions of dollars could India have saved without the government’s fake PR and propaganda? pic.twitter.com/L4eRVVtesa

— αпiпδιтα (@iHateFreeWorld_) October 22, 2024

Verdict: Misleading

The Smith-Mundt Act was not repealed, but was amended by President Obama in 2012. The amendment did not allow “state-sponsored propaganda.”

Fact check:

of Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948The bill, also known as the Smith-Mundt Act, was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman on January 27, 1948. The bill is named after Republican South Dakota Representative Carl E. Mundt, one of the bill’s sponsors. This bill aims to define exactly how the U.S. State Department can conduct public diplomacy to foreign audiences.

A post shared on X claims that the Smith-Mundt Act was repealed by President Barack Obama in 2012. “Imagine Mudiji with the Smith-Mundt Act. Without the government’s fake PR and propaganda, India could have saved millions of dollars,” the post’s caption reads.

However, this is misleading. signed by president obama Smith-Mundt Modernization ActWhich amended the 1948 bill And it gave Americans access to programming aimed at foreigners. This law was signed with amendments National Defense Authorization Act The Smith-Mundt Act regulated what the State Department could broadcast to foreign audiences and also prohibited domestic distribution of content produced by foreign audiences.

of The ACLU didthat its repeal was, in fact, a positive step for the First Amendment. (Related: No, The Atlantic didn’t write an article titled “Trump is literally Hitler”)

.@ACLU: The Smith-Mundt reforms are “a positive step toward the First Amendment.” http://t.co/0Wiz1mWg @Rep_Adam_Smith @MacTXPress @TSonenshine @CJR

— U.S. Agency for Global Media (@USAGMgov) May 25, 2012

According to the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the bill aimed to create “information services to disseminate information about the United States, its people, and its policies abroad.” This bill is Voice of development (VOA)an American-funded broadcast service designed to promote American diplomacy to foreign audiences.

of ×post Tagged as a community note to provide proper context for users.