Warriors of Disinformation
How Lies, Videotape, and the USIA Won the Cold War
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
Have you ever thought about what really goes on behind the walls of the White House or the Pentagon? Particularly in times of political upheaval, it often seems that the government and the media work together to keep the voting public confused and distracted. In Warriors of Disinformation, Alvin A. Snyder, a former director of USIA’s Television and Film Service, reveals the various propaganda campaigns sent out by the United States during the Cold War, one of the most strained, uncertain times in American political history.
Snyder examines the “shady” billion-dollar dealings dedicated to “an exaggerated version of the truth,” and how President Reagan deceived the Soviets with well-plotted plans of fabrication. Readers will be shocked by the lengths that our government went to in order to hide the truth, and to consistently lie to not only the Soviets, but also to the American people about what was going on in the “land of the free.”
Warriors of Disinformation is an incredible look inside the government from someone who was on the front line. Hear stories that were never supposed to leave confidential meeting rooms and find out firsthand what went on behind closed doors. Snyder has a story to tell you, and you’d be crazy not to listen.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Because of a 50-year ban on domestic dissemination of U.S. Information Agency programs, the American public has little knowledge of the material broadcast overseas by the government. This instructive insider's report by the former director of USIA's Television and Film Service reveals the Reagan-era propaganda campaigns designed to influence public attitudes abroad and erode support for the Soviets. Snyder shows how the agency organized a satellite television network called Worldnet, which by 1985 had become President Reagan's ``chief foreign public opinion weapon.'' The author characterizes USIA as the biggest public relations organization in the world, with a staff of some 10,000 and a budget of $2 billion, dedicated to spreading ``an exaggerated version of the truth.'' Among the propaganda campaigns Snyder recalls was the successful effort to deceive the Soviets into thinking that U.S. missile technology was more developed than it was by rigging the Star Wars tests. He also provides insight into Soviet disinformation activities, including the Moscow-inspired story that the U.S. created the AIDS virus to kill its African American population. Readers will be interested to learn how Washington conducted its public diplomacy overseas during the latter phase of the Cold War. Photos.
