Joe Biden & Narrative Management: A Long & Twisted Relationship - Part I
A look into Biden's approach to shaping foreign policy through state-sponsored narrative management outlets & actors.
PART I:
This recent Newsweek article got me thinking about Joe Biden’s influence on the various agencies that attempt to shape the narrative about the United States around the world.
Apparently, Joe Biden says that the truth is, once again, “under attack” because of authoritarian governments around the world. Certainly, nothing stemming from the United States government is limiting anyone’s freedom, right Joe? Biden hailed our country as an “arsenal of Democracy” just the other night while speaking to Congress to unveil his plethora of public-private partnerships to the American people. Weird…I thought we voted the fascist out?
[ F Y I : J u l i a n A s s a n g e i s s t i l l i n p r i s o n ]
Joe Biden knows all about committing to “protecting and promoting free, independent, and diverse media around the world.”
We know that Biden’s bragged about writing a similar version of the Patriot Act back in the Clinton-era (along with plenty of other draconian legislative pieces) and he’s proud of his work in the criminal justice space (I think the quote was something along the lines of, “When people think of crime, I want them to think of Joe Biden”), but we rarely hear of Biden’s love for taking government agencies and designating them as “independent” from the government through purely ceremonial procedures at the legal level, all while funding these “independent agencies” with federal dollars, like the US Agency for Global Media. Before understanding what the US Agency for Global Media actually does, let’s go back a few decades to the days of Senator Biden - the distinguished Senator from Delaware, of course. After all, Biden’s been interested in the business of international broadcasting for decades. After all, what better way to win over the hearts and minds of our adversaries than to fund broadcasting operations around the world? See below for Joe Biden’s thoughts on the matter…
“This proposal literally reinvents an important instrumentality of U.S. foreign policy: international broadcasting. When I say “reinvent”, I mean that literally. We are fundamentally changing the way in which we organize our international broadcasting,” said Biden.
In fact, it’s no secret that the BBG - born out of the United States Information Agency, began as a CIA-backed propaganda department in 1953 to win the hearts and minds of those living in the shadows of communism. After what was, in the government’s eyes, a long history of effective democracy promotion around the world, Congress met in the 90s to discuss this issue within the context of the Clinton-era changes to government (consolidate agencies, deem them as independent of the government, re-brand them and designate the organization as a federally-supported but independent grantee of the United States government.
Going further, Biden leads the committee through the journey of creating a seemingly independent media agency that, legally, is independent of the United States government — but in reality, that independence only applies to their tax status.
While I’m sure the taxpayers were beyond thrilled at the savings of this supposed “re-imaginative” plan via the Clinton Administration - I’m sure they would’ve like to know the plain truth of what all of this really meant. The United States Information Agency, a CIA-backed operation, eventually folded in the State Department, then into the Board of Broadcasting Governors—and, finally, the US Agency for Global Media. How, you ask, is it possible that the CIA Cold War-era propaganda machine of the United States, then, is still in operation to this day?
It’s simple, really. Separate the agency from the government on an official level so that it doesn’t look like you’re trying to spread propaganda around the world—but designate the entity as a “grantee” of federal money. In other words, it sounds like another private-public partnership.
It’s worth noting that another Senator chimed in on the matter in a response to Biden’s ideas on what an “independent, free press” really meant:
Fast forward a few months after this particular Congressional hearing and voila - the Broadcasting Board of Governors, or the BBG, was created under the passing of the International Broadcasting Act of 1994, thanks to Bill Clinton’s era of “reimagining government.” Again, the agency existed long before its’ new name - but its’ origins were rooted in spreading one thing: American propaganda. Having served its’ purpose in a military sense, the federal government, thanks in part to Joe Biden and his support for Clinton’s international broadcasting reforms in the 90s, helped create a sustainable path for the propaganda machine to live long beyond The Cold War.
A brief history of the Broadcasting Board of Governors
While the BBG operated as a bipartisan board (thanks to the work of Biden and co in the mid-nineties), its’ next form, which still remains today, is an example of what happens when a government agency slowly transforms into a seemingly independent, non-related operation on the surface while still operating as if they were, once again, fighting the reign of the Iron Curtain like it once did. Fast forward a few more years to 1999. when the BBG officially gained its’ independent status with a brand new name — the US Agency for Global Media. This “independent” propaganda arm of the United States Government was crucial, some may say, in shaping the support, or—to be frank, suppress the truth about the war crimes that were committed by the United States and other Western allies in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Again, you might ask, “What does this have to do with Joe Biden?” Well, luckily for us, Joe Biden’s never been one to shy away from talking about something that he’s “gotten done.” The “9/11 Initiative”, which Biden claims to have introduced shortly after the September 11th attacks (t’s not to be found…anywhere as of today. Either way, the point is that Biden’s been a key player when it comes to propaganda and narrative management throughout multiple wars that have spanned far longer than anyone could’ve ever imagined.
The US Agency for Global Media, formerly known as the Broadcasting Board of Governors, is an “independent” grantee of the United States government - effectively operating as a “diplomacy tool” within our foreign policy agenda.
One of the first things Biden did when he got into office was to appoint an interim CEO of the USAGM — Taiwanese American journalist, Kelu Chao. Considering what we know about Biden’s foreign policies within the first 100 days of his presidency, it’s no wonder he moved someone into the position so swiftly given his position on Taiwan and the relationship with China in the 21st century.
Kelu Chao isn’t new to the narrative management tool of the United States government—she’s been a journalist at the Voice of America (you guessed it, one of our largest “independent” state-sponsored international broadcasts under the USGAM umbrella) for decades.
Below is a snippet from VOA’s current home page. I’m curious what accomplishments these “Human Rights Leaders” are praising…I’d love to be wrong on this, but I have a suspicion that the current administration’s Human Rights abuses are quite similar to those of the last administration. After all, Biden’s been less-than-eager to discuss the border and he prevented the press from visiting the border for far too long.
I do know one thing — the media narrative surrounding Biden’s handling of the southern border compared to that of Donald Trump’s is like night and day. Kids in cages? Bad. Kids in holding facilities? Totally acceptable. It’s funny how the tone of the narrative changes depending on who is in office. But hey, that’s politics.
In closing, I’ll leave you with a few excerpts from Joe Biden’s comments from 2004 on narrative management and the endless conflicts within the Middle East. Tell me, does this sound like someone who is a free speech advocate?
Biden’s curious relationship with Norm Pattiz is far more than what it seems….more to come in Part II.
Til next time,
-- Aly
Damn you went down the not so distant memory hole on that one! Great job Aly!