Photo: Alamy
A new cable reportedly suggests that U.S. embassies and consulates around the world should work with the U.S. military psy-ops unit to crack down on foreign anti-American propaganda or disinformation.
The alleged cable, obtained by The Guardian, was signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the outlet claimed, and said it “lays out a sweeping set of instructions for how embassy staff should push back against what it describes as coordinated foreign efforts to undermine American interests abroad.”
The United States has just entered its fifth week of active combat against Iran in Operation Epic Fury. The U.S. is joined in this military effort by its joint partner, Israel.
The concept of launching counterpropaganda during war is certainly nothing new. This was seen, perhaps most obviously, during World War II, when nearly all levers of communications were recruited to push pro-American propaganda, particularly in poster campaigns, and even through Hollywood collaborations, such as Walt Disney’s animation company.
Today, propaganda is often indistinguishable from news, thanks to the influence of instant content dissemination on social media. With the added confusion of AI deepfakes, it’s hard to know what is true and what is not.
According to The Guardian, the alleged cable from the SOS instructs embassies on five goals: “countering hostile messaging, expanding access to information, exposing adversary behavior, elevating local voices who support American interests, and promoting what it calls ‘telling America’s story.’”
Embassies are also being instructed to “recruit” influencers to carry this counter-propaganda messaging, via The Guardian’s review. From the cable quoted in the report:
“These campaigns seek to shift blame to the United States, sew division among allies, promote alternative worldviews antithetical to America’s interests, and even undermine American economic interests and political freedoms.”
This is, allegedly, taking place on digital platforms and large-scale influence operations. The Guardian said that the cable tells these diplomatic epicenters to coordinate with the Department of War’s Psy-Op unit – psychological operations.
The reported cable has not been explicitly confirmed by the State Department, per The Guardian, but a spokesperson for the agency told the outlet that countering foreign propaganda was already a top priority.