alt Hacker NewsThese programs were largely about ensuring that American propaganda can reach people in Iran or similar places. This is no longer considered an issue, and the focus is now on reducing young American’s exposure to alternative geopolitical narratives. This strategy also aligns with the US government’s trend of aggressive privatization; an israeli billionaire will happily pay for the privilege of content moderation on american social media platforms, saving the tax payer money. Win win.
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Really important to first, pick that example of content moderation and then point out that he's an Israeli. Maybe think about why you used that example when there are countless others regarding free speech/internet freedom.
> American propaganda can reach people in Iran
> American’s exposure to alternative geopolitical narratives
In the same breath!
A program that helped people evade real censorship is "feeding them US propaganda" and social media awash with state-sponsored trolls tearing our societies apart is "an alternative geopolitical narrative" - bit of a spin, isn't it?
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Exactly this. The fact that you got downvoted tells a lot about how much political propaganda has infiltrated HN.
>These programs were largely about ensuring that American propaganda can reach people in Iran or similar places.
This. The og point of USAID wasn't AID as per the name would misleadingly let you believe, but spreading pro-US anti-USSR propaganda, and only like 3% of that program was spent on actual AID, like food and medicine for the third world, but most of it went to funding media, news and journalists across LatAm, Asia, Africa dn EE, that would push domestic support in those regions for US policies and be critical of US adversaries.
US doesn't fund "freedom" of anything out of selflessness, it funds policies that are guaranteed to benefit it over its rivals, and use the word "freedom" to legitimize it. Once those benefits no longer materialize, the funding also goes away.