Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee introduced legislation Thursday to restore protections against government-funded propaganda targeted at Americans.
The legislation, dubbed the Charlie Kirk Act after the recently assassinated Turning Point USA founder, would restore protections from the 1948 Smith-Mundt Act to block the federal government from “propagandizing its own citizens shaping media narratives,” according to a press release. The bill’s introduction comes after Kirk died on Sept. 10 after being shot — allegedly by an accused assassin reportedly indoctrinated by left-wing ideology — during a speaking event at Utah Valley University.
“From the end of World War II until the Obama administration, it was illegal for the US government to use the State Department’s foreign broadcasting apparatus to target American citizens with propaganda,” Lee said in a statement. “In 2013, these protections were taken away. My legislation restores this safeguard under the name of an American martyr for freedom of speech and freedom of thought: Charlie Kirk. As Charlie’s vital work so ably demonstrated, Americans can figure out the truth for themselves without [the] government telling them what to believe.”
Republican Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall is cosponsoring the bill.
“The tragedy we witnessed last week was a sobering reminder of the perils of a population subjected to dangerous propaganda,” Marshall said in a statement. “The federal government should never be able to directly target U.S. citizens with propaganda, and this bill takes meaningful steps to remove any semblance of government influence over American media.”
The U.S. Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948, often referred to as the “Smith-Mundt Act,” specifies the terms in which the U.S. government can engage in public diplomacy, according to the U.S. Agency for Global Media.
Some liberals have reportedly been taking to social media to celebrate Kirk’s assassination. Additionally, Disney’s ABC announced on Wednesday night that it is taking Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show off the air indefinitely over his remarks about Kirk’s assassination.
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