Information Warfare: November 13, 2001

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Taking a technique widely used in American politics, the U.S. government is preparing paid ads to run in Arab television stations (in particular the independent cable news Al Jazeera). The ads will put forth the American position about the War on Terrorism using all the splash and dash that makes U.S. movies and television so popular in Arab countries. Al Jazeera is a commercial operation that, while doing much better because of the war coverage, has yet to make a profit. So the ads will probably be accepted. The results should be interested. The American government has also enlisted the help of the film industry, which includes many of the people who make commercials. Many movie directors got their start directing commercials and music videos. The results of all this should be quite interesting.