In 2013, President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Within the NDAA, there was an amendment regarding the Smith-Mundt Act. The “Smith-Mundt Modernization Act” did not repeal the original Act completely but rather lifted some restrictions on the domestic dissemination of government-funded media.
Repealing the “Smith-Mundt Modernization Act” would ensure an added layer of citizen protection against government-funded media (e.g., mainstream media propaganda) weaponization to either censor or influence information (e.g., Hunter Biden Laptop Hoax, COVID Vaccine Censorship, election interference, etc.).
Additionally, as the American people own the airwaves, safeguards must be placed in the form of legal accountability for entities such as mainstream media companies, the federal government, etc. who knowingly lie, incite violence (e.g., the concerted effort to de-humanize political candidates, paired with mislabels like “ Fascist,” “Nazi,” “Hitler,” leading to assassination attempts of a Presidential candidate), misrepresent the truth (e.g., editing of videos to take things out of context), or censor First Amendment rights with regard to the American citizens.
The US government should be transparent and hold themselves accountable as our elected officials.