Media controlled by CIA, government
In 1735 printer John Peter Zenger stood trial on the charge of seditious libel for publishing articles exposing malfeasance and wrong doing by the Royal Governor of New York William Cosby. The law of seditious libel was anything printed derogatory of the government even if were true. His defense lawyer, Philip Hamilton, told the jury, “The question before the court and you, is not the cause of one poor printer, No! It may in its consequence affect every free man that lives under a British government on the main of America. It is the best cause. It is the cause of liberty.”
The judge instructed the jury they must find him guilty if they believed he printed those articles in his New York Weekly Journal. When the jury returned after less than 10 minutes of deliberation, they found him not guilty, which led to the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights. The jury showed that they could disregard the judges instruction and nullify a law they disagreed with. They endorsed the idea that the press has a right even a duty to report malfeasance in government.
At the turn of the 20th century, J.P. Morgan discovered he could control public opinion by controlling only 25 newspapers. Then came Operation Mockingbird where the CIA planted propaganda stories in the media. To quote CIA director William Casey, “We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.”
This is what we have now become.
Alan C. Edwards
Carson City
