The Word at War

The Washington Post pulls back the curtain on the firm responsible for producing pro-U.S. propaganda in Iraq. (Hint: they call propaganda “influence.”)

The Washington Post:

Oh, no, not at all — the Lincoln Group does not do propaganda. Sure, the firm’s been tarred by some in Congress, the media and the defense establishment for paying Iraqi newspapers to publish hundreds of “news” stories secretly written by U.S. troops.

But Paige Craig, the West Point dropout and former Marine intelligence specialist who is the Lincoln Group’s president, says the practice is not propaganda. The word carries such baggage, such suggestions of mind control. So in an industry in which euphemism thrives, a more elegant word is deployed.

“We call it ‘influence,’ ” says Craig, whose business has 12 U.S. government contracts totaling more than $130 million.

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