Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WASHINGTON, Dec 23, 2005 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Members of the U.S. public polled recently were steadfastly opposed to the idea of the U.S. military paying the Iraqi media to publish positive stories.
The Los Angeles Times reported last month the Pentagon was paying some members of the Iraqi media to get the military's side of the story before the Iraqi people
A USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll released Friday indicates the idea doesn't sit well back home. Seventy-two percent of respondents said it is inappropriate for the military to secretly publish the articles and about two-thirds said they were bothered a "fair amount" or a "great deal" by the United States paying for such story placement.
Nonetheless, the Pentagon plans to expand the program to other fronts on the war on terror, USA Today reported. The program, expected to cost up to $300 million over five years, will not always reveal that the military is behind the articles.
A total of 1,003 people in the United States were surveyed Dec. 16-18 for the USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2005 by United Press International
