THE CAMPAIGN OF TRUTH
Part 17 of the pamphlet, "OUR FOREIGN POLICY 1952":
THE CAMPAIGN OF TRUTH
THE last several years have witnessed an increasingly bitter and vicious campaign of hate and slander against the U.S. Government and its people by the Soviet Union and its satellites. As a result, early in the spring of 1950 President Truman asked the Congress for a special appropriation to expand our overseas in-formation and educational exchange activities and to launch what he termed a "great campaign of truth."
Our efforts to promote and secure the cause of free-dom in the world have one strict limitation. We will not – indeed we cannot – impose ideas on other nations. Democracy cannot be forced on people. It has to grow out of conviction and experience. It has to be voluntarily tried and accepted. Other ways of life can be im-posed by force and terror. Democracy cannot live by force and terror. Tyranny feeds on ignorance. De-mocracy and freedom thrive on knowledge and understanding.
All possible information media are used in the Campaign of Truth. Through the radio we reach audiences throughout the world, including people behind the Iron Curtain. Publications, particularly popular leaflets and pictorial books, are widely circulated. Films, selected on the basis of popular appeal, are shown to thousands daily in the free parts of the world. A program for the
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exchange of persons is helping to develop an under-standing between our people and the people of other nations.
These operations are conducted largely through U.S. information missions overseas, which serve as arsenals of ideas about the principles for which the United States stands.
During 1951 the technical work of the Campaign of Truth was greatly improved. More effective broadcast-ing devices were supplied, including a broadcasting ship that can avoid the Soviet jamming better than a fixed station. Information services are now more sharply beamed to individuals and groups in other countries 72 whose attitudes have an important influence on national action. To present simply an accurate picture of the United States is now only a part, although still an important part, of our total effort. The emphasis is stronger on pointing up the values we share with other free peoples. We point out the ways in which freedom is threatened by aggressive Soviet communism. We show the other free peoples that their stake in the future is closely tied in with our own. Only by developing an awareness of these ties can we effectively reach other peoples and their governments and gain their support. The United States wants not only to let the world understand us, but to encourage free interchange of in-formation and news among all peoples. To this end we cooperate in the efforts of the Unnited Nations and UNESCO to make "freedom of information" a reality. These programs deal with exchanges of educational materials ; exchanges of scholars, teachers, students, and journalists ; and methods of increasing the supply of newsprint and book paper. The Campaign of Truth is a necessary instrument of the foreign policy of the United States. It brings out the psychological effect of the political, economic, military, and diplomatic measures taken by the U.S. Government to strengthen world freedom. It contributes to the effort to deter Soviet communism from under-taking aggression, whether by force of arms or by civil subversion. It contributes to the building among free 73 nations of mutual confidence in their ability to defend themselves against aggressive forces. It helps to main-tain stability and cohesion in areas of the world in which the ferment of change may be exploited by the cynical conspirators of the Cominform. It is a major means of strengthening the spirit of resistance to new Soviet ag-gressive plans among peoples who are captives of Soviet communism and of keeping alive the hope that in time they will again be free.
During 1951 the technical work of the Campaign of Truth was greatly improved. More effective broadcast-ing devices were supplied, including a broadcasting ship that can avoid the Soviet jamming better than a fixed station. Information services are now more sharply beamed to individuals and groups in other countries 72 whose attitudes have an important influence on national action. To present simply an accurate picture of the United States is now only a part, although still an important part, of our total effort. The emphasis is stronger on pointing up the values we share with other free peoples. We point out the ways in which freedom is threatened by aggressive Soviet communism. We show the other free peoples that their stake in the future is closely tied in with our own. Only by developing an awareness of these ties can we effectively reach other peoples and their governments and gain their support. The United States wants not only to let the world understand us, but to encourage free interchange of in-formation and news among all peoples. To this end we cooperate in the efforts of the Unnited Nations and UNESCO to make "freedom of information" a reality. These programs deal with exchanges of educational materials ; exchanges of scholars, teachers, students, and journalists ; and methods of increasing the supply of newsprint and book paper. The Campaign of Truth is a necessary instrument of the foreign policy of the United States. It brings out the psychological effect of the political, economic, military, and diplomatic measures taken by the U.S. Government to strengthen world freedom. It contributes to the effort to deter Soviet communism from under-taking aggression, whether by force of arms or by civil subversion. It contributes to the building among free 73 nations of mutual confidence in their ability to defend themselves against aggressive forces. It helps to main-tain stability and cohesion in areas of the world in which the ferment of change may be exploited by the cynical conspirators of the Cominform. It is a major means of strengthening the spirit of resistance to new Soviet ag-gressive plans among peoples who are captives of Soviet communism and of keeping alive the hope that in time they will again be free.
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