The Center for Media and Democracy is working with Free Press to gather a quarter million signatures on our petition [3] mobilizing the American public to fight fake news and government propaganda. On Sunday, the New York Times reported [4] that at least 20 federal agencies have made and distributed pre-packaged, ready-to-serve television news segments to promote President Bush's policies and initiatives. Congress' Government Accountability Office determined that these "video news releases [5]" were illegal "covert propaganda [6]" and told federal agencies to stop. But last Friday, the White House ordered all agencies to disregard Congress' directive. The Bush administration is using hundreds of millions of your tax dollars to manipulate public opinion. Here's how to stop them.

Sign our petition [3] and help us get 250,000 people to join our call to Congress, the Federal Communications Commission and local television stations. Tell Congress and the FCC to toughen and enforce laws against "covert propaganda" and demand that broadcasters come clean with viewers about using government-produced news. Join others in your community to create "citizen agreements" with your local TV stations to stop fake news broadcasts. These agreements are official documents filed at the FCC that -- if broken -- can be used to deny license renewals. Free Press will connect you with others in your area working to ensure local broadcasters identify the sources behind the "news."

Unless we speak out now, the White House will continue to act with impunity -- taking advantage of understaffed and incautious local news operations to manipulate public opinion. Please take a few moments to sign the petition and forward this message to everyone you know. To learn more, read the in-depth report from Free Press [7] on the systematic effort by the Bush administration to manipulate journalists and the American public.