Massie proposes bill to stop ‘taxpayer-funded propaganda’ being used against the American people

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has introduced H.R. 5704, the Repeal the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2013 in an effort to reestablish safeguards against government-led influence campaigns targeting Americans.

The bill seeks to prohibit the domestic dissemination of U.S. government-funded media content intended for foreign audiences.

The legislation would reverse a provision included in the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that lifted a decades-old ban on distributing State Department and U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) content within the United States.

"The Smith-Mundt Modernization Act opened the door for taxpayer-funded propaganda to be used against the American people," said Massie in a statement. "I opposed the 2013 NDAA for this reason and recently tried to restore the original prohibition through an amendment to the 2026 NDAA, but the vote was blocked by Speaker Johnson. It's time to repeal this dangerous law."