A curated selection of public diplomacy-relevant news from a global cross-section of English-language media outlets, including independent, corporate-owned, and state-sponsored sources. The stories featured don't necessarily represent CPD's views nor have they been verified by CPD.
US Counterterrorism Communications Center Running Public Diplomacy, Not Infowar
The US State Department's Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications (CSCC) is conducting public diplomacy, not information warfare against the Islamic State (IS) and other terrorist organizations by contesting the space of digital communication and challenging extremist propaganda, the CSCC coordinator told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.
Artillery Does Not Stand a Chance Against the Archers
According to a declassified Ministry of Defence report on the power of soap operas, positive messages and storylines slipped into New Home, New Life, the British-backed Afghan incarnation of The Archers, have helped reduce landmine injuries, and persuaded Afghans to vote and to stop producing opium.
Scenes from Daily Life in the de Facto Capital of ISIS
“With the exception of Vice News, ISIS has permitted no foreign journalists to document life under their rule in Raqqa,” Crabapple wrote. “Instead, they rely on their own propaganda. To create these images, I drew from cell-phone photos a Syrian sent me of daily life in the city. Like the Internet, art evades censorship.”
A New Kind of Diplomacy Takes Root at State Department
The U.S. State Department is the same body that it has always been: handling relations between nations, maintaining peace and balancing tense situations around the globe. But one office is doing that in a new way. Moira Whelan is the deputy assistant secretary for digital strategy. “It’s digital diplomacy,” she told the Centre Daily Times in an interview.
Muslim Pilgrims to Mecca are a Hit on Social Media with 'Hajj Selfies'
The Twittersphere and social media is abuzz in the Arab-Muslim world, this time over what conservative clerics say is a controversial practice of hajj pilgrims to Mecca taking “selfies” with their smartphone devices.
Ukrainian Doctors, Great Falls Residents Introduced
A delegation of five Ukrainian doctors in Great Falls studying U.S. health care this week spoke before an audience Monday morning of about 30 at Great Falls College-Montana State University. The delegates are participating in the Open World Leadership Program, a U.S. Department of State-funded program that allows cultural exchange between young leaders in former Soviet countries and politicians and ordinary people in the United States.
Spread of Western Culture Not Purpose of US ‘Soft Power’ Strategy: Expert
While the Chinese government perceives Americanideological influence as a potential strategic threat, the increase of US "soft power" leverage is merely an effect, and not an intentional policy, Robert Daly, Director of the Wilson Center Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, has told RIA Novosti.
U.S. Winning Fight Against ISIS Recruiting, Official Says
On the same day the United States announced the arrest of a 19-year old attempting to leave the country to join ISIS, a top State Department official said the American efforts to combat ISIS' powerful online message are working.
Pages
Visit CPD's Online Library
Explore CPD's vast online database featuring the latest books, articles, speeches and information on international organizations dedicated to public diplomacy.