PANEL MONIT[ ] CIA NEWS 'P[ ]

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01314R000300240005-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 22, 2006
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: January 17, 1976
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 2006/08/22 : CIA-RDP88-01314R000300240005-2
WASHINGTON POST 17 JAN 11975
Panel Monit
The Central Intelligence
agency maintains a top-secret
coordinating committee with
the State Department and the
United States Information
Agency to make certain key
policvmakers are not taken in
by exaggerated-or false news
stories planted.,by the CIA's
covert propaganda network,
according to intelligence
sources.
The propaganda coor-
dinating committee' meets
only.when a major CIA covert
media project is about to
break,: and even then, ac-
cording' '_:to intelligence
sources;'only a handful of
officials, are informed.
"If too many are told,"'one
former . agency official said
recently, "the project may not
remain secret. And with
-covert media projects, we are
never certain the planted
material will surface publicly.
We only hope so." -
Although the group provides
Warnings for high government
officials, riosimilarprotection
exists 'for- the American
public-a -situation that has
drawn the attention of the
House and Senate committees
investigating the CIA's covert
journalistic operation.
.CIA Director William F.
Colby told the House com-
mitteethat any pickup of CIA--
generated stories by
American liews organizations
"is a purely incidental effect.
of the activity which is con-
ducted abroad with its'ob-
jective abroad and with its
impact abroad.",
According to former top CIA
officials,. it was just such an
"incidental" effect of a. covert
propaganda operation that led
to establishment of the
coordinating conirnittee.
In the early'1950s, these,
officials say, -
the agency was
.
using its resources in the Far
East '10 create irritations,
between the Soviet and.
Chinese governments.
At that - time, the two. Communist powers 'were
beginning' to . have,
disagreements but were far
from the open break that
subsequently took place. t.
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