‘Propaganda’ not a dirty word in Vietnam

Passport reader Eric Jon Magnuson sends along the following gem: Readers of the newest website of Vietnam’s government-controlled press can’t complain of any hidden bias in reporting. Propaganda magazine, the official organ of Vietnam’s Committee for Propaganda and Training, launched its website (www.tuyengiao.vn) Monday, featuring articles about Ho Chi Minh Thought and a visit by ...

Passport reader Eric Jon Magnuson sends along the following gem:

Passport reader Eric Jon Magnuson sends along the following gem:

Readers of the newest website of Vietnam’s government-controlled press can’t complain of any hidden bias in reporting. Propaganda magazine, the official organ of Vietnam’s Committee for Propaganda and Training, launched its website (www.tuyengiao.vn) Monday, featuring articles about Ho Chi Minh Thought and a visit by representatives of the Russian Communist Party. […]

[I]n Vietnam, public-service campaigns on everything from HIV prevention to wearing motorbike helmets are termed “propaganda.” The division between politics and other kinds of social activism is less clear than in multiparty democracies.

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