The thought, and a good one, was to establish a barrier between government agencies and the media, and for 65 years the act stood unchallenged, given the role propaganda is generally reserved for in empowering dictatorial governments.

Fast forward to 2012. Under President Obama, the law was changed with the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012, an act sponsored by Rep. Mac Thornberry (R- Texas) and Rep. Adam Smith (D- Wash.). The reform was quietly inserted into the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and effectively nullified the original 1948 act.

Let’s be clear, the original law prohibited U.S. organizations from using state resources, including the intelligence community, to influence public opinion of United States citizens. Obama’s reform to the Smith-Mundt Act allowed the American public to be a target audience of U.S. government-funded information campaigns.

https://ivn.us/2017/05/03/comey-accidentally-admits-plan-expand-propaganda-programs/