The UK's Spin Army

A "Defense Communications Strategy" developed for the British Ministry of Defense (MoD) notes that the UK is spending millions of pounds on more than 1,000 spin doctors to improve the public image of the armed forces. However, the report states that it cannot "measure the impact of our communications effort both internally and externally" and admits, "Operations in Iraq are not supported by the majority of the public and operations in Afghanistan are supported by only a narrow majority." To improve the military's image, the report recommends "creating a steady stream of positive stories which directly promote the MoD and forces' reputation, but also helps to offset the inevitable bad stories."