This Act codifies sanctions against Iran and imposes penalties on U.S. persons who knowingly provide paid media services to sanctioned foreign media entities identified as propaganda outlets.
Ernest "Tony" Gonzales
Representative
TX-23
The Stop Foreign Propaganda Act codifies existing sanctions against Iran and establishes new penalties for U.S. persons who knowingly provide paid media services to sanctioned foreign media entities. These sanctions include asset freezes and visa denials for violators. The bill also mandates an annual Treasury Department report detailing enforcement actions and foreign government payments to media outlets spreading propaganda.
Stop Foreign Propaganda Act: New Sanctions Threaten Asset Freezes for Anyone Aiding Designated Foreign Media
The aptly named Stop Foreign Propaganda Act is a two-part punch combining existing sanctions enforcement with brand-new penalties aimed squarely at media influence. First, it takes Executive Order 13846, which deals with sanctions against Iran, and officially makes it permanent U.S. law (SEC. 2). This means those sanctions can’t be easily undone by a future President without Congress stepping in.
The New Sanctions Hammer
The real weight of this bill comes from Section 3, which creates a whole new set of sanctions for anyone who helps out certain foreign media outlets. If you are a U.S. person—or even a foreign person under U.S. jurisdiction—and you knowingly provide “material support or media services” for money to a “covered foreign media entity,” you’re in trouble. And when we say trouble, we mean serious trouble: your U.S. assets could be frozen, you could be banned from getting any U.S. government contracts, and if you’re a foreign national, you could be denied entry into the U.S. (SEC. 3).
Who Counts as a Propaganda Tool?
This is where things get broad. A “covered foreign media entity” isn't just a media outlet directly owned by a hostile government. It also includes any organization that the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), labels as a “tool for foreign state propaganda or harmful influence operations” (SEC. 5). Think about that: two government officials get to decide if a news organization is essentially a propaganda machine. This designation power is huge, and it’s the key trigger for all the penalties.
The Scope of 'Helping Out'
What exactly is “material support or media services”? The bill defines it extremely widely (SEC. 5). It’s not just cash; it includes providing content, editing, photos, video, syndicated articles, technical broadcasting support, distribution platforms, or any resource that allows information to be shared. Imagine you’re a freelance video editor, a web hosting company, or even a journalist who sells an article to an outlet that the State Department later designates as propaganda. If you took payment, you could potentially be subject to asset freezes. This broad definition risks chilling legitimate journalistic or technical cooperation, especially for those who rely on international contracts.
Oversight and Accountability
To keep track of all this, the bill requires the Treasury Secretary to file a detailed annual report with Congress (SEC. 4). This report must list every U.S. and foreign person who gave “material support” to these designated media groups, including the value and duration of that support. It also requires an assessment of how much the Iranian government, specifically, is spending to spread propaganda in the U.S. and allied countries. For the professionals targeted by these sanctions—like editors, producers, and tech specialists—this public reporting requirement adds another layer of scrutiny and potential career risk.