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October 04, 2006, 02:14 PM ET
Keeping Tabs on the Foreign Press
These days, the foreign press is hardly wanting for sharp criticism of the United States: Open up The Guardian, and you’ll likely find Tony Blair coming under fire for his relationship with George W. Bush. Turn on Al-Jazeera, and odds are you’ll see a rebuke of American policy in the Middle East. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security wants to keep tabs on what it considers anti-American sentiment, and it’s turning to a consortium of colleges for help.
Researchers at institutions including Cornell University and the Universities of Pittsburgh and Utah are collaborating to develop “sentiment analysis” software that combs through overseas publications and gauges their opinions on American policy decisions. Since computers must be trained to interpret opinions and biases, the technology is a few years away from seeing the light of day.
Officials with the Homeland Security department—which is devoting $2.4-million to the research project—say the software could help identify potential threats to the nation, according to The New York Times.
But should federal officials—or, for that matter, campus researchers—spend their time trawling for negative press clippings? Some reporters and privacy advocates think not. Critics of the project say it has little to do with national security, and some skeptics fear that “sentiment analysis” will be used to stifle criticism from the foreign press, not just to gauge it.
The entire endeavor is “just creepy and Orwellian,” says Lucy Dalgish, a lawyer who is executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. —Brock Read
Categories: Research
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