Wartime Information Security Program
The Wartime Information Security Program (abbreviated WISP) was a Cold War-era group that would have been responsible for censorship in the aftermath of a nuclear war. In such a situation, emergency powers would grant this group of eight officials authority over all United States media and all other communications that entered or left the country.
The members of WISP and their support staff would take refuge and operate out of a specially-constructed bunker in the basement of an academic building at McDaniel College, Maryland. The several-thousand-square-foot bunker space was relinquished back to the college around 1990.
The group was originally created as the United State Office of Censorship under President Dwight David Eisenhower, but was later renamed to avoid negative connotations associated with the word "censorship".
See also
References
- Suchoski, Richard (March 9, 2000). "Basement room of Lewis no longer remains a mystery" (Reprint). Phoenix. Western Maryland College. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
- "The Lay of the Land". The Center for Land Use Interpretation Newsletter. Spring 2000. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
Further reading
- Wise, D. (1973). The Politics of Lying: Government Deception, Secrecy, and Power. Random House. ISBN 978-0-394-47932-3.