WASHINGTON — The federal government announced Thursday that it has successfully concluded its landmark initiative to inform American taxpayers that it will no longer use their money to inform American taxpayers about things, a program that cost approximately $22 million and is ongoing.
The announcement, issued by the Bureau of Public Communications Regarding the Cessation of Public Communications, confirmed that the administration's previous promise — made October 5th, when the President stated a super PAC would assume all future advertising costs — remains "substantially in the spirit of being honored," pending further review of what the word "will" means in a temporal sense.
"This represents a historic commitment to fiscal responsibility," said an unnamed senior official, reading from a statement that had itself been produced at taxpayer expense. "The American people can rest assured that the era of spending their money on announcements about this administration is over, effective at a date to be determined following additional messaging about that date."
Following the October 5th promise, the government spent an additional $10 million on pro-administration television advertisements, a verified figure confirmed by KPBS and NPR. A federal judge subsequently ordered the ads removed from the air. The ads continued to air. This is a thing that happened.
The Bureau clarified that the post-injunction broadcasts should be understood not as defiance of a federal court order, but as "a transitional awareness phase" during which viewers were being prepared, emotionally, for the absence of future advertisements. "You cannot simply stop informing people," the official noted. "That would be irresponsible."
Legal scholars contacted for comment noted that continuing to broadcast court-ordered-removed content is, technically, illegal. The Bureau of Legal Scholars' Comments was unavailable for further clarification, as it does not exist, though its formation may require a public awareness campaign.
Historically, the federal government has spent taxpayer funds on public service announcements covering such topics as forest fire prevention, seat belt usage, and the dangers of drug use — campaigns that were, critics note, largely about things other than the people making the announcements. The current program represents what the administration calls "an evolution in the genre."
As of press time, a 30-second advertisement informing viewers that the government has stopped running 30-second advertisements is in post-production. It is expected to air in seventeen markets. It is not expected to be the last one.