There are three categories of radio propaganda stations; two are considered clandestine (Soley, 1993). "Dark" (clandestine) and "white" are categories used by U.S. intelligence agencies. White radio stations are truthful about their location and purpose; examples are Radio Free Europe and Radio Marti (Voice of America-sponsored radio into Cuba). This category also includes foreign service and armed forces radio operations. Dark stations may be either "gray" or "black." Gray stations are operated by or attributed to local dissident groups but are often sponsored by foreign governments. The Free Voice of Iran is an example. Black radio stations are operated by an enemy of the target country or by guerrilla groups, and they keep their location and operation secret. Radio Vencere­ mos, which operated for 12 years in El Salvador as the underground voice of the anti government guerrillas, is an example of a black clandestine station.

Operations before and during World War II

     Clandestine radio operations began before World War II in Europe on stations such as Radio Free Spain during the Span­ ish Civil War and in such broadcasts as those of the Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland, secret Communist broadcasts in Czechoslovakia, and broadcasts by anti-Nazi Germans. Other countries involved in clandestine radio operations before World War II included Italy, Great Britain, and France. Beginning in September 1934, Rudolf Wormys ran the first anti-Nazi clandestine stations in Germany.

     The Soviet Union, France, Austria, and Spain all operated clandestine stations during World War II. The Dutch operated a clandestine station, known as "The Bugbomb," from England but claimed to be operating from within the Netherlands. The British began clandestine operations aimed at Germany in May 1940, which claimed untruthfully to be broadcasting from Germany. During World War II, Radio 1212 was operated by the psychological warfare branch of the U.S. 12th Army Group. It claimed to be operating in Germany but actually broadcast from Luxembourg. Truthful news and information were mixed with rumors and lies in an attempt to undermine German morale.

     The Germans sponsored a gray clandestine operation named "New British Broadcasting," which began in February 1940. The station claimed to be operated by a British peace organization, but it was actually located in Germany and used scripts written by William Joyce ("Lord Haw Haw"). There is not much evidence that it was listened to by the British. The Germans also directed clandestine radio at the Soviet Union and at the United States through Radio Debunk, which claimed to be broadcasting from the Midwest but actually operated from Bremen, Germany. There is no evidence of any effect of these operations.

Operations during the Cold War, 1945-89

     Cold War demands led to clandestine radio, sponsored by both the U.S. and Soviet governments, that aimed at overthrowing unfriendly governments. United States operations included the Voice of Liberation in Guatemala, which called for the democratically elected president to resign because he was trying to make Guatemala a communist dictatorship. In the summer of 1954, the president resigned and fled the country. The actual location of the transmitters was on Swan Island, off Honduras and in Nicaragua. The station was operated by U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agents and by Guatemalans trained at a CIA base in Miami. Another clandestine CIA-operated station located on Swan Island was Radio Swan, which claimed that it was privately owned. In 1960 Radio Swan demanded the resignation of Fidel Castro.   

     Other operations during the Cold War included The Voice of the National United Front of Kampuchea, which claimed to be operating in Cambodia on behalf of the deposed leader, Prince Sihanouk, but which was actually broadcasting from Laos and was run by the CIA. Other stations operating from the same complex in Asia broadcast to North Vietnam, South Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos. In 1980 The Free Voice of Iran demanded that the Ayatollah Khomeini resign or face civil war. At first, it was reported that the station was operated by a general loyal to the deposed Shah. It was soon disclosed that the station's transmitters were in Egypt and were supported by the CIA.

     Radio Quince de Septiembre (active from April 1981 to 1987) broadcast into Nicaragua and demanded the resignation of the newly installed Sandinista government. The station was run by contra guerillas based in Honduras and backed by money from the CIA. The funding was covert, because the U.S. Congress prohibited the use of funds to assist rebels. Covert radio operations were also conducted by other nations into Afghanistan, Angola, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Libya, Nicaragua, Poland, and Surinam.

     During the Cold War, the Soviet Union also sponsored clandestine radio broadcasts. The Voice of the Turkish Communist Party and Our Radio (begun in 1958) broadcast from East Germany and Romania to Turkey. The National Voice of Iran broadcast from the Soviet Union to Iran. In the 1970s, Radio Free Portugal transmitted from Romania and Hungary to Portugal against the latter's right-wing dictatorship. Other Soviet­ sponsored clandestine radio stations included Ce Soir en France; Oggi in Italia; Radio Espafia Independiente; and German Freedom Station 904, which broadcast from East to West Germany. None of these broadcasts ever disclosed that they transmitted from within the Soviet Union. Many, such as Greece's Voice of Truth (1975) and Radio Free Portugal (1974), went off the air during the 1970s. Radio Espana Independiente ended operations in 1977 after 36 years of operation and declared its mission accomplished. Those stations that survived into the 1980s were shut down by Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev. The last clandestine broadcast from Soviet-backed stations to Europe ended in 1988. There have been no clandestine operations broadcast from Russia since the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Operations after the Cold War

     According to Soley (1993), the ending of the Cold War has led to more, not fewer, clandestine radio stations, as regional and ethnic conflicts have increased. Although Soviet-backed clandestine radio has largely disappeared, the United States continues to support clandestine stations in a number of countries, most notably those broadcasting into Panama and Iraq.

     Clandestine radio operations are often conducted by indigenous groups fighting in a civil war. The Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) keeps people aware of progress in the war against Ethiopia using a clandestine radio service that began in May r99r. Radio has played a significant role in the movement's success. The broadcasts encouraged the voluntary participation of guerilla soldiers and enabled the movement to fight successfully against Ethiopia. The EPLF used its own broadcasting station, called the Voice of the Broad Masses of Eritrea, to declare their ideas of self-determination. Two Marxist clandestine stations are The Radio of the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (Radio SPLA), broadcasting against the Islamic fundamentalist regime in Khartoum, and the Voice of the Sarbedaran, an anti-government station broadcasting to Iran on behalf of the Union of Iranian Communists.

     In 1980 Radio Venceremos (literally, "We shall overcome") was begun by the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) guerrillas in the mountains of El Salvador. During the civil war, broadcasts included war reports, messages for fighters, and political propaganda. The station called itself "the signal of freedom." With the acceptance of a peace plan in I992, Radio Venceremos began legal operations and now reports everyday events and social and economic issues affecting the poor. One of the station's biggest problems is finding commercial support. During the war, the FMLN guerillas kidnapped many businessmen for ransom, and now they need the business community's support for advertising.

     Other clandestine operations broadcast to Angola, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Afghanistan. Although these stations have roots in the Cold War, their continued operation may indicate ethnic rather than ideological war. For example, in Haiti, pro­ Aristide stations continue to operate; in Algeria, La Radio de la Fidelitie began after the government canceled elections that fundamentalists were predicted to win; and in Burma, a clan­ destine radio began broadcasting after the military leadership refused to hold elections.

     Despite the end of the Cold War, clandestine radio stations will continue operations in societies where there is a lack of openness, whether the government is military, socialist, or democratic. Their use will probably continue, because authoritarian regimes, political conflict, and civil war continue to threaten world peace. Radio is an inexpensive and technologically easy way to spread propaganda. Radio can reach everyone and is an appropriate medium for expression of suppressed views or to foment revolution, liberation, and rebellion.