Paying for propoganda


The U.S. military is on shaky ground
This one is not exactly surprising,

Many of the articles are presented in the Iraqi press as unbiased news accounts written and reported by independent journalists. The stories trumpet the work of U.S. and Iraqi troops, denounce insurgents and tout U.S.-led efforts to rebuild the country.

Though the articles are basically factual, they present only one side of events and omit information that might reflect poorly on the U.S. or Iraqi governments, officials said. Records and interviews indicate that the U.S. has paid Iraqi newspapers to run dozens of such articles, with headlines such as "Iraqis Insist on Living Despite Terrorism," since the effort began this year.

The operation is designed to mask any connection with the U.S. military. The Pentagon has a contract with a small Washington-based firm called Lincoln Group, which helps translate and place the stories. The Lincoln Group's Iraqi staff, or its subcontractors, sometimes pose as freelance reporters or advertising executives when they deliver the stories to Baghdad media outlets.

What is surprising is that some news outlets in the U.S. who should know better run the propaganda from the other side without doing any fact checking.

As OpinionJournal.com notes, just what is the difference between what the U.S. military is doing there and the L.A. Times is doing here?

Propaganda is just as much a tool of war as anything else. At best it is is morally questionable.

But what is the other side doing?

— NeoWayland

Posted: Wed - November 30, 2005 at 04:19 PM  Tag


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