The Army has been planting stories favorable to the coalition in Iraqi newspapers, according to documents obtained by the L.A. Times.
The Financial Times weighed in today:
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. … As part of a psychological operations campaign that has intensified over the past year, one of the military officials said that the task force [responsible for planting the stories] also has purchased an Iraqi newspaper and taken control of a radio station, and is using the outlets to channel pro-American messages to the Iraqi public. Neither is identified as a military mouthpiece.
This news should come as no surprise to those following the coalition’s information warfare campaign in Iraq. But planting stories represents the seediest — and least common — tactic for shaping Iraqi attitudes. The main campaign of the infowar is the coalition’s efforts to train up Iraqi journalists in Western-style journalism. Division and brigade public affairs shops throughout Iraq work hand-in-hand with local reporters, helping them gain access to important stories, equipping them with technology they otherwise could not afford and encouraging them to network, check their sources and tell both sides.
Seriously. I’ve seen it happen in Tikrit with the 42nd Infantry Division, in eastern Iraq with the 278th Cavalry Regiment and with British forces in Basra. A couple bad apples don’t represent the entire coalition infowar effort.
Take, for example, the Diyala radio station near Baqubah, where Iraqi journalists host call-in talk programs and the provincial governor delivers speeches. Last year a busload of radio employees were massacred by insurgents, so the 1st Infantry Division began patrolling the area and posted guards at the station. Now it’s secure. And sadly, in Iraq these days, secure means free.
Does that make everything that comes out of the Diyala radio station propaganda?
THIS JUST IN: Defense News quotes White House spokesman Scott McClellan responding to the allegations:
“We’re very concerned about the reports,” … McClellan told reporters. “We have asked the Department of Defense for more information.
“We want to see what the facts are.
“The United States is a leader when it comes to promoting and advocating a free and independent media around the world, and we will continue to do so,” McClellan added.
“We’ve made our views very clear when it comes to freedom of press.
“And in terms of this specific issue, again, what we want to do is find out what the facts are and then we�ll be able to talk about it more at that point,” he said.
–David Axe
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PROPAGANDA ‘R’ US?
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http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=10010
It must really make our reporters proud and the LLL’s and politicians when they get the honor of being quoted or included into Aljizz’s daily drool of anti-american pro-terrorist hatred.
http://memritv.org/Transcript.asp?P1=942
But of course we cant question were their loyalties lie.
Am I the only one the gets the feeling that not only do some at the LA Times want to see the US fail in Iraq, but that they are also actively trying to bring it about?
For the love of allah, don’t you guys read http://WWW.PRISONPLANET.COM go read it come back here and discuss.
If you’re in the right, you shouldn’t have to lie.
Typical behavior for crooks and liars.
Sarge, it is a lot more complicated than that. Apply your logic to another conflict: the US participated in propaganda (including lies) during WW2; therefore, the US was not in the right and was goverened by crooks and liars. That argument doesn’t fly.
Thats station just talks about some of the better thjings going on in Iraq. tell me how its “wrong” to talk about the progress being made, and thats its “good” to have all channels constently report only the bad things, problem areas, and deaths.
far far far to many of our news stations here are complete hypocrits.
Doesn’t mention whether or not what is being seeded is factual or not. If it is, we could use some of that back here.
During a war that is mainly over ideology there is nothing wrong with having people that are knowledgeable of the Quran come with a panel of others to discuss points. They give reasons why they should all get along and seek peace. They, also, report the good things going on in Iraq and the area. And they should, Diyala has 320 US funded projects going on that will enhance the lives of their people. The television programs and radio are but two. When the war is over it will be handed over to private enterprise. The enemy uses propaganda to keep the extremist stirred up. That has to be counter-balanced. Eventually the people will get tired of the carnage and put a stop to it themselves. The stepped up vilocence is a direct result of watching US news and hearing from US relatives that a little more pressure and the war will end because Pelosi and Reid are fighting it. A cleric from Iraq said the battle sin’t between Sunnis and Shiite, but the foreign insurgents that come and kill both. Stopping the funding for our troops ties their hands and puts them in danger and playing chicken with their welfare is despicable. I don’t like Bush but I am with him on this. They shouldn’t be put in the middle of a power play between politicians. It is the worst kind of politics.
The enemy uses propaganda during war time and we have to too. It doesn’t have to be anything untrue. I think they are educating the journalist about freedom of press.
It is true the press offers a check and balance. It is too bad that what we get for news in the US is so full of bias it is hardly pure news. Some are conservative presses and others are liberal and they have an agenda. Foor thirty years the news would show a newsreel and then a commentator would come on to tell us what to think about it. Some people have been so brainwashed by this POV news focus so long the are radically attached to one party or the other now. But this kind of news offers the US littel. This is exerbated in the blogs all over the net.
I agree with JSAllison I have yet to read an article on politics that isn’t jaded with the reporters own opinions. Most of them can’t resist adding their own commentary,
thanks