U.S. Military Covertly Pays to Run Stories in Iraqi Press
WASHINGTON As part of an information offensive in Iraq, the U.S. military is secretly paying Iraqi newspapers to publish stories written by American troops in an effort to burnish the image of the U.S. mission in Iraq.
The articles, written by U.S. military "information operations" troops, are translated into Arabic and placed in Baghdad newspapers with the help of a defense contractor, according to U.S. military officials and documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times.
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.
I don't know, Al-Jazeera does the same thing, I've never read anything in the LA Times about the positive happenings in Iraq...
And...the articles are basically factual, (The LA Times defines basically factual as We don't agree, but those are the facts).
So what's the problem?
It's about time. Who ever hear of a war without the war of words - often disparaged as the propaganda war - but always a crucial part of the war effort.
ReplyDeleteAnd j_p, one more thing, after becoming involved in this fantastic project, I have read your blog for the first time.
ReplyDeleteYou have done some outstanding work there.
One more reason it is an honor to be an Infidel!