Iraq

Iraq Information Operations Increase

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on

"The military has paid money to try to place favorable coverage on television stations in three Iraqi cities." The military gave one station "about $35,000 in equipment," is "building a new facility for $300,000," and pays $1000 to $2400 a month "for a weekly program that focuses positively on U.S. efforts." An Army National Guard commander confirmed his officers "suggest" stories for the weekly program and review it, before it is aired. The payments are not disclosed to viewers.

No
Main Source: 
Washington Post, December 26, 2005
Topics: 
Iraq
Journalism
Propaganda
U.S. Government

Chalabi Unites Iraq

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on

Iraqi voters may not agree on much, but 99.5 percent of them agreed not to vote for Ahmed Chalabi in the country's December 15 election. Once hailed by U.S. neoconservatives as the "George Washington of Iraq," Chalabi's humiliating defeat at the polls makes him something of an embarrasment now. "The election results in Iraq may present Chalabi’s ardent U.S.

No
Main Source: 
MSNBC, December 22, 2005
Topics: 
Iraq
Democracy

Cutouts Speak Out

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on

"U.S. military officials in Iraq were fully aware that a Pentagon contractor regularly paid Iraqi newspapers to publish positive stories about the war, and made it clear that none of the stories should be traced to the United States, according to several current and former employees of Lincoln Group," report Mark Mazzetti and Kevin Sack.

No
Main Source: 
Los Angeles Times, December 18, 2005
Topics: 
Iraq
Third Party Technique
Propaganda

Baghdad Press Club Membership Has Its Privileges

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on

"A U.S. investigation into allegations that the American military is buying positive coverage in the Iraqi media has expanded to examine a press club founded and financed by the U.S. Army," reports USA Today. The Baghdad Press Club was created in 2004, "to promote progress amid the violence and chaos of Iraq." A military spokesperson said "members are not required nor asked to write favorably" about the United States.

No
Main Source: 
USA Today, December 9, 2005
Topics: 
Iraq
Democracy
Media
U.S. Government

The Victory of Spin

More examples of the Bush administration's manipulation of news spilled out into U.S. newspapers last week. Raising further questions about how the White House continues to spin its "War on Terror," the Los Angeles Times reported on November 30 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.

Shocked (or Not?) at PR and PsyOps in Iraq

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on

After the Los Angeles Times reported that the Pentagon, through the Lincoln Group, was planting "favorable stories about the war and the rebuilding effort" in Iraqi newspapers, military spokespeople "offered a mixed message" about the program.

No
Main Source: 
Associated Press, November 30, 2005
Topics: 
Iraq
Third Party Technique
Propaganda
U.S. Government

Camera/Iraq

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on

The Cinema and Media Studies Department at Carleton College in Minnesota has created a website, CameraIraq.com, which gathers news and commentary about public and personal photographic image practices associated with the "war of images in the Middle East." Items in their collection include photos of the dead bodies of Saddam Hussein's sons, the beheading of Nick Berg, the Bush "Mission Accomplished" photo op, and a variety of real and faked images depicting human rights abuses, atrocities and other staples of wartime propaganda.

No
Main Source: 
CameraIraq.com
Topics: 
Iraq
Propaganda

Protesters Arrested

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on

"About a dozen antiwar protesters, including Daniel Ellsberg and the sister of Cindy Sheehan, were arrested Wednesday morning while camping on a roadside near President Bush's ranch" in Crawford, Texas, reports Rosalind S. Helderman. The activists ran afoul of a new county law that was passed following this summer's protests to prohibit parking and camping on public lands near Bush's property.

No
Main Source: 
Washington Post, November 24, 2005
Topics: 
Activism
Iraq
Human Rights

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